One year later, he released a cover of "Lovesick Blues", a huge country hit, which propelled him to stardom on the Grand Ole Opry. A doctor injected Williams with two shots of vitamin B12 that contained morphine. [50], On September 14, 1946, Williams auditioned for Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, but was rejected. A friend of the family denied his claims, but singer Billy Walker remembered that Williams mentioned to him the presence of men in the house being led upstairs. Carr was 17, a freshman on break from Auburn. His funeral was held the next day, Sunday Jan. 4, 1953, at Montgomerys City Auditorium. [63] The songs depicted Luke the Drifter traveling around from place to place, narrating stories of different characters and philosophizing about life. He wrote songs weekly to perform during the shows. Hank Williams became one of America's first country music superstars, with hits like "Your Cheatin' Heart," before his early death at 29. The pain and anguish that led him to drink could be heard in his songs. Alternate titles: Hiram King Williams, the Hillbilly Shakespeare. Regardless, Carr said he next drove to "a cut-rate gas station". Williams said he did not, and those are believed to be his last words. [84], A man named Lewis Fitzgerald (born 1943) claimed to be Williams' illegitimate son; he was the son of Marie McNeil, Williams' cousin. It provided the title for the 1964 biographic film of the same name, which starred George Hamilton. [47] As a result of the new variety of his repertoire, Williams published his first songbook, Original Songs of Hank Williams. That day, Williams could not fly because of an ice storm in the Nashville area; he hired a college student, Charles Carr, to drive him to the concerts. At his mothers request, the concert in Canton went on as planned. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. His mother subsequently demanded that the school board terminate the coach; when they refused, the family moved to Montgomery, Alabama. [133] In May 2014, further radio recordings by Williams were released. [38] The band traveled throughout central and southern Alabama performing in clubs and at private gatherings. His breakthrough moment came in 1949 with the release of Lovesick Blues, an old show tune that Williams parlayed into a chart-topping hit, an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and international fame. He was driving Hank Williams, 29, who died that night. He died in the back seat of his Cadillac while being driven to a gig on New Year's Day 1953. His life and career were the subject of I Saw the Light, a 2015 biopic, starring Tom Hiddleston as Williams and Elizabeth Olsen as his first wife, Audrey. Carr and Williams checked out of the hotel, but the porters had to carry Williams to the car as he was coughing and hiccuping. [43] The recordings "Never Again" and "Honky Tonkin'" became successful, and earned Williams the attention of MGM Records. He showed up unannounced at the family's home in Montgomery. Another researcher decided it could have happened at any of the gas stations near Mount Hope. [24], There are several versions of how Williams got his first guitar. 1 on the country charts for six weeks. During World War II Williams commuted between Mobile, where he worked in a shipyard, and Montgomery, where he pursued a musical career. After determining that Williams was dead, Carr asked for help from the owner of the station who notified the police. [41], The American entry into World War II in 1941 marked the beginning of hard times for Williams. At a Veterans Affairs clinic in Pensacola, Florida, doctors determined that the cause was a brain aneurysm, and Elonzo was sent to the VA Medical Center in Alexandria, Louisiana. 'The Garden Spot Programs' 1950", "Hank Williams' 'The Garden Spot Programs' Named Best Historical Album at the 2015 Grammy Awards", "Tom Hiddleston played country icon Hank Williams in biopic", "File Action to Untangle Hank Williams Estate", "Mother's Best, Hank's Best: A Conversation With Jett Williams and the Students", "The Year's Top Country & Western Artists/The Year's Top Country & Western Records", "PBS 'Country Music' - Native stories of Hank Williams Sr., Loretta Lynn and Peter La Farge", "Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame", "Country Music by Ken Burns Episode 3 The Hillbilly Shakespeare", Listing of all Hank Williams's songs and alternatives, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hank_Williams&oldid=1142672396, Special Awards and Citation for his pivotal role in transforming country music, This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 19:34. Hank Williams Jr. was performing his father, Hank Sr.'s, songs on stage at age 8. [26] His final single released during his lifetime was ironically titled "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive." [89] Dr. P. H. Cardwell injected Williams with two shots of vitamin B12 that also contained a quarter-grain of morphine. Died On: 1953: How old was Hank Williams Sr.? He was very kind, and said Oak Hill General Hospital was six miles on my left," and that would place him in Mount Hope. The day after Williams died, The Montgomery Advertiser recalled Williams as a former peanut vendor who learned to play guitar at age 6. [107] He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame[108] in 1961 and into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1985. Williams and her son, Hank Jr., became estranged after he turned 18. [40] Williams' alcohol