Ned Williams (1927-1996) was born in Wolf Lake, Illinois on February 23, 1927. The son of Frank and Roxie Williams, he grew up near
the Shawnee National Forest and later attended school in Preston, Illinois. After graduating high school, Williams worked in various careers including as a farmer, merchant seaman, truck driver, and sign painter. In 1962, Williams joined ASCAP as a song writer, collaborating with songwriters like R.D. Copp, Fannie Kirk, John B. Skipper, and Betty Syme. Williams published popular songs including a songbook entitled
Songs of the Shawnee Hills (
The score for which is presumed lost). He also wrote two operas including
The Christ Story and
The Drifter (scores also presumed lost). Williams's songs were self-published under his Supersonic Music and Cave Man Records labels, which were both based out of Wolf Lake, Illinois. Cave Man Records, an affiliate of Globe Recording Studios of Nashville, also recorded several country and western, western swing, rhythm and blues, and rockabilly artists in the early 1960s. Some of the recording artists that recorded with Cave Man include: Jimmy Evans, Rod Barton, Jeff Samson and
the Western Band, JoAnn Auburn (aka Damita), and Sonny Marshall. Williams died in Dongola, Illinois on January 17, 1996.
Sources:US Census Records and Grave Index
American Songpoem Archives, entry on Globe Recording: http://www.songpoemmusic.com/labels/globe.htm
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