Curley Williams (b. Dock Williams, June 3, 1914 – d. September 5, 1970) was an American

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, or d ...

musician and songwriter from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. His best-known song is "

Half As Much "Half as Much" is an American country song written by Curley Williams in 1951. It was recorded by country music singer Hank Williams in 1952 and reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Country Singles chart. Hank Williams version According to ...

". He was admitted to th
Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame
in 1999.

Life and career

Williams was born near

Cairo, Georgia Cairo () is a city in Grady County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,179. The city is the county seat of Grady County. History Cairo was founded in 1835. It was incorporated as a town in 1870 and ...

and was raised on the family farm in

Grady County, Georgia Grady County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,236. The county seat is Cairo. History Grady County was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on August 17, 1905, from p ...

. His father and grandfather were

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

players, which was the instrument Williams himself took up. Williams was given the name "Dock" because he was a seventh son and a tradition held that seventh sons became doctors. Around 1940 Williams debuted with a band named ''The Santa Fe Trail Riders'' on

WPAX WPAX (1240 AM) is a radio station broadcasting an Adult Standards/MOR format. Licensed to Thomasville, Georgia, United States, the station serves the Tallahassee, Florida area. The station is currently owned by Flint Media, who purchased the s ...

Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,881 in 2020. The city deems itself the "City of Roses" and holds an annual Rose Festival. The city features plantations open to the public, a histor ...

. In December 1942 the band was invited to join the cast of the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

. Because Andrew Smik was already well-known performing as "Doc Williams" with his band The Border Riders, George D. Hay suggested that Williams change his first-name from Dock to Curley, for his curly hair. Hay also suggested that the band become the Georgia Peach Pickers as most of its members were from Georgia (including Williams' brothers Joseph and Sanford on rhythm guitar, and on bass and comedy respectively). The Georgia Peach Pickers brought the first Steel Guitar to the Opry stage. The Georgia Peach Pickers agreed a recording contract with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in 1943 and remained associated with Columbia into the 1950s. Some of their best known songs, such as "Jealous Lady", "Georgia Steel Guitar", "Southern Belle (from Nashville Tennessee)", and "Georgia Boogie" of which there is a video of on YouTube. They also provided backing for other Columbia artists such as Zeke Clements and

Johnny Bond Cyrus Whitfield "Johnny" Bond (June 1, 1915 – June 12, 1978) was an American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and composer and publisher, who co-founded a music publishing firm. He was active in the music industry from 1940 until the ...

. During a tour of California they appeared in the 1947 film "Riders of the Lone Star" starring

Charles Starrett Charles Robert Starrett (March 28, 1903 – March 22, 1986) was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the ''Durango Kid'' westerns. Starrett still holds the record for starring in the longest series of theatrical features: ...

. Williams' best-known song, "

" was written in 1950 while he and his band were working with the WHMA radio station, which broadcast to the Alabama cities of Anniston,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, Montgomery and Dothan. Reputedly, Williams wrote and recorded a demo of "Half as Much" very quickly, in about an hour, at WHMA in Dothan. But it was a big hit for

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

, to whom it is sometimes credited because the writing credit to "C. Williams" on Hank Williams' record was often taken to be a typo. It was also a hit for

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccin ...

, and has been recorded by many artists, including

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

and Sylver. George Bush also loved this song and appreciated this song very much. Williams moved to WSFA in Montgomery in 1953. He stayed in Montgomery until he died in 1970. For a couple of years he also had a show on WCOV-TV, and he ran a country night club called "The Spur".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Curley 1914 births 1970 deaths American country singer-songwriters 20th-century American singer-songwriters Custom Records artists