Lucinda Williams’ favourite books
Acclaimed singer Lucinda Williams rose to critical recognition in the late 1970s after releasing a series of country albums. However, it wasn’t until slightly later in her career that she earned widespread fame, winning a Grammy in 1994 for her song ‘Passionate Kisses’.
Her second Grammy came in 1999, winning ‘Best Contemporary Folk Album’ for her fifth record, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Widely praised for its blend of country and folk with classic blues influences, Williams became a key voice in American music. The singer won her third Grammy in 2002 with the song ‘Get Right with God’, and she has continued to garner over ten more nominations since.
Williams is an impressive lyricist, unafraid to explore her emotions through her songs. Naturally, she has taken inspiration from many pieces of literature when writing her lyrics, which includes her father, Miller Williams’ poetry.
Talking to the New York Post, she selected some of the books and poetry that mean the most to her. Of her father’s work, she selects Some Jazz a While, which she calls “a collection of some of my dad’s best poems.”
She continued: “He wrote about day-to-day things, observations on a wreck on the highway or a cat asleep on a windowsill. I think I learned that from him. He once told me, ‘Don’t ever censor yourself.’”
The singer also selected Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor, which she first read when she was 16. This led her on a path where she “ended up reading everything O’Connor wrote — I completely related to her scenes of Southern life”.
Williams added: “It’s very dark, but there’s a lot of bright humour in it, too.”
Williams sang the praises of Dusty Springfield in her choices, picking out Dancing with Demons: The Authorised Biography of Dusty Springfield by Penny Valentine. She said: “I fell in love with her music after Dusty in Memphis. She was a middle-class British white girl singing Black music, and she struggled with her sexual identity and cut herself on purpose. I put her in Etta James and Aretha Franklin’s league and was surprised to read about how fragile she was.”
Finally, Williams chose Charles Bukowski’s Women, a semi-autobiographical novel. She explained, “It’s like reading someone’s diary: It’s funny, somewhat pornographic and honest”. Williams even told the humorous tale, adding: “He talks about giving a poetry reading and going to the professor’s house afterwards, seeing a beautiful woman and telling her she has beautiful legs. Next thing, they’re in the guest bedroom getting it on. When I read it, I thought, OMG. That was at my dad’s house!”
Lucinda Williams’ favourite books:
- Some Jazz a While – Miller Williams
- Wise Blood – Flannery O’Connor
- Dancing with Demons – Penny Valentine
- Women – Charles Bukowski
