Artist:Hank Williams
Song:I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Album:40 Greatest Hits
Hank Williams wasn't around very long but he was around long enough to become one of the most influential figures in the history of country music. He was born Sept. 12, 1923 in Mount Olive, AL. He learned to play the guitar and sing from a local street musician named Rufus "Tee Tot" Payne. His mom moved the family to Montgomery in 1937 and Williams formed his first group The Singing Cowboys. He landed a radio show on a local station in 1941. In 1943, he met Audrey Mae Sheppard. They married and she became his manager. They went to Nashville in 1946 and Acuff Rose Publishing co-owner Fred Rose had him record a single. This got the attention of MGM Records and Williams signed in 1947. Rose became his manager. This made Williams a national star and he had a number of hits. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry was actually on the B side of My Bucket's Got A Hole In It in 1949. So the song never charted but it has proven to be one of Williams' most enduring songs and has been covered by artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Cassandra Wilson and most notably Al Green. This 2CD comp is very good for beginners. While his professional life was soaring, things weren't going so well in his private life. Williams already had a drinking problem and then his marriage to Audrey was failing. Then he hurt his back in the fall of 1951 and became addicted to painkillers. This got totally out of control and he started showing up to gigs drunk if he showed up at all. He was scheduled to appear in Canton, OH on Jan. 1, 1953. The weather was bad so he hired a driver and went into the back seat of his Cadillac. When the driver was stopped for speeding, the police officer thought there was something wrong. Hank Williams was declared dead at age 29. His final single before his death was I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive. So he may have died young but the power of Hank Williams' music still lives today. Here's a brief Hank Williams documentary courtesy of the fine folks at Fast Focus TV.
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