HANK WILLIAMS

Hank Williams died a few weeks before I was born and little was I to know growing up in those times how momentously sad a day that was. I identify with Hank on a number of levels and we seem to have had a similar back condition which has caused me pain all my adult life and given me to try to self medicate it away. Fortunately (for me) times change and what with pain management from my doctors and a fine osteopath (who I consider saved my life) I have managed it and there but for a fortune . . . . .etc etc

Hank, in my humble opinion, was the creator of the structure of the modern pop song that only really gave up being used in the late seventies with punk and avant-garde contemporary music makers of 'pop'

The verse chorus verse chorus bridge verse chorus structure is mostly down to him! 

On this day in music history: January 1, 1953 - Country music icon Hank Williams dies en route to a concert performance in Canton, OH. The famed country singer and songwriter hires a college student named Charles Carr to drive him to a New Years Day concert performance in Ohio after having to cancel a New Years Eve concert in Charleston, WV, unable to fly because of bad weather. Williams, though only twenty nine years old at the time, he is in poor health due to the abuse of prescription drugs and alcoholism (a result of him self medicating because of chronic back pain from an undiagnosed case of spina bifida). They only get as far as Knoxville, TN before they need to stop at a hotel for Williams to rest and be seen by a doctor. The singer already has chloral hydrate and alcohol in his system when the doctor gives him two injections of vitamin B12 laced with morphine. After that, Carr and Williams continue on their road trip, stopping at a restaurant in Bristol, VA. The driver asks if Williams is hungry and he’ll reply, “no”. It is the last time Hank Williams is seen alive by anyone. Carr continues driving, stopping at a gas station in Oak Hill, when he notices that Williams is lying in the back seat of the car, unresponsive. The police are summoned and confirm that Williams is deceased. The official cause of death is heart failure caused by the combination of controlled substances and alcohol in his system. Hank Williams is laid to rest in his hometown of Montgomery, AL on January 4, 1953, with 2,750 mourners attending his funeral, and between 15 - 25,000 fans filing past his silver casket. Most ironically, Williams last single released in his lifetime is the prophetically titled “I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive” in November of 1952. The song hits the top of the Billboard Country singles chart on January 24, 1953, just three and a half weeks after his death. In his brief five year recording career, Hank Williams establishes himself as one of the most influential musicians in history, helping to broaden the popularity of country music across numerous genres with his simple, direct and heartfelt approach to songwriting and performing.

thanks to Jeff Harris' wonderful blog

It was Hank Williams who made me look for similar singers and through him I found the Delmore Brothers, Wayne Rainey and Moon Mullican to name but a few
Love that high and lonesome sound!

My dear mum had an ear for an early pop song and I recall her singing 'Hey Good Lookin' and Jambalaya was sung in every folk club up and down the land here in the UK. 









beans and biscuits . . . . . .