New, Never-Before-Heard Don Williams Songs On The Way
Yes, there are new, never before heard recordings from the “Gentle Giant” Don Williams on the way. And no, this is not a false alarm, or some AI gimmick. These are genuine unearthed recordings from the Don Williams vault, giving fans a dozen new recordings from the country legend. And even better, they come from the heyday of Don’s career, originally captured between 1979 and 1984 when Williams was at the height of his powers.
To be released on May 29th, Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes is exactly what it sounds like: never-before-heard recordings discovered in the cellar of the Williams family’s rural Tennessee home on multi-track tapes. The tapes were in workable shape, with Don’s vocal tracks intact across the recordings. Some of the instrumental tracks had deteriorated over time, so they solicited Don’s long-time producer Garth Fundis to help restore the recordings.
“Don liked every one of these songs,” says Garth Fundis. “I remember recording all of them… He was very particular about the songs he recorded and the sound we created for each of them. But if a song didn’t make into an album, it wasn’t necessarily because he didn’t like it. Moreover, it was because of how songs fit together to create an album. I think he’d be thrilled to know that people could hear him sing these new songs they didn’t know existed. I’m certain Don would be proud of this album.”
To restore the tracks, Garth Fundis brought in musicians who toured with Don to help complete the project. This includes Joe Allen on bass, Kenny Malone on drums, Charles Cochran on piano and organ, along with legendary steel guitar player Lloyd Green. Guitarists Jimmy Colvard, Dave Kirby, and Billy Sanford also contributed to the record.
“These songs Dad recorded are—as music can be—a time machine,” Says Don’s son Tim Williams, who also served as an executive producer on the project. “Obviously, I grew up always hearing what he was doing. He’d bring home three to four songs at a time from the album he was working on at different stages. In working on this project, we tried above all to stay true to how Dad approached production, made much easier for me with Garth’s involvement, and then just to stay out of the way of the music.”
Invariably, you will have some accuse these recordings of being AI, just like we saw with the 2025 release of Waylon Jennings archived material called Songbird. But Saving Country Music has double checked, and no, this is not an AI ruse.
In November of 2025, and entire album of fake Don Williams recordings generated by AI populated on all of Don’s streaming accounts. The album has since been taken down, but it became a good illustration of the technological dystopia we’re heading towards, both in music, and in life.
But that’s what makes real unreleased recordings from Don Williams that much more treasured. That voice, that delivery, nothing could ever match, re-create, or mimic it like the real deal. Don was a country music master craftsman, and these unreleased recordings have the opportunity to be as cherished as much as any from his catalog.
Ahead of the album, Don’s version of “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight” has been released. You can see the full track list below.
Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes is available for pre-save/pre-order, including multiple vinyl color variants.
TRACK LIST:
1. Try Me Again
2. You Came True
3. I’m The One (Alternate Version)
4. Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight
5. I Wish I Was Crazy Again
6. I’m In Love For My Last Time
7. Spinning Around
8. A Matter Of Time
9. I’m The One (Original Version)
10. How Can I Miss What I Never Had
11. Goldy’s Gone From Golden
12. Growing On Me
March 25, 2026 @ 7:44 am
Man…that’s a really solid track. Certainly doesn’t sound like fluff and a track that was tossed aside.
March 25, 2026 @ 8:06 am
This is the best news, thanks for sharing!
March 25, 2026 @ 8:16 am
sign me up!!! I miss Don Williams so much, I was almost ok with him being recreated by AI.
March 25, 2026 @ 8:16 am
YESSSSSS!
Take notes, Tim McGraw!
March 25, 2026 @ 3:30 pm
What does McGraw have to do with this, and what notes should he take? How to squirrel away songs to be released after he’s dead? Lolz
March 25, 2026 @ 3:39 pm
How to make real country music.
March 25, 2026 @ 8:17 am
This just made my day! Can’t wait for the album!
March 25, 2026 @ 8:57 am
This is great news…I will be pre-ordering.
