American country star Leona Williams is over in Ireland for two weeks. The ex-wife of country icon Merle Haggard has a huge love for Irish audiences and has become a frequent visitor to our shores in recent years.

“My father always told me I was part-Irish. He was a man of independent thought who always said what was on his mind. I am so much looking forward to setting foot on Irish ground again. I just love y’all. I always feel like I’m coming home,” says Leona.

Leona was born in the small Missouri town of Vienna with a population of just around 600 people. They named a nearby stretch of road “The Leona Williams Highway” at a special ceremony some years ago.

She began her career when, at the age 15, she started to sing on a Jefferson City radio station and some years later moved to Nashville. Leona worked as a bass guitarist and backing vocalist in Loretta Lynn’s road band. She signed to the Hickory record label in 1968 but it was in 1976 that she made a major breakthrough by becoming the first female country singer to record an album inside a prison. San Quentin’s First Lady gained a lot of exposure for Leona when released on MCA Records.

It was during this time she joined Merle Haggard’s band and her song-writing talents blossomed when she penned two No 1 hits for Merle; Someday When Things Are Good and You Take Me For Granted.

She married Merle in 1978 and the marriage lasted for five years until 1983 when they went their separate ways. In 1985, Leona married Dave Kirby and they were together until Dave’s death in 2004.

Dave was from Brady, Texas. He was a fine guitar player and an excellent songwriter. His best-known song, Is Anybody Going To San Antone, topped the charts for Charley Pride. Among a myriad of top names who recorded songs composed by Dave were Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Porter Wagoner, Rose Maddox, Ray Charles, Waylon Jennings, Gene Watson, George Jones and Tammy Wynette.

“I’ve been singing country music all my life. I had the wonderful privilege of seeing so many of the all-time greats perform; from Roy Acuff to Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Porter and Dolly, George and Tammy, Don Williams, Tom T Hall – all of them. The country music family is so different to other musical genres, we all get to know each other.

“I have been blessed to share the stages with so many of them and I have never departed from the traditional roots of country music. I don’t listen any more to those so-called modern country stations in America.

“I love to write songs and I think us songwriters share a close bond. Tom T Hall, one of my heroes in country music, once gave me great advice. He said: “Leona, you know how to sing a country song and when you write a song, nobody else can put the same feeling into it as the writer if they also happen to be a good singer. If others love it and record it afterwards, that’s great. But you do it first.”

On this current Irish tour, Leona is accompanied by her son Ron, a young man who is a highly accomplished performer of traditional country music. Their first two shows are as part of the bill on the Phil Mack Keep It Country nights in Armagh on Thursday and Friday, 2-3 November.

Tony Kerr, the acclaimed country singer from Antrim, is a close friend of Leona and Ron and he will be part of the remainder of their shows during this visit to Ireland.

“Leona is what country music is all about. She has never forgotten the real roots and she is such a natural with audiences. She has a great affinity with Irish people and feels more at home here than anywhere else. She will also be performing I Cry Every Time I Leave Ireland on her current tour and that probably reflects exactly how she feels about this island,” says Tony.

“I have had the honour of recording duets with her and she is just in a league of her own. Earlier this year, she was chosen for the Honky Tonk Female honour at the Ameripolitan Music Awards. Leona has long been a special favourite at the shows in Branson, Missouri, in her home state. Her son Ron has a great feel for country music, too, so patrons are in for some special shows.” CL

Leona Williams, along with her son Ron and Tony Kerr, are in concert in the Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge, on 5 November, The Galway Sessions at the Salthill Hotel on 6 November (guest spot), and doing their own full shows in the Drummond Hotel, Ballykelly, on 8 November, the Villa Rose Hotel, Ballybofey, on 9 November and The Ramble Inn, Antrim, on 13 November.