Hank Williams (Singer)

Hank Williams
Singer, Songwriter

Hiram Williams was born on September 17, 1923 in Mount Olive, Butler County, Alabama. At age three, Williams sat with her mother as she played the organ at Mount Olive Baptist Church. Williams got his first musical instrument, a harmonica, at age six, and his first guitar at age eight.

In the fall of 1933, Williams was sent to live with his aunt and uncle in Fountain, Alabama. Williams learned to play basic guitar chords from his aunt. Williams met a street performer, Rufus Payne. Payne taught Williams guitar until his family moved to Montgomery. Williams later credited him as the provider of the only musical training he ever had. He never learned to read music; Written based on personal experience.

In 1937, Williams decided to unofficially change his name from Hiram to Hank. He participated in a talent show at the Empire Theater and won first prize singing his first original song, "WPA Blues". Williams wrote the lyrics. He attracted the attention of WSFA producers who occasionally invited him to broadcast with Dad Crysel's band.

Williams' successful radio show spurred his entry into a music career, and he started his own band, "the Drifting Cowboys". The band traveled throughout central and south Alabama performing at clubs and private gatherings. Williams left school in October 1939 and began traveling west Georgia and the Florida panhandle. Meanwhile, between tour schedules, Williams returned to Montgomery to host his radio show.

Williams' heavy drinking caused many of their members to quit the band, and he was fired by the WSFA in August 1942. Then in 1942, he started working in a shipbuilding company. In 1943, Williams met Audrey Sheppard in the town of Banks, Pike County, Alabama. Shepard told Williams that she wanted to help him restore his radio show and that they should move to Montgomery and start a band. The couple married in 1944 in Andalusia, Alabama.

In 1945, back in Montgomery, Williams returned to WSFA radio. He published his first songbook, Original Songs by Hank Williams. On September 14, 1946, Williams auditioned for the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville at the recommendation of Ernest Tubb, but was rejected. He then went to the recently formed music publishing company Acuff-Rose Music. Fred Rose signed Williams to a six-song contract. On December 11, 1946, Williams recorded his first recording session. The songs were successful.

Williams signed with MGM Records in 1947 and released "Move It On Over," which became a country hit. In 1948, he moved to Shreveport, Louisiana and joined the "Louisiana Hayride" show. He performed throughout western Louisiana and eastern Texas, always returning on Saturdays for the show's weekly broadcast. After a few more mediocre hits, in 1949 he released the song "Lovesick Blues". The song was number one on the Billboard charts for four consecutive months.

Williams made his Grand Ole Opry debut on June 11, 1949, where he received six encores. He again formed Drifting Cowboy. Audrey Williams gave birth to Randall Hank Williams (Hank Williams Jr.) that year. In 1949, he joined the first European tour of the Grand Ole Opry, performing in Germany and Austria. Williams had five songs that ranked in the top five Billboard Hot Country Singles that year.

In November 1951, MGM Records released Williams' debut album, "Hank Williams Sings". On November 14, 1951, Williams traveled to New York where he made his first television appearance with Perry Como on CBS's Perry Como Show. There he sang "Hey Good Looking". In the spring of 1952, Williams flew twice to New York City with his band and a Grand Ole Opry troupe and appeared in two episodes of the nationally broadcast show.

In 1952, Williams had a brief extramarital affair with dancer Bobby Jett, which resulted in their daughter Jett Williams. Audrey Williams divorced him that year. During this time, he met Billie Jean Jones, girlfriend of country singer Faron Young, at the Grand Ole Opry. Williams began visiting her frequently in Shreveport, causing him to miss many Grand Ole Opry appearances.

On August 11, 1952, Williams was fired from the Grand Ole Opry for being drunk and absent from the show. He returned to Shreveport and performed on various radio shows. In October 1952 he married Billie Jean Jones. His last recording session was on September 23, 1952. In late 1952, Williams began having heart problems. The final concert of his 1952 tour took place on December 19 in Austin, Texas. Williams' last known public performance was on December 21 in Montgomery.

Williams was scheduled to perform at the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston, West Virginia on December 31, 1952. That day, Williams was unable to fly due to a snowstorm in the Montgomery area; he hired a college student, Charles Carr, to take him to concerts. On December 30, Williams and Carr stopped at a hotel in Birmingham, Alabama.

The next morning, they drove to Fort Payne and then to Knoxville, Tennessee. Williams and his driver then took a flight to Charleston, but bad weather forced the plane back to Knoxville. Back in Knoxville, the two arrived at the Andrew Johnson Hotel and Carr requested a doctor for Williams. The Doctor gave treatment.

Carr and Williams checked out of the hotel, but the porters had to carry Williams to the car due to his poor health. Williams had severe hiccups. Carr spoke on the phone with Toby Marshall, who informed him that the Charleston show was canceled and that he instead instructed him to take Williams to a New Year's Day concert in Canton, Ohio.

Around midnight on January 1, 1953, the two crossed the Tennessee state line and arrived in Bristol, Virginia. Carr stopped at a small restaurant and hired a driver, because he felt tired after driving for 20 hours. Driver Don left the restaurant with Carr and Williams. They drove until they stopped for fuel and coffee at a gas station in Oak Hill, West Virginia, where they realized Williams was dead. The owner of the station called the local police.

On January 2, Williams' body was taken to Montgomery, Alabama, and put on display at his mother's boarding house for two days. His funeral was held on January 4 at the Montgomery Auditorium. Williams' remains were interred at the Oakwood Annex in Montgomery.

Years Active: 1937–1952.

Hank Williams Songs

* I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (1949)

* Lovesick Blues (1949)

* Mind Your Own Business (1949)

* Wedding Bells (1949)

* Long Gone Lonesome Blues (1950)

* Moanin' the Blues (1950)

* My Bucket's Got a Hole in It (1950)

* Why Don't You Love Me (1950)

* Cold Cold Heart (1951)

* Hey Good Looking (1951)

* Howlin’ at the Moon (1951)

* Crazy Heart (1951)

* I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You) (1951)

* Baby We're Really in Love (1952)

* Half as Much (1952)

* Honky Tonk Blues (1952)

* Jambalaya (On the Bayou) (1952)

* Setting the Woods on Fire (1952)

* I'll Never Get out of This (1953)

* Kaw-Liga (1953)

* Take These Chains From My Heart (1953)

* Your Cheatin' Heart (1953)