MOBILE, Ala. -- A year ago, Mobilian Carla Williams was an aspiring country singer with high hopes and a freshly minted album.
As of this week, it's official: She's an aspiring country singer with high hopes and a freshly inked contract with an established Nashville independent label.
The deal was struck a few weeks back, but a formal signing ceremony on Tuesday made it public: Carla Williams is the latest addition to the roster of Lofton Creek Records. The label's current lineup of artists includes Mark Chesnutt, and Alabama-based group Heartland was on Lofton Creek when it topped charts a couple of years ago with "I Loved Her First."As an independent label, Lofton Creek might not have the clout of Universal or Sony. But Mobile songwriter and filmmaker Milton Brown, who has served as one of Williams' producers and mentors, said the deal immediately gives her two invaluable things:
"Distribution. And credibility."
One thing all involved parties seem to agree on is that landing this deal, while exciting, isn't quite the same thing as winning the lottery.
Williams, a divorced mother of three, said she doesn't expect to quit her day jobs: modeling and working part-time at a family business.
Brown said it sets the stage for work to come. "This is the first baby step," he said. "It is a hard road today."
And Mike Borchetta, co-founder and president of Lofton Creek, said he emphasized that same message to Williams at Tuesday's signing ceremony.
"I explained to her today, I said, it's a journey, it's not a quick trip," he said.
For Williams, that comes as nothing new. Her journey began quite a while back, when she first approached Brown after finding him on www.myspace.com. She was looking for someone to advise her on a career as an entertainer, and he has no small amount of related experience: He wrote and directed the 2002 movie "Mi Amigo" and also has been active for decades as a songwriter. Probably his best-known tune is the theme song to the Clint Eastwood movie "Every Which Way But Loose."
Brown thought he saw some potential, and he contacted an old friend, composer and songwriter Steve Dorff, whose credits include several Emmy and Grammy nominations and more than a dozen Top 10 songs. Dorff also thought he saw something there.
They worked to select material for her debut album, and to make it as polished a recording as possible. The result was "I'm Home," a collection of radio-friendly songs that showcased Williams' rich, mature voice.
In March 2008, when Williams was first profiled in the Press-Register, they had reached a curious point. The album was complete, but no one in Nashville had heard it, or seen Williams perform.
They hired Higgins Music Group, a Nashville-based radio promotion company, to get the music out to radio stations and other potentially interested parties. That process led, ultimately, to this week's signing ceremony.
Asked if this gives him a sense of vindication, Brown demurred. "I really don't look at it that way," he said. "It really wasn't about Steve and me."
"But it is just confirmation of what Steve and I saw that made us want to get involved, to see just how far she could go," he said.
He thinks Williams' strength is a warmth that comes through particularly on ballads.
"As you listen to the album, you just begin to feel like you're listening to a friend," he said.
For Williams, the emotions are still taking shape.
"It's hard to fathom, even signing with a label," she said.
By last week, her name and photo were on prominent display at www.loftoncreekrecords.com.
"It's amazing. It was up for a few days before I even realized it," she said. "That was a really surreal moment, seeing myself as a Lofton Creek artist."
