Leona Williams

Leona Williams becomes an honorary Texan (Dec 2003)

The number of female vocalists who also have strong reputations as songwriters is relatively small in country music. Dolly Parton, certainly. Loretta Lynn, too. In most cases, though, gifted female vocalists have traditionally either looked elsewhere for their songs, or tend to write for themselves. For the past 35 years Leona Williams has been one of the more gifted female singer/songwriters in country. Although she's only had one major hit as a vocalist (1978's number 8 hit "The Bull and the Beaver," a duet with then-husband Merle Haggard), she was a regular mid-level chart fixture from the late '60s until the mid-'80s.  ...