Leona Williams was destined to become a country music entertainer. She landed her first radio show at the age of 15, simply called “Leona Sings,” in Jefferson City, Mo. That journey would take her all over the world and allow her to sing before thousands of country music fans.

Williams moved to Nashville, Tenn., in the late 1960s from Vienna, Mo., and was soon recording for Hickory Records, with such hits as “Once More” and “Yes Ma’am, He Found Me In A Honky Tonk.”

Since then, Williams has traveled the world and opened shows for some of country music’s top entertainers and made numerous personal appearances at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

Williams later teamed up with Merle Haggard for a Top 10 duet called “The Bull and the Beaver” and a duet album, “Heart to Heart,” followed. During this time, she wrote some of Haggard’s biggest hits including “You Take Me For Granted” and “Someday When Things Are Good.”

You can hear her harmony vocals on Haggard’s hits “The Way I Am,” “The Roots Of My Raising” and “Big City.” Williams has also teamed up with other artists on recordings such as Gene Watson’s “Cold Summer Day in Georgia,” Vince Gill’s “Living the Way I Do,” Jimmy Martin’s “If Teardrops were Pennies” and George Jones’ “Best Friends.”

Williams released a duets album in 2009 that featured such artists as Jones, Haggard, Johnny Bush, Frankie Miller, Floyd Tillman and Ferlin Husky.

While spending the better part of the past decade headlining some of Branson’s most successful shows, Williams continues to wow her fans in concerts around the world. She recently returned from her fifth consecutive annual tour, entertaining thousands of country music fans from all over Europe.

Williams has had her songs recorded by some of country music’s most popular artists including Jones, Moe Bandy, Randy Travis, Hank Thompson, The Forester Sisters, Tammy Wynette, Gene Watson, Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Ray Price, Johnny Bush, Willie Nelson and Connie Smith.