On January 1, 1953, as the story goes, Hank Williams was scheduled to play a concert in Canton, OH. Due to bad weather in Knoxville, where Williams had spent the holidays, he was unable to fly.
He hired a chauffeur by the name of Charles Carr to drive him from Knoxville to Canton. Shortly before leaving, Williams had a doctor inject him with a shot of B12 and morphine. He rode off in the back seat of a Cadillac, carrying a bottle of whiskey with him.
When seventeen year-old chauffeur Charles Carr pulled over at an all-night service station in Oak Hill, West Virginia, he couldn’t wake Williams. Upon closer examination, it was discovered that Hank Williams was dead.
The last official release from Williams was, "I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive."
* * * * *
Album Title: Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits
Original Release Date: 1978
Compact Disc Release Date: 1990
Label: Polygram
When this album was first released back in 1978, I didn’t even bother to buy it. I borrowed it from a friend and recorded it on cassette. That was the way of the world back then. (Not so different from today, except the formats have changed, you don’t record anymore, you download.) Back then, no self-proclaimed rock and roller would have been caught dead buying a country album. Even though there was at the time, and it has been revisited since, a school of thought that Hank Williams was the prototype for the rock and roll lifestyle.
He certainly meets all of the criteria.
I wasn’t much of a country fan in those days, I’m still not today, but I do like ‘old time country‘ or what is sometimes referred to as Country Swing or Country and Western. Not only is old time country a precursor to rock and roll, it’s history is steeped in folk, blues and plain old down home music. Sort of the original DIY sound.
Hank Williams rise to stardom began in Montgomery, Alabama in the late 1930's. Originally known as "The Singing Kid", Hank hosted a local radio show on WSFA. It wasn’t long before he put together a band called the Drifting Cowboys and they began playing in roadhouses and juke joints all over the South.
In 1947, Williams signed a deal with what was then a start-up label, M-G-M. Although, it took awhile, Hank‘s "Lovesick Blues" was the surprise hit of 1949. It earned Hank and the band a spot on a new radio show called "Louisiana Hayride".
Later, in 1949, Hank scored two more monster hits with "Wedding Bells" and "Mind Your Own Business". And the hits just kept on coming until Hank was invited to the Grand Ole Opry.
Even though personal problems would eventually cost him his health, his marriage and his spot on the Opry, Hank remained a force on the country charts with smash hits like "Cold Cold Heart", "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" and "Your Cheatin' Heart".
Although Hank only recorded sixty-six songs, fifty of which he wrote, his catchy melodies and vocal stylings are unmistakable, and for country music fans, Hank truly is the father of country music.
"Hank Williams: 40 Greatest Hits" is a celebration of this truly original American artist. Listen closely, these songs tell the story of heartache, loneliness and love.
If you aren’t familiar with the Hank Williams catalog, this is the place to start.
He hired a chauffeur by the name of Charles Carr to drive him from Knoxville to Canton. Shortly before leaving, Williams had a doctor inject him with a shot of B12 and morphine. He rode off in the back seat of a Cadillac, carrying a bottle of whiskey with him.
When seventeen year-old chauffeur Charles Carr pulled over at an all-night service station in Oak Hill, West Virginia, he couldn’t wake Williams. Upon closer examination, it was discovered that Hank Williams was dead.
The last official release from Williams was, "I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive."
* * * * *
Album Title: Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits
Original Release Date: 1978
Compact Disc Release Date: 1990
Label: Polygram
When this album was first released back in 1978, I didn’t even bother to buy it. I borrowed it from a friend and recorded it on cassette. That was the way of the world back then. (Not so different from today, except the formats have changed, you don’t record anymore, you download.) Back then, no self-proclaimed rock and roller would have been caught dead buying a country album. Even though there was at the time, and it has been revisited since, a school of thought that Hank Williams was the prototype for the rock and roll lifestyle.
He certainly meets all of the criteria.
I wasn’t much of a country fan in those days, I’m still not today, but I do like ‘old time country‘ or what is sometimes referred to as Country Swing or Country and Western. Not only is old time country a precursor to rock and roll, it’s history is steeped in folk, blues and plain old down home music. Sort of the original DIY sound.
Hank Williams rise to stardom began in Montgomery, Alabama in the late 1930's. Originally known as "The Singing Kid", Hank hosted a local radio show on WSFA. It wasn’t long before he put together a band called the Drifting Cowboys and they began playing in roadhouses and juke joints all over the South.
In 1947, Williams signed a deal with what was then a start-up label, M-G-M. Although, it took awhile, Hank‘s "Lovesick Blues" was the surprise hit of 1949. It earned Hank and the band a spot on a new radio show called "Louisiana Hayride".
Later, in 1949, Hank scored two more monster hits with "Wedding Bells" and "Mind Your Own Business". And the hits just kept on coming until Hank was invited to the Grand Ole Opry.
Even though personal problems would eventually cost him his health, his marriage and his spot on the Opry, Hank remained a force on the country charts with smash hits like "Cold Cold Heart", "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" and "Your Cheatin' Heart".
Although Hank only recorded sixty-six songs, fifty of which he wrote, his catchy melodies and vocal stylings are unmistakable, and for country music fans, Hank truly is the father of country music.
"Hank Williams: 40 Greatest Hits" is a celebration of this truly original American artist. Listen closely, these songs tell the story of heartache, loneliness and love.
If you aren’t familiar with the Hank Williams catalog, this is the place to start.
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