* En anglais uniquement
Both as a solo artist and in a duo with her husband, singer/multi-instrumentalist
Larry Campbell, singer/guitarist
Teresa Williams displays her warm, highly resonant alto voice and deep love of traditional folk, country, and Americana. Influenced early on by the classic titans of country, including
Johnny Cash,
Hank Williams, and
Loretta Lynn,
Williams developed her own honestly emotive style and knack for clear-toned harmonies.
Raised on a seventh-generation subsistence cotton farm in West Tennessee,
Williams grew up playing music at home, learning from her parents and singing in church. While she was an accomplished performer by her teens, it was her interest in acting that initially brought her to New York City. While there, she continued to perform, working with the bands Southern Comfort and Swing Fever, and even playing Sara Carter in a stage production about the life of pioneering country ensemble
the Carter Family. She refocused her efforts on music, and soon gained a well-earned reputation as a gifted backing vocalist, eventually sharing the stage with such luminaries as
Mavis Staples,
Emmylou Harris,
Hot Tuna,
Jackson Browne,
Phil Lesh, and
Bob Weir.
In 1986,
Williams met fellow singer/songwriter
Larry Campbell after he was hired to play pedal steel with her at a show at New York's Bottom Line. They were married two years later, and continued to work both together and separately over the next 30 years. During the '90s,
Campbell toured with
Bob Dylan, while
Williams furthered her work as a backing vocalist. Then, in the mid-2000s, the couple found themselves working together, backing singer/drummer
Levon Helm of
the Band.
Helm often showcased the couple out front, and it was during this period that they formalized their identity as a duo. After
Helm's passing in 2012, they began work on their own material, and in 2015 released their debut self-titled album. The recording drew wide acclaim, and peaked in the Top 20 of Billboard's Americana/Folk Albums chart. They returned with their sophomore album,
Contraband Love, two years later. Included was a cover of
Carl Perkins' "Turn Around," which featured
Helm in one of his final sessions. ~ Matt Collar