use started to become a problem during the tours; on occasion he spent a large part of the show revenues on alcohol. Years of back pain, alcoholism, and prescription drug abuse severely compromised Williams' health. During one of his concerts, Williams met his idol, Grand Ole Opry star Roy Acuff backstage,[43] who later warned him of the dangers of alcohol, saying, "You've got a million-dollar talent, son, but a ten-cent brain. One characteristic of Williams' recordings as "Luke the Drifter" is the use of narration rather than singing. It was at this time that Williams decided to change his name informally from Hiram to Hank. Williams was an American singer-songwriter and musician regarded as one of the most significant country music artists of all time. His song "Your Cheatin' Heart" was written and recorded in September 1952, but released in late January 1953 after his death. [132] Broadcast in 1949, the shows were recorded for the promotion of Hadacol. "Tom [Hiddleston, the actor portraying Williams] puts across that impending sense of doom. The Journal that day reported WSFA received hundreds of calls and telegrams requesting the station play his songs. His childhood was also shaped by his spinal condition, spina bifida, which set him apart from other kids his age and fostered a sense of separation from the world around him. The local record shops sold out of all of their records, and customers were asking for all records ever released by Williams. They began to fill the auditorium hours before the afternoon funeral. Under the name of Dr. C. W. Lemon he prescribed Williams with amphetamines, Seconal, chloral hydrate, and morphine.[6]. In 1951, Williams fell during a hunting trip in Tennessee, reactivating his old back pains. It was her second marriage and his first. Williams was among the first class of artists inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961, and in 2010, the Pulitzer Board awarded him a special citation for songwriting. [37], In August 1938, Elonzo Williams was temporarily released from the hospital. "When I pulled it back up, I noticed that his hand was stiff and cold." The album included unreleased songs. [59] He met Horace "Toby" Marshall in Oklahoma City, who said that he was a doctor. [81] A relationship with a woman named Bobbie Jett during this period resulted in a daughter, Jett Williams, who was born five days after Williams died. In 1946, Williams traveled to Nashville to meet with music publisher Fred Rose and the Acuff-Rose Publications company. The fall reactivated his old back pains. The couple were married in 1944 at a Texaco Station in Andalusia, Alabama, by a justice of the peace. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [3] In October 1952, he married Billie Jean Jones. The station's owner called the local police chief. [93] Dr. Ivan Malinin performed the autopsy at the Tyree Funeral House. Tributes to Williams took place the day after his death. [129][130], Material recorded by Williams, originally intended for radio broadcasts to be played when he was on tour or for its distribution to radio stations nationwide, resurfaced throughout time. A year later he was entering talent shows and had his own band, Hank. Around this time Williams released more hit songs, such as "My Son Calls Another Man Daddy", "They'll Never Take Her Love from Me", "Why Should We Try Anymore", "Nobody's Lonesome for Me", "Long Gone Lonesome Blues", "Why Don't You Love Me", "Moanin' the Blues", and "I Just Don't Like This Kind of Living". [29] In 1937, Williams got into a fight with his physical education teacher about exercises the coach wanted him to do. [70], In November 1951, Williams fell during a hunting trip with his fiddler Jerry Rivers in Franklin, Tennessee. His physical appearance diminished, too. Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Hank Williams, Birth Year: 1923, Birth date: September 17, 1923, Birth State: Alabama, Birth City: Mount Olive, Birth Country: United States. Williams dropped out of school in October 1939 so that he and the Drifting Cowboys could work full-time. Omissions? James Ellis Garner later played fiddle for him. A. Williams and Sheppard married in 1944. [36] So many listeners contacted the radio station asking for more of "the singing kid", possibly influenced by his mother, that the producers hired him to host his own 15-minute show twice a week for a weekly salary of US$15 (equivalent to $300 in 2021). Heart failure and hard living did him in. Charles Carr told the AJC in 2002 he was the only witness when Hank Williams died. An immensely talented songwriter and an impassioned vocalist, he also experienced great crossover success in the popular music market. Instead, Williams died 67 years ago, on Jan. 1, 1953. He attributed the decision to Williams' declining career: "Most of his bookings were of the honky-tonk beer joint variety that he simply hated. [74], In June 1952, he recorded "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)", "Window Shopping", "Settin' the Woods on Fire", and "I'll Never Get out of this World Alive". Now free to travel without Williams' schooling taking precedence, the band could tour as far away as western Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. [111] In 1987, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame under the category "Early Influence". It provided the title for the 1964 biographical film of the same name, which starred George Hamilton as Williams. [88] The two arrived at the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Carr