~
He relocated to
Georgiana with his family, where he met
Rufus Payne,
who gave him guitar lessons in exchange for meals or money. Payne had a
major influence on Williams' later musical style, along with
Roy Acuff (
link below) and
Ernest Tubb (
link below). Williams would later relocate to
Montgomery, where he began his music career in 1937, when producers at radio station
WSFA hired him to perform and host a 15-minute program. He formed the
Drifting Cowboys backup band, which was managed by his mother, and dropped out of school to devote his time to his career.
photographer unknown
After recording
Never Again and
Honky Tonkin with
Sterling Records, he signed a contract with
MGM Records. In 1947, he released
Move It on Over (my favorite song by him and the basis for
Rock Around the Clock by
Bill Haley & His Comets) (
link below), which became a hit, and also joined the
Louisiana Hayride radio program.
After an initial rejection, Williams joined the
Grand Ole Opry. He was unable to read or
notate music to any significant degree. Among the hits he wrote were
Your Cheatin' Heart,
Hey, Good Lookin' and
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.
He was born with a mild undiagnosed case of
spina bifida occulta, a disorder of the spinal column, which gave him lifelong pain. After ears of back pain, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse severely
compromised his health. In 1952, he was dismissed
by the
Grand Ole Opry because of his unreliability and alcohol abuse. On
New Year's Day 1953, he
died suddenly while traveling to a concert in
Canton, Ohio
at the age of 29. There is some controversy as to the cause of his death (
links below).
Tributes to Williams took place the day after his death. His body was
initially transported to Montgomery and placed in a silver coffin shown
at his mother's boarding house. The funeral took place on January 4 at
the
Montgomery Auditorium, in
Alabama, where an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 attended while the auditorium was filled with 2,750 mourners.
His final single released during his lifetime was ironically titled
I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive.
Your Cheatin' Heart
was written and recorded in 1952 but released in 1953 after Williams's
death. The song was number one on the country charts for six weeks. It
provided the title for the 1964 biographic film of the same name, which
starred
George Hamilton.
The Cadillac in which Williams was riding just before he died is now
preserved at the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.
Despite his short life, Williams is one of the most
celebrated and influential popular musicians of the 20th century,
especially in regards to
country music.
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A - Move It On Over
Side 1:
B - (Last Night) I Heard You Crying In Your Sleep
Companies, etc.
Record Company – Loew's Incorporated
Credits:
Written By Hank Williams
Notes:
Original pressing on shellac
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Barcode (Stamped side A): 10033A 6 G
Barcode (Stamped side B): 10033B 7 S
Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys – Move It On Over / (Last Night) I Heard You Crying In Your Sleep
Label: MGM Records – 10033
Format: Shellac, 10", 78 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1947
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country, Honky Tonk
Viewfinder links:
Roy Acuff & the Smoky Mountain Boys
Bill Haley & His Comets ~ (We're Gonna Rock Around the Clock)
Ernest Tubb
Net links:
Hank Williams website
Hank Williams Museum
Biography.com ~ bio
Fox News ~ Jett Williams: Dad had little-known funny side
PBS.org ~ American Masters: About Hank Williams
NPR ~ Hank Williams' Lost Music: Rare And Resurfaced
USA Today ~ What happened that may have killed Hank Williams?
Access Atlanta ~ Hank Williams' last ride
YouTube links:
Move It on Over
Jambalaya
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Hey, Good Lookin'
Hank Williams A&E Biography (2000) (45 min., 36 sec.)
Styrous® ~ Monday, September 17, 2018
