Joy Williams (singer)

Joy Williams
Williams onstage smiling
Williams performing, 2011
Background information
Birth name Joy Elizabeth Williams
Born (1982-11-14) November 14, 1982
Genres Contemporary Christian, pop, folk rock
Instruments Vocals, piano, concertina
Years active 2000–present
Labels Reunion, Sensibility Music
Associated acts The Civil Wars
Website myspace.com/joywilliamsmusic

Joy Elizabeth Williams (born November 14, 1982)[1] is an American singer-songwriter. The winner of four Grammy Awards, Williams has released four solo albums and four EPs since her self-titled debut in 2001. She was half of the Civil Wars duo from 2009 until 2014.

Early life

Williams was born in West Branch, Michigan, and raised in a Christian home in Mount Hermon in Santa Cruz County, California, where her parents worked in ministry.[2] She attended Valley Christian High School in San Jose and graduated as the class valedictorian in 2001.[3]

In addition to singing in church, Williams began writing faith-based pop songs while living in Santa Cruz. At 17, she was signed by Reunion Records, a subsidiary of Sony/BMG based in Brentwood, Tennessee.[4]

Williams cites Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Massive Attack, and Portishead as being her influences.[5]

Career

Between 2001 and 2005 Williams was nominated for 11 Dove Awards, and the three records she released on Reunion cumulatively sold more than 250,000 copies.[6] In 2005 she left the label to expand her musical horizons.[7]

Williams traveled to Europe, worked briefly at Paste Magazine and then at a Nashville boutique. In 2006 she signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell music, and in 2008 she co-founded the artist development firm, Sensibility Music as a vehicle for her career development. That same year Oscar Mayer selected her song "It Doesn't Get Better Than This" for a 2008 marketing campaign.[8] Williams subsequently released three EPs through Sensibility Music. The songs "Charmed Life", "Speaking A Dead Language", and "Sunny Day," were featured on the TV show Grey's Anatomy.[4][9]

The Civil Wars

In 2008, Williams attended a writing camp in Nashville, where she met John Paul White. They formed the folk rock duo The Civil Wars in 2009 and released their breakthrough album, Barton Hollow in 2011. The album was widely praised by critics[10] and went on to sell more than 650,000 copies in the U.S.[11] White and Williams won four Grammy Awards as The Civil Wars.

The duo announced an indefinite hiatus in November 2012, prior to the release of their 2013 self-titled album.[6][12][13] The duo was officially dissolved in August 2014[14][15] and in March 2015, Williams said her last conversation with White was after their Roundhouse show in London in November 2012.[5]

Music and acting

Late in 2013, Williams collaborated with Chris Cornell on the song "Misery Chain" which they performed on Late Night with David Letterman.[16] She also collaborated with Matt Berninger from The National on "Hush", the theme song for TURN.[17][18] Williams and Hayley Williams (no relation) of the rock band Paramore collaborated on a new version of Paramore's "Hate to See Your Heart Break".[19]

Williams began working on a solo album in 2015.[5][20]

Williams made her acting debut in 2016 in an episode of Roadies[21] and her recording of The Chainsmokers' "Don't Let Me Down" was used for a State Farm commercial in 2017.[22]

Discography

Solo

The Civil Wars

  • 2009: Live at Eddie's Attic (Sensibility Music)
  • 2009: Poison & Wine (EP) (Sensibility Music)
  • 2011: Barton Hollow (Dine Alone Records) [23]
  • 2011: "Tracks In The Snow" (Dine Alone Records)
  • 2012: "Live at Amoeba" EP (Dine Alone Records)
  • 2013: The Civil Wars (Sensibility Music/Columbia)
  • 2013: "VHI Unplugged" (Dine Alone Records)

References

  1. ↑ Maffeo, Kerry (October 1, 2001). "Opening Acts: Get to Know Joy Williams" (PDF). CCM Magazine. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Roger Williams Obituary". legacy.com. Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  3. ↑ Sanzgiri, Shona. "A little country, a little Santa Cruz: Former resident Joy Williams enjoys musical success with Civil Wars" The Santa Cruz Sentinel. March 13, 2012
  4. 1 2 Gold, Adam (November 10, 2011). "How The Civil Wars fought for artistic independence and broadsided Music Row". Nashville Scene. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Mansfield, Brian (March 31, 2015). "Post-Wars, Williams is a new 'Woman'". USA Today.
  6. 1 2 Kittle, Ashleigh. "Joy Williams Biography". allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  7. ↑ Uhelski, Jaan. "The Surrender of Joy Williams" (PDF). thefiretheftproject.com. The Fire Theft Project. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  8. ↑ Clifford, Stephanie (January 14, 2010). "Oscar Mayer Counts on the Joy, Not the Jingles". New York Times. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  9. ↑ Clarendon, Dan. "Grey's Anatomy Music". wetpaint.com. Wet Paint. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Barton Hollow - The Civil Wars". metacritic.com. Metacrtic. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Barton Hollow Sales". riaa.com. RIAA. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  12. ↑ McKinley, James C. (October 25, 2011). "Their Year of Living Almost Famously". New York Times. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  13. ↑ Hoby, Hermione (March 3, 2012). "The Civil Wars: 'I feel we pull from each other's world'". The Guardian. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  14. ↑ Lopez, Korina (August 5, 2014). "The Civil Wars are Officially Over". USA Today. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  15. ↑ Mansfield, Brian (June 30, 2011). "On the Verge: The Civil Wars". USA Today.
  16. ↑ Leahy, Andrew (December 20, 2013). "Chris Cornell and The Civil Wars' Joy Williams Team Up For "Misery Chain"". americansongwriter.com. American Songwriter. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  17. ↑ Breihan, Tom (April 14, 2014). "Joy Williams & Matt Berninger – "Hush"". stereogum.com. Stereogum. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  18. ↑ Gordon, Jeremy. "The National's Matt Berninger and Civil Wars' Joy Williams Sing Theme for AMC's "Turn"". pitchfork.com. Pitchfork. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  19. ↑ Powers, Ann (November 24, 2014). "Paramore feat. Joy Williams, 'Hate To See Your Heart Break'". npr.org. NPR. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  20. ↑ Nicholson, Jessica. "The Civil Wars' Joy Williams Prepping Solo Album". musicrow.com. Music Row. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  21. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Singer Joy Williams Makes Her Acting Debut on Showtime's 'Roadies' -- Watch Her NSFW Scene!". ETOnline. July 22, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  22. ↑ "How Covering a Chainsmokers Song in a State Farm Commercial Helped Joy Williams Evolve". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  23. ↑ Staff Writer Dine Alone Records retrieved 10/17/17
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.