|
Beginning with an introduction to
the love of country music at an early age, then adding his own desire to
entertain and an infectious fun-loving attitude, Walker Williams
has moved on from an early vagabond lifestyle of growing up in a military
family, and through a brief acting career, to life on the road, as one of the
Rocky Mountain region's most popular and entertaining musicians.
Walker's country roots date back
to his very early years. His father taught him to sing and play guitar at the
ripe old age of six! It wasn't long before he was singing and playing along with
Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Tom T. Hall on the radio.
Being an "Air Force
Brat", Walker and his family moved quite often. From Japan, where he was
born, to New York, Arizona and finally, Colorado where Walker found acceptance
in the various school choirs he sang in. Arapahoe High School, in Littleton,
Colorado was the first school he had attended for three years in a row. From
there, he was offered a music scholarship to attend Adams State College in
Alamosa, Colorado. Walker, however, felt the need to perform on a much larger
scale. He left college to pursue a singing and acting career. He found the best
of both worlds in music theatre in Los Angeles, where he was featured in several
national commercials, a few television episode appearances and even a film or
two.
Upon returning to Denver, Walker
continued to perform in musical comedy and several more local commercials and
television appearances, including Perry Mason, America's Most
Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries. Finally, in 1991, Walker left
the theatre and started performing as a single, in bars, restaurants and private
parties. He performed a mixture of Top 40 country, older country and a little
bit of country-rock. Eight months later, he formed The Walker Williams Band.
With his truly wonderful singing
talent, along with his ability to entertain, Walker's popularity spread
throughout Colorado. Within the first year, he was playing some of the better
clubs in the Denver Metro area, including the award-winning Grizzly Rose, where
he now holds status as "house band", and also traveling into the
mountain resorts.
By the second year, Walker was
sharing the stage with country's best, opening shows for such headliners as
Willie Nelson, Billy Dean, Sawyer Brown, Alan Jackson and Merle Haggard, and
began spreading his touring circles into New Mexico, Arizona and Wyoming.
Since then, Walker has produced
and released his debut CD in 1995, titled "Just Like That".
He has been named one of the top three male vocalists by a Denver Post
readers poll, has won a Battle Of The Bands contest, and continues to open for
some of the top artists in the country including, Chris LeDoux, Tracy Lawrence,
Wade Hayes, Lonestar and Bryan White. And he consistently spends over 45
weeks a year on the road performing.
Everywhere Walker travels and
performs, he wins over new fans at each stop, and many long time supporters
follow him from city to city on his tour and have been affectionately dubbed
"The Walker Stalkers".
It was in part for the fans, that
Walker fulfilled a dream to go into Nashville and record a new album with some
of Music City's best studio musicians, songwriters and with Clayton Ryder as
producer. The newest CD, simply titled "Walker Williams" was
released in February 2005 with the hopes that it will capture the long overdue
attention that Walker's fans in the Southwest have loyally provided for the past
decade and more.
"I didn't start out to be a
road band", says Walker. "But now I find that I enjoy traveling more
and meeting new people. I just hope they enjoy my music as much as I enjoy
performing it for them."
Walker and his band cater to the
dance crowds, performing selections from Walker's own CD, two of which he wrote,
covers of popular country songs by other artists, country-rockers and the
occasional surprise tune from a variety of music styles. If you know how to
two-step, three-step, cha-cha, waltz or swing, you're gonna love 'em. On the
other hand, if you just like to kick back and listen to a great singer that can
also entertain, you'll enjoy Walker's music and antics just as much.
|
