“Whiskey River,” baby.  Hoarse, throaty, from the gut.  And from the heart.

 

The blues, man.  Like it’s supposed to be sung!  It comes out as if caressed by a sultry hand in a Bourbon Street bistro, and it is about as foreign to this spot as Cajun cuisine.

 

“Wow,” you think, “this lady has it,” even as the country music crowd gives her a short, polite round of applause.

 

Susan Williams might chuckle over the word ‘sultry’. Still, the long, blonde locks and eye-friendly face & figure do little to disabuse an onlooker of the notion.

 

But it is the music that shines through.

 

“What I try to put forth to people is the passion I feel for the song,” she says.  “I have to feel it.  If I don’t feel passion for a song… if I don’t feel it in my heart and soul… I stop doing it.”

 

In another venue, she would have had the crowd eating out of her hand.  But these were mostly hillbilly music fans – salt of the earth country folk drawn to the Bradley VFW quite simply because there is not much live entertainment, and very little dancing space elsewhere.  “Boot-Scootin’ Boogie” and line dancing are their staples.

 

But Williams can sing country.  Indeed that is what she is known best for throughout the Kankakee region.  In fact, she says, “I consider myself very eclectic and versatile, both as an entertainer and a person.”

 

The outgoing mother of six laughs easily as she talks about herself.  But you know that – except for her children – music is the center of her life, not Susan Williams.

 

In fact, she not only has her own band – appropriately named the Susan Williams Band – she has hooked up with another ensemble, Silver Nickel, “from just south of Kankakee.”  And, she regularly takes part in jam sessions, all so she can perform as much as possible.

 

She repertoire includes rock as well as country and the blues – though it is the latter that has captured her heart.

 

“My taste has definitely evolved,” notes the country girl from little Fithian, IL. “I used to be a straight country singer.”

 

Nature played a role, too.  “My voice just naturally evolved as I got older,” the pert song stylist says.

 

“When I was young, I had a very clear soprano.  As my voice changed, I started listening to blues, and I started loving it”

 

Susan showed her musical talent early in Fithian, pop. 512, taking piano lessons, playing in the high school band and singing in the chorus and a church choir.  She even spent a couple of years with an Illinois spin-off Up With People – the upbeat group that tried to spread a little joy in the 1970’s.

 

Throw in a stint as a cheerleader, and she was a very busy girl.

 

Come graduation, she hied off to Charleston, a veritable metropolis compared to Fithian.  There, she acquired a bachelor’s degree in special education from Easter Illinois University and prepared for a career in education – the bright lights of show business only a dim mirage.

 

Eventually, she acquired a master’s degree in counseling (Northern Illinois University) and school administration (Southern Illinois University).  Along the way, she landed a job as a counselor at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School – her introduction to the Kankakee area.

 

Susan, whose children range in age from 10 to 25 years old, currently is dean of students at Tinley Park High School.

 

All that is fine, but it doesn’t explain how she became a professional 10 years ago.

 

“Actually,” she recalls, “it was pretty much accidental.  I sang at church, and the organist, who owned a music studio, approached me about joining a band he was putting together.”

 

Susan “got her sea legs” performing a couple of years before moving to upstate New York where she “had a couple bands.”  After eight years, she ventured into the Kankakee area.

 

“I came back here in 1997 and worked for the Onarga Academy for three years as a clinical supervisor,” she says.  “Then I got a job at Bourbonnais (BBCHS) for a couple years.”

 

Still harboring dreams of hitting the big time in music, the talented songstress had recorded a single and is working on a CD.

 

She also writes songs, which draw enthusiastic responses in the area.

 

“The single was an original,” she notes.

 

Meantime, she keeps as busy as possible, pulling gigs with the two bands locally at Pauley’s Pub, the Bradley VFW, the Kankakee Boat Club, Shooters and anyplace else looking to draw a crowd.

 

One of her favorite venues is a den of talent in Lockport, Carter’s Place.

 

“It’s just a basement neighborhood bar,” she says, “but they draw great talent!  It’s a lot of fun.”

 

Would she change anything?

 

“If I had it to do over again, I would have pursued it (show business) at a younger age.”

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