March 25, 2026 @ 8:58 am
This is good news! Now if we could get someone to get on the ball and get Merle’s unreleased recordings out it would be fantastic.
March 25, 2026 @ 9:22 am
I’m always intrigued by the lineage of songs that have been passed around. I know the recording period for these songs has been specified as 1979 to 1984, but I genuinely wonder if Don might have recorded this before the Oak Ridge Boys (presumably Don’s did not predate the Emmylou Harris version). Sort of an Out Among the Stars situation, where one version makes it out but the other is held in the vault (though, near as I can tell, Waylon recorded that song first for What Goes Around Comes Aroundin 1979, but the debate seemed to be between Haggard and Cash).
March 25, 2026 @ 9:38 am
I was excited for the Waylon release last year, but I’ve never been an outlaw. Don Williams has always been more my speed, so this is my Super Bowl. I’m absolutely thrilled that this exists, and his version of Leavin’ Louisiana is excellent.
March 25, 2026 @ 9:46 am
@A– I’d guess that Don recorded “Leaving Louisiana” around the same time as the Oak Ridge Boys–in 1979–but before the Oaks released it. After the Oak Ridge Boys’ high-energy version became a #1 hit and they were traveling all over the country (and on the Tonight Show) singing it, there would have been no purpose for Williams to record it. This was long past the era when major country artists would sing OTHER artists’ current hits and include them as album tracks.
That would be a reason why this cut has been unheard…..until now.
March 25, 2026 @ 10:25 am
Awesome!
March 25, 2026 @ 12:16 pm
In Don Williams’ case, it’s a good thing to know what you get.
That was a smart tactic by Don; the first two solo albums varied a bit, a rougher sound. But by the third album, he more or less focused on the “middle of the road” country: smooth vocals, smooth music designed to be as unoffensive as possible, good stories and catchy refrains. He stood out among the (faux) outlaw trend at the time.
Housewives and truck drivers both found a friend in Don.
Unlike so many others, he did this kind of music without the saccharine lacing.
March 25, 2026 @ 12:48 pm
This is the best country music news I’ve heard in 2026. Don Williams is respected but I think he stands side by side with the greats who receive what amounts to worship more than mere praise. There’s not a country singer in the genre’s history I consider better than him. This is going to be awesome.
March 25, 2026 @ 1:01 pm
Best news this year by far
March 25, 2026 @ 2:24 pm
Man, I love Don Williams, and I was really excited until I read this:
“Some of the instrumental tracks had deteriorated over time, so they solicited Don’s long-time producer Garth Fundis to help restore the recordings.”
The vocals were all good, but somehow the instrumental tracks deteriorated over time? Having worked on multi-track tapes, if a section of a tape deteriorates, everything in that part deteriorates. Vocals aren’t somehow immune from the deterioration.
March 25, 2026 @ 2:33 pm
If stuff was overdubbed, like Don’s vocals or certain instruments on different tracks, they could have ended up on different tape reels for archiving, I really don’t know. It might be that the original recordings are fine, and SOME instrument overdubs are what they’re talking about. Either way, I would be so alarmist about it to look this gift horse in the mouth.
As per my AI policy, I pressed them on this issue, and they implored that no AI was involved.
March 25, 2026 @ 2:39 pm
Probably demo recordings with spare instrumentation.
I came across a Buck Owens release by Omnivore Recordings some time ago, lead tracks that Buck recorded for his tv show, quickly recorded with the Buckaroos, never intended for release.
But damn if he didn’t sound better than on most of his latter releases. And it proves my statement; Buck needed the Buckaroos a lot more than they needed him.
March 25, 2026 @ 3:31 pm
Buck was a piece of work.
March 25, 2026 @ 3:43 pm
Really looking forward to these new songs from the boy from Floydada Texas, the Pumpkin Capital of the USA. The Gentle giant , he’s so overlooked, his voice is like well aged Bourbon, if you like that !