Sixteen No1 Hits compiled on The Definitive Collection for Don Williams

LOS ANGELES (MCA Nashville/UMe Records) - Without artifice, gimmick, spangled suit or controversy, balladeer Don Williams was the most successful country artist of the '70s. With the intimacy of this "Gentle Giant" offering a refreshing alternative to the macho bluster of many of his contemporaries, he hit No 1 on the U.S. country singles chart 17 times and from 1974-1991 claimed an amazing 42 Top 10 hits. Now the 25-selection DON WILLIAMS - THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION (MCA Nashville/UMe), released June 22, 2004, includes 16 of his No 1s, seven other Top 10's, and two other Top 40's.

After his '60s folk group the Pozo-Seco Singers split up, Williams became a songwriter in Nashville, convinced he wasn't a solo performer. But his 1973 debut album proved otherwise as VOLUME ONE's "Come Early Morning" and "Amanda" were Top 40 country hits. 1974's VOLUME III launched a string of Top 10s with the No 1 "I Wouldn't Want To Live If You Didn't Want Me" and Top 10 "The Ties That Bind."

The decade also included the No 1's "You're My Best Friend," "(Turn Out The Lights and) Love Me Tonight," "Till The Rivers All Run Dry," "Say It Again," "Some Broken Hearts Will Never Mend," "I'm Just A Country Boy," "It Must Be Love," "Love Me Over Again" and "Tulsa Time." The latter was the 1978 Country Music Association Single Of The Year, and Williams was its Male Vocalist of the Year. His other '70s Top 10's on THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION are "She Never Knew Me," "I've Got a Winner In You," "Rake And Ramblin' Man" and "Good Ole Boys Like Me."

Despite such success, he kicked off the next decade with the biggest sellers of his career - the 1980 album I BELIEVE IN YOU and its deeply felt title song, which not only reached No 1 country but marked his highest crossover success when it peaked at No 24 pop. The early '80s featured the No 1's "Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good," "If Hollywood Don't Need You (Honey, I Still Do)," witty "Love Is On A Roll" (co-written by John Prine), "That's The Thing About Love" and, in 1986, his final chart-topper "Heartbeat In The Darkness." He also had Top 10's with "Listen To The Radio" and the typically openhearted "Nobody But You."

Williams has continued to record, including 1998's acclaimed I TURN THE PAGE. His 2004 album MY HEART TO YOU is his first since then for the man Esquire magazine has called "the Gary Cooper of American music."

A new series dedicated to country artists, the first slate of The Definitive Collection releases includes compilations for Williams, George Jones, Patsy Cline, Billy Ray Cyrus, Sammy Kershaw, and The Mavericks.