Singers from Dallas

Lewis Wayne Williams (January 12, 1934 – September 1, 2019, born Chillicothe, Texas) was an American rockabilly singer and songwriter, known as the "Cab Calloway of rockabilly".
Williams began singing at age four, and moved with his family to Dallas at age eleven. He played in local clubs after graduating Adamson High School and entered Midwestern State University in 1952. However, a few months later he secured a job as a headliner for a radio program on Frederick, Oklahoma station KTAT.
The following year, Williams recorded demos at Jim Beck's recording studio and managed to get a single released on Flair Records in June 1953, but "I've Been Doin' Some Slippin' Too" was not a hit, and he did not release further material from these sessions. He sent some of the demos to Imperial Records, who offered him a publishing contract; Williams attempted to secure a recording contract as well but was unsuccessful initially. Imperial finally signed him as a recording artist in 1955, and his first releases came out in 1956. A few singles were issued in 1956 and 1957, with Jimmie Haskell producing and Barney Kessell on guitar; they did not sell and Williams was dropped early in 1957.
He graduated from the university in 1957 and devoted himself to songwriting full-time. He wrote material for Jimmy Hughes (with Mae Axton), Ferlin Husky, Floyd Cramer, Porter Wagoner, and Hoyt Johnson. After serving time in the Army, Williams took the pseudonym Vik Wayne for one final release on Dot Records, "The Girl I Saw on Bandstand"; when it did not sell, he opened a recording studio and started a talent agency. He left music for good in the early 1960s, moving into the publishing and mail order businesses.
After Bear Family Records released some of his material in the 1990s, fed by the burgeoning interest in rockabilly in Europe and Japan, he made a comeback, appearing in Las Vegas in 2000 and touring widely thereafter.
Lew Williams died at age 85 on September 1, 2019 at an assisted living facility in Winnsboro, Texas.

Gene Louis O'Quin (or Oquin) (September 9, 1932 – November 27, 1978) was an American country and western and honky tonk singer born in Dallas on September 9, 1932 He established himself professionally at Dallas' Big "D" Jamboree, a Grand Ole Opry-like radio showcase, becoming one of its most popular entertainers. O'Quin recorded his first song at the age of 15 and was signed by Capitol Records.He later relocated to California. His recording career reached its peak between 1950 and 1955.
O'Quin's voice was high and nasally and had a twang evocative of Little Jimmy Dickens. He cut many novelty songs and boogie-woogie records. The persona in his records was happy-go-lucky and well suited to hillbilly music. Although he did not record any rockabilly songs in his career, rockabilly enthusiasts have embraced him. His career was eclipsed with the advent of rock and roll but he did not successfully make the transition as rockabilly artists did.
O'Quin died when his car was hit by a bus in Riverside, California on November 27, 1978.

Willis Alan Ramsey (born 5 March 1951) is an American singer/songwriter, a cult legend among fans of Americana and Texas country. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in Dallas, Texas. Ramsey graduated from Highland Park High School in 1969, and was a prominent baritone in the school's Lads and Lassies Choir. In his senior year, he played a leading role in the musical Carousel. He released the critically acclaimed album, Willis Alan Ramsey, in 1972 on the Shelter label. The album included "Muskrat Candlelight" which was covered (under the title "Muskrat Love") by America in 1973 and by Captain & Tennille in 1976.Owing to conflict with his label, Ramsey left Shelter at the end of his contract. As a result, Ramsey's fans have been waiting half a century for the release of his "mythical second album". When asked where the new album is, he often responds, "What's wrong with the first one?"
In the 1980s, he moved to Great Britain to reconnect with his ancestry and study traditional and modern music narrative. At the same time, he enjoyed a revival in the United States, due in part to numerous artists who cut versions of Ramsey's songs, including Widespread Panic ("Geraldine & The Honey Bee"), Jerry Jeff Walker ("Northeast Texas Women"), Waylon Jennings, Shawn Colvin ("Satin Sheets"), Jimmy Buffett ("The Ballad of Spider John"), and Jimmie Dale Gilmore ("Goodbye to Old Missoula"). In 1989, he returned to the United States and began performing again. Backed by Champ Hood, multi-instrumentalist (of Uncle Walt's Band fame), Ramsey could often be found on the same bill with another Dallas singer-songwriter, Alison Rogers. The two married in 1991 and continue to perform together. In 1996, Ramsey and Rogers co-wrote Lyle Lovett's hit, "That's Right (You're Not from Texas)".
In 2000, Ramsey appeared on Austin City Limits, showcasing his new material and performing his classics. He is currently mixing his new album, Gentilly, so called since 1997. Gentilly is planned to be an independent release, financed by friends and fans mostly from the Dallas and Austin area. Currently working with Jonathan Day of the band Pressbox. Co-produced by Ramsey, Alison Rogers and Jamie Oldaker, guest musicians include Oldaker (drums, percussion); Sam Bush & Tim O'Brien (mandolin, vocals); Viktor Krauss, Roscoe Beck & Freebo (bass); Bruce Bouton (steel guitar); Mickey Raphael (harmonica); Walt Richmond (piano, organ); Joel Guzman (accordion); Marcia Ball, Tommy Malone, Abra Moore & Alison Rogers (vocals). Ramsey, Rogers, and Everett Moran are engineering.