Song:Sweet Side
Album:Live @ The Fillmore
Lucinda Williams was first noticed for her songwriting and has since become one of the most popular performers in today's folk music scene. Sweet Side was first on her 2003 CD World Without Tears but the 2005 2CD set Live @ The Fillmore is an excellent intro to her music. She was born Jan. 26, 1953 in Lake Charles, LA. Her father is literature professor Miller Williams and the family moved around as he changed teaching jobs. So they lived all over the southern US and even Mexico and Chile. Her parents were folk music fans and listening to Joan Baez and Bob Dylan influenced Lucinda to start writing songs. In the 70s, she moved to New Orleans and then Austin and then moved to New York. She signed with Folkways and recorded her debut album Ramblin' in 1979. In 1984, Lucinda moved to Los Angeles and signed a deal with CBS that ultimately didn't pan out. So she signed with the British punk music label Rough Trade and released Lucinda Williams in 1988. Though the album didn't reach the mainstream because it was on a small label, it was critically acclaimed and got the attention of the music industry. Others started recording her songs like Patty Loveless with the top 20 country hit The Night's Too Long. Lucinda signed with RCA but again it didn't pan out and she signed with the small label Chameleon. Her 1992 album Sweet Old World again got her critical acclaim. While on tour in Australia with Rosanne Cash and Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mary decided to record Lucinda's song Passionate Kisses. The song was a top 5 country hit and won Lucinda a Song Of The Year Grammy. When Chameleon closed, Lucinda signed with Rick Rubin's American Recordings. After several false starts and a delayed release because Rubin was trying to sell the company, Mercury released Car Wheels on a Gravel Road in 1998. This album finally gave Lucinda the commercial success she needed and a Best Contemporary Folk Album Grammy. When Universal bought PolyGram, Lucinda was moved to Lost Highway Records and she still records there. Sweet Side is from her 2003 CD World Without Tears which sold very well. But you can also get it on the 2005 2CD set Live @ The Fillmore. On her most recent CD Blessed, Lucinda worked with Elvis Costello. Any roots music fan needs to check out Lucinda Williams. Here's Lucinda Williams with Doug Pettibone on guitar performing Sweet Side on Sessions @ AOL April 22, 2003.
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