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Quick Facts
- NAME: Hank Williams
- OCCUPATION: Songwriter, Singer
- BIRTH DATE: September 17, 1923
- DEATH DATE: January 01, 1953
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Georgiana, Alabama
- PLACE OF DEATH: Oak Hill, West Virginia
- Originally: Hiram King Williams
- AKA: Luke the Drifter
Best Known For
Hank Williams became one of America's first country music superstars, with hits like "Your Cheatin' Heart," before his early death at 29.
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Play NowHank Williams Sr. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 02:18, May 22, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/hank-williams-9532414.
Hank Williams Sr. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/hank-williams-9532414 [Accessed 22 May 2013].
"Hank Williams Sr." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 22 2013, 02:18 http://www.biography.com/people/hank-williams-9532414.
"Hank Williams Sr.," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/hank-williams-9532414 [accessed May 22, 2013].
"Hank Williams Sr.," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/hank-williams-9532414 (accessed May 22, 2013).
Hank Williams Sr. [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 22] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/hank-williams-9532414.
Hank Williams Sr., http://www.biography.com/people/hank-williams-9532414 (last visited May 22, 2013).
Hank Williams Sr. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/hank-williams-9532414. Accessed May 22, 2013.
A year after first meeting with Rose, Williams had his first hit, "Move It On Over." In April 1948 he scored a second Billboard success with "Honky Tonkin.'"
But along with this early success came increased erratic behavior from Williams, who often showed up at live performances drunk. For a time his relationship with Fred Rose deteriorated, but the two were able to mend fences, paving the way for Williams to become a regular on the "Louisiana Hayride,
" a regular Saturday night performance hosted by a radio station in Shreveport.
The performances greatly increased Williams' name recognition, but he still lacked a number one hit. That all changed in 1949 with the release of "Lovesick Blues," a throwaway rendition of an old show tune he'd pushed to tape at the end of a recording session.
The song resonated with music fans, as well as executives at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, who invited Williams to perform.
In ways that must have seemed unimaginable to this poor country boy, Williams' life quickly changed. His stardom put money in his pocket and gave him the kind of creative freedom artists long for. Over the next several years he churned out a number of other big hits, including "Cold, Cold Heart," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Hey Good Lookin'," "Lost Highway," and I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive." He also wrote a number of religious songs under the pseudonym Luke the Drifter.
Troubled Times
As the titles of some of Williams' songs suggest, heartbreak and turmoil were never that far from his life. As his success deepened, so did Williams' dependence on alcohol and morphine. The Opry eventually fired him, and in 1952 he and Sheppard divorced.
His physical appearance diminished, too. His hair began falling out, and he put on 30 extra pounds. In late 1951 he suffered a minor heart attack while visiting his sister in Florida.
A little more than a year later, on December 30, 1952, Williams, newly married to a younger woman named Billie Jean, left his mother's home in Montgomery for Charlestown, West Virginia. Liquored up and abusing morphine, he collapsed in a hotel room in Knoxville, Tennessee. A doctor was called to examine him. Despite his physical failings, Williams was cleared for more travel.
On New Year's Day, he took his seat in the back of his 1952 powder blue Cadillac. As his driver, a young college student, barreled toward West Virginia, Williams' health took a turn for the worse. Finally, after not hearing from the singer for two solid hours, the driver pulled the car over in Oak Hill, West Virginia, at 5:30 in the morning. Williams was pronounced dead a short while later.
His passing did not bring about the end to his stardom, however.
It could be argued, in fact, that his early death only enhanced his legend. If Williams had lived, it's not entirely certain that the Nashville music community, so eager to shed its hillbilly roots, would have continued to embrace Williams' music. In the years since his death, Williams' impact has only grown, with artists as varied as Perry Como, Dinah Washington, Norah Jones and Bob Dylan all covering his work.
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Country Legends
View groupWhen it comes to singing about struggle and emotion, there are few genres that match the intensity of country music. Country music was born from musicians that were brave enough to wear their hearts on their sleeves from happiness to heartache. Because of country icons like Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Jimmie Rodgers, this southern, soulful genre has grown to become loved by many. Browse through the legends that established country music as the popular genre that it is today.
Country Legends 18 people in this group
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Country Music Pioneers
View groupA uniquely American genre, country music got its start in the South in the early 19th century, when immigrants blended their Old World sounds with African-American musical styles. But it was the lives of the musicians, as told in their songs, that turned country into one of the best-loved musical styles in the United States. Listeners could relate to Jimmie Rodgers' stories of the railroad in "The Brakeman's Blues"; Hank Williams' struggle with depression in tunes such as "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"; and the promise of finding someone to rely on in George Jones' "Walk Through This World With Me." And its the universal struggles of love, loss, joy and longing found in each country song that keeps this music—and its performers—relevant throughout time.
Country Music Pioneers 6 people in this group
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Musical Monikers
View groupWhen musicians land big fame, there typically comes a moment of reinvention in which the "rock star" identity is born. This new persona often requires a new name, a way to differentiate between the private and public versions of themselves. Musical monikers take different forms, from the simple, last-name changes aimed at boosting celebrity appeal—like Steven Tyler—to the glamorized version of a childhood nickname—like Jay-Z. Musicians' nicknames and aliases tend to take on an identity all their own over time, often becoming as full of personality as the artists they represent.
Musical Monikers 108 people in this group
