Joy Williams (born Joy Elizabeth Williams on November 14, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter. The winner of four Grammy Awards, Williams released her self-titled debut in 2001. She was half of The Civil Wars duo from 2009 until 2014. Williams grew up in Santa Cruz, CA. At 17, she signed a recording contract with PLG/SonyBMG and moved to the friendly, muggy town of Nashville, TN. She co-wrote and recorded several albums and realized after 7 years of being on the road full time that it was song-writing that kept tugging at her heart.