Jerry Lynn Williams
Jerry Lynn Williams (October 30, 1948 – November 25, 2005) was an American rock music singer and composer. He wrote such hits as "Forever Man", "See What Love Can Do", "Something's Happening", "Running on Faith" and "Pretending" for Eric Clapton.
Jerry Lynn Williams
- Name
- Jerry Lynn Williams
- Born
- October 30, 1948
- Birthplace
- Dallas, Texas, U.S.
- Died
- 25 November 2005
- Place of death
- St.
- Occupation
- * Singer
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- rock music
- Honours
- Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
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wikidata · Q6184007 · wikipedia · Jerry Lynn Williams
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jerry Lynn Williams • Born — October 30, 1948 • Birthplace — Dallas, Texas, U.S. • Died — 25 November 2005 • Place of death — St. Maarten • Occupation — * Singer • songwriter • Genre — * Rock • blues
Life
Life
Williams was born in Dallas, Texas.
Death
Death
He died at age 57 from kidney and liver failure on his yacht on November 25, 2005, in St. Maarten, after suffering from liver cancer. At the time of his death he was insolvent due to a divorce settlement and a judgment related to litigation over the copyrights to several of the songs he wrote.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1948
Jerry Lynn Williams born at Dallas.
2005
Jerry Lynn Williams died at Sint Maarten.
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Dallas.
Birth place
Saint Martin.
Death place
Discography
He contributed two songs, "Real Man" and "I Will Not Be Denied", to Bonnie Raitt's 1989 album Nick of Time. He had previously written material for Raitt's 1986 album Nine Lives. He also wrote songs for Robert Plant, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan. As a performer, he led the band High Mountain (later renamed The Jerry Williams Group), which released an album on Columbia Records in 1970. Solo, he released albums on Warner Bros. Records and CBS Records during the 1970s, and his break as a songwriter came when Delbert McClinton's cover of a song from his second album, "Givin' It Up for Your Love", reached the Top 40. In his autobiography, Clapton recalled meeting Williams for the first time after his record label, Warner Bros. Records, sent him demos of "Forever Man", "See What Love Can Do" and "Something's Happening" as suggestions for an upcoming album, which turned out to be Behind the Sun in 1985. Clapton recalled that he "loved the way [Williams] sang". Music author Marc Roberty claims that Williams's writing "seemed to suit Eric's vocals perfectly". Clapton said at the time:Jerry Williams has been trying to get a break for himself for quite a while. And I just loved the demos that he sent me so much that I recorded all of them. I thought they were great. We tried to do the songs just like Jerry's demos because his demos are so strong. This man is really good. He's fantastic. And I can't emphasize that point enough. He really should put out his own album.
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Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Jerry Lynn Williams, revision 1352695316 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Jerry Lynn Williams, 57; Wrote Hit Songs for Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King. Los Angeles Times. December 15, 2005.
- 2.Allmusic. Jerry Lynn Williams.
- 3.Ruhlmann, W. Nine Lives. Allmusic.
- 4.Clapton, E. Clapton: the autobiography. Random House. 217–219. 2007. 978-0-385-51851-2.
- 5.Schumacher, M. Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton. Citadel Press. 256. 2003. 978-0-8065-2466-5.
- 6.Roberty, M. Eric Clapton. Omnibus Press. 122. 1995. 0-7119-4305-2.
- 7.Kaye, Roger. FW's Williams wrote new hit for Clapton. Fort Worth Star-Telegam. 18. May 17, 1985.
- 8.Adkisson, J. The Sad Last Ballad of Jerry Lynn Williams: Divorce Decree Fails To Defeat Fraudulent Transfer Action. Forbes. October 13, 2011.
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Jerry Lynn Williams is recorded as singer-songwriter, composer, singer and musician.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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