Born to Ride

An Atlanta artist-transportation driver, her van and its massive autograph collection

Little did Kim Williams know, as she was growing up playing pinball in her parents’ local bar, that someday she would be driving around the pinball wizards themselves: Roger Daltrey and Simon Townshend of The Who.

Williams, an Ohio native, bounced around from South Carolina to Kentucky, where she dipped her foot in radio broadcasting, and then landed back in South Carolina before making her forever home in the Peach State and finding her dream job in artist transportation.

“Atlanta was calling my name,” Williams says of answering an ad that stated, “Do you like the opposite sex? Do you like rock ‘n’ roll? We’ve got the job for you!” However, rather than being an entryway into her current career, it turned out to be a gig selling pots and pans out of the trunk of her car, a gig she quickly knew was not for her.

After supporting her move to Atlanta, Williams’ mother told her that she had to sink or swim. Williams began serving at Red Lobster and then obtained a job at The Beer Mug, a bar she describes as “a local Cheers.” Located down the street from the famous Atlanta music venue, Center Stage, The Beer Mug was often filled with more than just brews. Musicians and industry folk alike would gather there, connecting over open-mic nights and loud music. Finding comfort in music and her childhood memories of growing up in a bar, Williams had found her people.

Not long after she began to serve at The Beer Mug, Williams met a woman named Simone, a promotions representative who oversaw staffing for large productions and events, including the 1996 Olympics. Williams’ relationship with Simone fueled her career in artist transportation. Simone needed someone to run errands during events and productions, including the picking up and dropping off of athletes and artists. Williams’ experience in the hospitality and service industries, coupled with her love for music and an innate ability to feel comfortable in any environment, made her the right woman for the job.

Two weeks after her first transportation gig, Williams found herself behind the wheel of a 15-passenger van in heavy Atlanta traffic, “white-knuckled with cars speeding by” as she recounts. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her: “Oh my gosh, if it goes bad today, I’ll not only kill myself, I will kill Bob Dylan, too!” Although the experience was nerve-wracking, Williams knew she had found her calling, and thenceforth became Atlanta’s most underestimated asset to the production and events community.

Ever since and for more than 20 years, Williams has been driving the greats around Atlanta. The list of artists includes notables like Bonnie Raitt, Derek Trucks, The Allman Brothers, The Pixies, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton, Fleetwood Mac and The Grateful Dead.

Williams recalls an instance when she first began transporting artists when she was still using her personal vehicle, a white Nissan Altima, to drop Vanilla Ice off at the airport. According to Williams, as he exited the car, he asked, “Well, don’t you want me to sign something?” Looking around frantically and seeing nothing for him to autograph, Williams replied, “Sure, sign my visor!”

This was the start of a glorious tradition, one that really took off once she took ownership of a proper transportation vehicle.

After that first airport autograph encounter, anytime Williams transported an artist, she had them sign the interior of her van. One time she was transporting one of her favorite artists, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. Like Vanilla Ice, Cornell asked Williams if she wanted him to sign her van, an offer which she obviously welcomed.

According to Williams, Cornell asked, “Well, what do you want me to write?” Williams replied, “Ideally, you would write ‘Chris loves Kim,’ so if I am having a bad day, I can look up and see that not only does God love me, but Chris Cornell does, too!” Cornell proceeded to do just that. Williams speaks highly of the late musician, claiming he was a “smart, kind, witty soul.”

Another of Williams’ most memorable experiences was when Elton John and his full band signed the van and took pictures with her after their performance at Center Stage during their The Captain and the Kid tour in the mid-aughts. Of course, she has story after story of similar encounters with the greats, and she says she feels grateful and blessed to have experienced such connection with them.

The storied van, which Williams calls Kim’s Rock Ride, is now retired and tucked away in a storage unit. Although she visits it often, Williams knows she cannot hold onto it forever, is open to taking offers for it and has even inquired about having the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame use it for an exhibit. As for that Nissan Altima, she sold it – but not before tearing out the visor for posterity.

To see an updated and comprehensive list of the many autographs Williams has compiled over the years, visit https://www.facebook.com/kimsrockride