Chancey Williams’ new hit song “The Ballad of Uncle Don” has hit No. 1 on the CMT Music charts and came about over cup of coffee and chewing the fat with his uncle in Moorcroft, Wyoming.
“My Uncle Don and my dad were both great bronc riders,” the country music star told Cowboy State Daily. “Growing up, we kind of idolized them.”
Because of those role models, Williams rode broncs himself for years in high school and college before turning to music for his career. He retained his love for bronc riding and enjoys listening to his uncle share feats of daring from a bygone era.
“They are historical stories that I don't want to get lost,” Williams said. “I just tend to set my phone down and record him.”
It was one such story that Uncle Don shared while drinking coffee with his nephew that inspired Williams to write his latest hit song.
That ode isn’t just a pure Wyoming cowboy tale, it embodies the spirit of the cowboy way.
‘The Ballad of Uncle Don’
Don Williams had shared a story from his youth that especially caught his nephew’s imagination. He related how a stranger had passed through Moorcroft bragging about a horse he had in Oklahoma that nobody could ride.
Don’s dad, nicknamed Wild Horse Charlie, shook his head at this notion. He knew someone that could ride any horse and told this stranger, “My boy can ride him. Bring him up here.”
“They didn't think he would but a couple months later, this guy shows up with this horse,” Williams said. “He thinks that nobody can ride him.”
Don made a deal. If he could ride the horse, he got to keep him. If he was bucked off, he would give the stranger $500.
The bet was made and Don won, so he loaded his new horse into the back of his pickup.
“It was such a cool story,” Williams said. “Something that you can't really make up.”
It was later in Nashville that Williams was writing one weekend with his producer and another songwriter. They were trying to come up with something to write about, so Williams played the recording of his uncle Don telling the story.
“They're like, ‘Oh my God, that is so cowboy,’” Williams said. “Let's write that.”
The resulting song, “The Ballad of Uncle Don,” has been No. 1 on the countdown show CMT Music 12 Pack for three weeks in a row. Williams has been competing for this spot against other singers such as Kenney Chesney, Melissa Ethridge and Jason Aldean. It has also been downloading more than 1 million times from Pandora.
“It's unbelievable,” Williams said. “It just made it super special because it is a personal song about my uncle.”
Video Shoot In Moorcroft
The music video of the song is also completely authentic.
Kenzie Holmberg of BonaFide Cowboy had been creating social media for Chancey Williams and was an experienced photographer. Since he liked her work, Williams talked Holmberg into shooting and editing the music video for “The Ballad of Uncle Don.”
Holmberg had never shot a music video before but, after some convincing, was willing to give it a try. They decided to shoot the video on location in Moorcroft and drove up to the small town for three days.
The scenes of Chancey with his guitar were shot in his family’s barn and the scenes with Uncle Don drinking coffee, swapping stories and walking around were all shot on Don’s ranch.
“I now have my own wonderful stories from Uncle Don,” Holmberg said. “It was like sitting there and talking with my own grandparents. I loved it and felt like I was transported back in time. That was all it took for me to get the vision for the video.”
Holmberg credits the storyline for the reason the music video is being received so well by Williams’ fans. The bonus was when she discovered that they had actual footage of Don Williams from his bronc days.
“Chancey had mentioned that his aunt had just digitized all of these old recordings of his uncle,” Holmberg said. “I was like, are you serious? This is such a rarity to have this.”
Delighted with the find, Holmberg used the actual footage of Don riding saddle broncs from the 1950s and 1960s. She credits this rare old film footage and the powerful storyline with the success of the music video.
“It was such a cool song to put together and I kept telling Chancey that there is something about this that people are just going to fall in love with,” she said.
Reaching No. 1
“The Ballad of Uncle Don” premiered six weeks ago at the National Finals Rodeo. It was then picked by CMT as a contender for its “12 Pack” show. The top song is voted on by fans, which Williams said is why he feels so honored to have topped the list for the past three weeks.
“Our fans outvoted some of the biggest artists in country music,” Williams said. “Carrie Underwood's on there and Cody Johnson and everybody. So I was like, ‘Wow.’”
