Mother, son to perform at Bluebonnet Opry

Special to The Examiner

Friends of Bluebonnet Opry are featuring Leona Williams and her son Ron Williams on the Silver Wings Ballroom Stage Thursday, Sept. 15. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8, and the snack bar will be open. Door prizes will also be awarded. A portion of the funds are donated to Hospice Brazos Valley.

Leona Williams

Leona Williams was destined to become a Country Music Entertainer. She landed her first radio show at the age of 15, simply called “Leona Sings” in Jefferson City, Missouri. That journey would take her all over the world and allow her to sing before thousands upon thousands of Country Music fans.

Leona moved to Nashville in the late 1960s from the small town of Vienna Missouri and was soon recording for Hickory Records with such hits as “Once More” and “Yes Ma’am, He Found Me In A Honky Tonk.” Since then, Leona has traveled worldwide and opened shows for some of country music’s top entertainers and made numerous personal appearances at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Leona later teamed up with Merle Haggard for a top ten duet called “The Bull and the Beaver” and a duet album followed called “HEART TO HEART”. During this time, she would write some of Merle’s biggest hits including “You Take Me For Granted” and “Someday When Things Are Good.” You can hear her harmony vocals on some of Merle’s hits such as “The Way I Am” “The Roots Of My Raising” and “Big City.” Leona has also teamed up with other artists on recordings such as Gene Watson’s “Cold summer day in Georgia,” Vince Gill’s “Living the way I do,” Jimmy Martin’s “If teardrops were pennies,” and George Jones’ “Best Friends” among others. Leona recently released a “duets” album, where she teamed up with legendary artists like George Jones, Merle Haggard, Johnny Bush, Frankie Miller, Floyd Tillman, Ferlin Husky and others. Leona continues to wow her fans in concerts across the nation and abroad. She recently returned from one of her many international tours, entertaining thousands of country music fans from all over Europe. Leona has had her songs recorded by some of Country music’s most popular artists including George Jones, Moe Bandy, Randy Travis, Hank Thompson, The Forester Sisters, Tammy Wynette, Gene Watson, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Ray Price, Johnny Bush, Willie Nelson, Connie Smith and many others. Leona, a Missouri native, has been inducted into the Missouri Country Music Hall of Fame, the Country Music Association of Texas Hall of Fame, the North American Country Music Hall of Fame (N.A.C.M.A.) in Tennessee, and the Mobile Alabama Country Music Hall of Fame. She was honored with the prestigious George D. Hay Award. and was also given the “Honky Tonk Female Singer of the Year” award at the Ameripolitan Awards in Austin Texas.

Twice, Leona was honored with the “Entertainer of the Year” award by R.O.P.E. (Reunion of Professional Entertainers).

Recently, Leona was honored at the Leinster Entertainment Awards in Naas, Ireland with the ‘’ International Singer and Songwriter of the Year ‘’ award.

Ron Williams

Ron Williams was born into an amazing family steeped in music tradition. The son of Internationally known singer/ songwriter Leona Williams, Ron has been surrounded by legends of the Country Music industry since childhood. Ron credits his distinct Traditional Country sound to the great, REAL country music he was exposed to as a child. At age 17, Ron began polishing his own unique style of music, and credits many country icons as influences, including Marty Robbins, Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard, Larry Gatlin, John Conlee, Lefty Frizzell, Keith Whitley and others. Performing and traveling all over the U.S. and Europe, Ron continues to build a huge fan base and has worked hard to keep real country music alive. Some of Ron’s career highlights include:

• Regular host of the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree.

• Regular appearances on RFD-TV’s ‘’Midwest Country.”

• Daily airplay on satellite, internet, and conventional radio.

• Former front man of show “San Antonio Rose Live” from historic Aztec Theater on Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio.

• Multiple tours in Ireland, and tours in Scotland and Sweden.

• Performances on stage at the Ryman Auditorium, Wild Horse Saloon and many others.

• Filmed television pilot for new country music show with Charlie Pride, Mickey Gilley, Willie Nelson and others.

• Performed on shows featuring artists such as Gene Watson, Bill Anderson, Vern Gosdin, Johnny Bush, Jean Shepherd, Darrell McCall, Ferlin Husky, Sammy Kershaw, Craig Morgan, Charlie Louvin, Lorrie Morgan, T Graham Brown and many others.

• Ron’s songwriting credits include a co/written charted single on artist Joe Diffie, titled “Somethin’ like this,” the title track from the gospel album “Before you say amen” from Texas artist Justin Trevino, as well as single on Music City Records recording artist Sonny Burgess titled “Alone with you” and others. Recently, Ron was awarded the prestigious “George D. Hay” award for his commitment to real country music, and the “Little Jimmy Dempsey” award from the North American Country MusicAssociation (N.A.C.M.A.) for his efforts.

Also, Ron was awarded ‘’2015 Male Vocalist of the Year’’ from the Leinster Entertainment Awards in Naas, Ireland. Ron currently resides in Forsyth, Missouri and has been married to wife Amy since 1999. They have two beautiful daughters, Alexis and Olivia.

Silver Wings Ballroom is located at 4100 Hwy. 105 in Brenham. For more information call 979-451-0816 or visit www.friendsofbluebonnetopry. com. Bluebonnet Opry hosts shows every third Thursday of the month.