Vicki Williams

Another of those Greenville, MS artists Vicki Williams seems to have cut three 45s. The first “Your Love Makes Me Stay When I Know I Should Go” is a pleasant if unremarkable beat ballad with the cleverly arranged horns the best aspect of the disc. Her second release is far superior. You’re In The Army But I Wish You Were Here is a fine Vietnam ballad with Vicki’s young sounding vocals suitably distressed. The flip is a very good take on Larry Lee’s evergreen blues ballad The Best Of Luck To You. Excellent keyboard and “liquid” guitar accompaniment make this a version to rank with Johnny Adams’ and Sam Baker’s.

The very rare Morgan Park 45 side “Do I Make Myself Clear” is a fairly routine uptempo tune – so it has attracted the attention of the usual dance crowd.

UPDATE ~ Raymond Astbury writes to say that the only link to Vikki Styles is their presence on the Big Beat group of labels. He says "Vicki Williams appears all over the place on the Greenville labels - as producer  (of O. D Williams on Bar-Bare; Vic Lee on Big Beat ) and as composer (on at least 15 titles)."

NEW UPDATE ~ Kris Holmes of the excellent Greenville, MS site (which youcan find here) is of the view that Vikki Styles, Vicki Starr and Vicky Williams are all the same artist. He could well be right.

 

Notes ~

1. My copy of the rare Morgan Park shows the two sides of the disc as per the discography but “Help Up My Mind” is really “Best Of Luck To You”.

2. The Morgan Park 45 may well have come out on Big Beat as well – does anybody have the details?

3. Peter Hoogers has spotted that Vicki Williams is credited as the writer on both the Odex and Leno 45s by Vikki Styles. Aurally they are quite different so it is unlikely that they are the same singer. But there must be a connection between them – does anybody know what it is?

I'm grateful to Raymond Astbury for the update.

 

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