He has been encouraging his fans to keep voting on the CMT Music website so that they can retain their status as No. 1.
“You can vote as many times as you want each day,” Williams said. “I think our fans are just really going to town on the voting, which is neat because it shows CMT and the music business how engaged our fans are.”
Inspired by his uncle Don Williams and the joy of bronc riding, Wyoming country music star Chancey Williams’ new song is No. 1 on CMT Music. (Courtesy Chancey Williams via YouTube) 
Inspired by his uncle Don Williams and the joy of bronc riding, Wyoming country music star Chancey Williams’ new song is No. 1 on CMT Music. (Courtesy Chancey Williams via YouTube) 
Inspired by his uncle Don Williams and the joy of bronc riding, Wyoming country music star Chancey Williams’ new song is No. 1 on CMT Music. (Courtesy Chancey Williams via YouTube) 
Chancey Williams was inspired to write and record “The Ballad of Uncle Don” after listening to his uncle Don Williams' stories. (Courtesy Kenzie Holmberg) 
Inspired by his uncle Don Williams and the joy of bronc riding, Wyoming country music star Chancey Williams’ new song is No. 1 on CMT Music. (Courtesy Chancey Williams via YouTube) 
Chancey Williams performing at the Grand Ole Opry. (Courtesy Chancey Williams) 
Behind the scenes on the “Miles On Me” music video. Chancey Williams stressed that he doesn’t smoke cigarettes in real life but did so for the artistic angle that this video took. (Courtesy Kenzie Holmberg) 
Chancey Williams filmed his music video, “The Ballad of Uncle Don”, at his uncle’s ranch in Moorcroft. His uncle Don Williams starred as himself. (Courtesy Kenzie Holmberg) 
Chancey Williams filmed his music video, “The Ballad of Uncle Don”, at his uncle’s ranch in Moorcroft. His uncle Don Williams starred as himself. (Courtesy Kenzie Holmberg) 
In 2004, Chancey Williams was not thinking of a music career but was pursuing a career as a bronc rider. (Courtesy Chancey Williams) 
Chancey Williams aspired to be a bronc rider like his dad and uncle. He grew up in the saddle and went on to win competitions in high school and college. It wasn’t until later that he decided to pursue music as his career. (Courtesy Chancey Williams)
‘Miles On Me’
On Friday, Williams released his latest music video, “Miles On Me”, which Holmberg once again shot and produced.
“While ‘The Ballad of Uncle Don’ is definitely just a literal story, ‘Miles On Me’ is more artsy,” Williams said. “It features scenes of me just driving and kind of thinking about my past. It just felt right.”
Holmberg enjoyed the freedom she had in shooting this latest music video although she was on a tight timeframe for the actual production. She filmed the video in two days of driving around Laramie and had three days to edit.
“We just have fun,” she said. “They've just been natural and candid, and it just sometimes feels too easy.”
As for the song itself, Williams said that he instantly connected with it when it was pitched to him. “Miles On Me” was written by Nashville songwriter Tom Douglas and is about life on the road.
“It is the kind anybody can relate to it,” Williams said. “It is for all of us that's traveled on the road.”
Holmberg shot the video of Williams driving his van at night around Laramie. There is no actual storyline but more of a vibe that is being created.
“It’s more subjective and it's kind of hard to explain,” Williams said. “We shot this video of me daydreaming and thinking back about all the things that I've done. All the miles that I've traveled.”
Showcasing The Real Wyoming
The goals for both Williams and Holmberg for the music videos are to show off the real Wyoming and not the Hollywood version.
“There's a lot of videographers and photographers out there that are great, but if you don't have that eye for what we are, which is cowboys from Wyoming, they can miss on the vision,” Williams said.
“I think the reason why we've been a great pair is both of us have very similar values in the sense of we just want things to be authentic,” Holmberg agreed. “We want to showcase who we are.”
As “The Ballad of Uncle Don” continues to grow in popularity, Williams said his Uncle Don is also enjoying the song and its message.
“He's kind of a quiet, humble old cowboy,” Williams said. “He's told me that he appreciates the song and that it is quite a tribute.”
Contact Jackie Dorothy at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
