Victoria Williams may now be living quietly in California’s Joshua Tree; however, at one point, she was carving out a path as one of the most distinctive voices in American rock – both as a lyricist as well as a guitar slinger – and opening for the likes of Neil Young.
“I never play the same solo twice,” Williams told Guitar World back in 1995. “And that’s pretty dangerous, ’cause you never know what you’re going to get.”
On her third studio album, Loose, her lead guitar chops are on full display on several tracks, with her percussive soloing style evoking Young’s. Williams had crossed paths with the Godfather of Grunge in 1993, when she landed a support slot on his tour.
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“I got to know Neil when he asked me to open for him after he heard the version of Don’t Let It Bring You Down that I did on The Bridge, the Neil Young tribute album.
“He was supposed to play the solo on You R Loved, but he couldn’t make it, so I did it myself,” she added.
Around the same time, though, the promising artist’s career nearly came to a tragic end.
“I was on the 23rd show,” Williams told NPR in 2017.
“All of a sudden my hands were numb, and I couldn’t play the guitar, so I’m just standing there, sitting and singing a capella. His manager said, ‘You’ve got to go to the hospital and figure out what’s wrong with you.’”
Williams was eventually diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a long-lasting and degenerative condition of the central nervous system. This meant she had to choose between her budding career and regaining her health. Unable to tour, she was soon overcome by medical bills, when an impressive number of artists stepped in.
“I was mesmerized,” said Sylvia Reed, the late Lou Reed’s second wife. “Her voice and the song, the lyrics were amazing. And I called Lou over and said, “Look at this, look at this…’”
Reed, Pearl Jam, Lucinda Williams, The Waterboys, and a host of other artists came together to release a benefit album – Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams – to help cover her medical costs.
Williams managed to get her health back on track enough to hit the road in 1995. Not only that, the benefit album raised enough funds to kickstart her own foundation, Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, which provides financial support to musicians struggling to make ends meet to this very day.