requested a doctor for Williams, who was affected by the combination of the chloral hydrate and alcohol he had consumed on the way to Knoxville. [53], Williams signed with MGM Records in 1947 and released "Move It on Over"; considered an early example of rock and roll music, the song became a country hit. [43] The book only listed lyrics, since its main purpose was to attract more audiences, though it is also possible that he did not want to pay for transcribing the notes. While he was medically disqualified from military service after suffering a back injury caused by falling from a bull during a rodeo in Texas, his band members were all drafted to serve. . [76] In October 1952 he married Billie Jean Jones. After Hawkshaw Hawkins and other performers started singing "I Saw the Light" as a tribute to Williams, the crowd, now realizing that he was indeed dead, followed them. [86] Fitzgerald was interviewed, and he suggested that Lillie Williams operated a brothel at her boarding house in Montgomery. 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. His mother was Audrey, and his step mothers were Bobbie Jett, who had his stepsister, and Billie Gean who was a widow just months after she married Williams, Sr. (Williams para.14). [71] During his recovery, he lived with his mother in Montgomery, and later moved to Nashville with Ray Price. Williams, who wrote most of his songs himself, crafted direct, emotionally honest lyrics that had a poetic simplicity that spoke not only to fans of country and western music but to a much broader audience, as evidenced by the pop hit crooner Tony Bennett had with his cover of Cold, Cold Heart in 1951. Discover Hank Williams' Death Car in Montgomery, Alabama: Cadillac where country's first big star was found dead. [22] At a chance meeting in Georgiana, Williams met U.S. Representative J. Lister Hill while Hill was campaigning across Alabama. They later drove to Oak Hill in search of a hospital, stopping at a Pure Oil station on the edge of town. His name was misspelled as "Hiriam" on his birth certificate, which was prepared and signed when he was 10 years old. The result of the original autopsy indicated that Williams died of a heart attack. When new wife Billie Jean asked what was the matter, she claimed his. He denied any responsibility in both deaths. [clarification needed][20], The body was transported to Montgomery on January 2. Williams wrote the lyrics and used the tune of Riley Puckett's "Dissatisfied". [39] The band started playing in theaters before the start of the movies and later in honky-tonks. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)Getty Images. All Rights Reserved. Long plagued by alcoholism, Williams fell ill at the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville on the last night of 1952. The Georgiana native hired a college student, Charles Carr, to drive him to perform a concert planned in Canton, Ohio. Hank Williams, byname of Hiram Williams, also called the Hillbilly Shakespeare, (born September 17, 1923, Georgiana, Alabama, U.S.died January 1, 1953, Oak Hill, West Virginia), American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who in the 1950s arguably became country musics first superstar. Malinin also found that, apparently unrelated to his death, Williams had also been severely kicked in the groin during a fight in a Montgomery bar a few days earlier[14] in which he had also injured his left arm, which had been subsequently bandaged. [109] When Downbeat magazine took a poll the year after Williams' death, he was voted the most popular country and Western performer of all timeahead of such giants as Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, Red Foley, and Ernest Tubb.[110]. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Wiki User. They had a son together, .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Hank Williams Jr., on May 26, 1949. [46], In 1945, when he was back in Montgomery, Williams started to perform again for the WSFA radio station. The identity of her famous father remained a mystery to her until her early twenties. Killorn stated that the fact that Carr told him it was Hank Williams caused him to remember the incident. Secondly,how did hank williams pass away? They later had a daughter named Irene. This being the days of Jim Crow, the 200 Black mourners were in a segregated balcony. was honored with a Grammy nomination for Best Historical Album. In 1989, the Alabama State Supreme Court ultimately ruled in her favor and found her to be an equal heir, after an old document was recovered that showed Williams and Jett's mother had signed a shared custody agreement. 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. "Long Gone Daddy: A Biography of Hank Williams, Country Music's Tragic Hero". Williams' son, Hank Williams Jr., and widow, Billie Jean Williams Berlin, currently split the royalties. Jeff Wallenfeldt, manager of Geography and History, has worked as an editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica since 1992. [78] His final concert was held in Austin, Texas, at the Skyline Club on December 19. Carr called the Charleston auditorium from Knoxville to say that Williams would not arrive on time owing to the ice storm and was ordered to drive Williams to Canton, Ohio for the New Year's Day concert there. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Williams married singer Audrey Sheppard, who was his manager for nearly a decade. Among other fake titles he claimed to be a Doctor of Science. Despite his relatively brief career, he is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century, especially in country music. He was one of the finest young men that we ever knew, Acuff said. Liquored up and abusing morphine, he collapsed in a hotel room in Knoxville, Tennessee. While he was medically disqualified from military service after suffering a back injury caused by falling from a bull during a rodeo in Texas, his band members were all drafted to serve. It included 10 songs: "Mother Is Gone", "Won't You Please Come Back", "My Darling Baby Girl" (with Audrey Sheppard), "Grandad's Musket", "I Just Wish I Could Forget", "Let's Turn Back the Years", "Honkey-Tonkey", "I Loved No One But You", "A Tramp on the Street", and "You'll Love Me Again". If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. He was severely injured after falling from a truck, breaking his collarbone and suffering a severe blow to the head. Hank Williams, Sr. passed away on January 1, 1953 at 29 years old.Hank Williams Net Worth. His funeral took place on January 4 at the Montgomery Auditorium, with his casket placed on the flower-covered stage. The authors of Hank Williams: The Biography pointed out that "Hank" sounded more "like a hillbilly and western star" than "Hiram". Hank Williams, byname of Hiram Williams, also called the Hillbilly Shakespeare, (born September 17, 1923, Georgiana, Alabama, U.S.died January 1, 1953, Oak Hill, West Virginia), American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who in the 1950s arguably became country music 's first superstar. By the end of 1952, Williams had started to have heart problems. Carr drove through the night as Williams declined his offer to stop for food. Carr stopped at a small all-night restaurant and asked Williams if he wanted to eat. [31], In July 1937, the Williams and McNeils opened a boarding house on South Perry Street in downtown Montgomery. As if straight out of a country song, it was revealed decades later that Williams had fathered a daughter, Jett, who was born shortly after his death. Many artists have covered his songs and he has influenced Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, George Jones, George Strait, Charley Pride, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, among others. Hank jr. was three years old when his father died in 1959. In 1947, he released "Move It on Over", which became a hit, and also joined the Louisiana Hayride radio program. Jett was then legally adopted. Elonzo stayed to celebrate his son's birthday in September before he returned to the medical center in Louisiana. The popular song "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" became a hit for Hank Williams in 1949. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. [112] He was ranked second in CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003, behind only Johnny Cash who recorded the song "The Night Hank Williams Came To Town". [21] Their first house burned down, and the family lost their possessions. "Fan It" and "Alexander's Ragtime Band", recorded by Williams at age 15; the homemade recordings of him singing "Freight Train Blues", "New San Antonio Rose", "St. Louis Blues" and "Greenback Dollar" at age 18; and a recording for the 1951 March of Dimes. [33], He never learned to read music; instead he based his compositions in storytelling and personal experience. The prolific musician and performer wrote songs such as "Your Cheatin' Heart," drank too much whiskey, had family problems. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. His father worked as a logger before entering the Veterans Administration hospital when young Hank was just six. Having interviewed Carr, the best that Peter Cooper of The Tennessean could offer was that "somewhere between Mount Hope and Oak Hill", Carr noticed Williams' blanket had fallen off. The ceremony featured Ferlin Husky interpreting "I Saw the Light". [135][136] The release won a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album. [16] The couple divorced on May 29, 1952. The lanky guitar player with twangy voice began his musical career in Montgomery, singing over WSFA, the newspaper reported. After school and on weekends, Williams sang and played his Silvertone guitar on the sidewalk in front of the WSFA radio studio. All rights reserved (About Us). If he came to this conclusion (of suicide), he still had enough prestige left as a star to make a first-class production of it whereas, six months from now, unless he pulled himself back up into some high-class bookings, he might have been playing for nickels and dimes on skid row. The break had to come, he added. Under Williams' guidance, Sheppard started playing bass and began performing in his band. Hank jr. was three years old when his father died in 1959 His father actually died January 1, 1953, and of course Jr was 3 years old. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. He made his radio debut at age 13; formed his first band, Hank Williams and his Drifting Cowboys, at age 14; and early on began wearing the cowboy hats and western clothing that later were so associated with him. Hank Williams was born Hiram Williams[3] on September 17, 1923,[4] in the rural community of Mount Olive in Butler County, Alabama. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he recorded 55 singles (five released posthumously) that reached the top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, including 12 that reached No. He was only 29. [25] His funeral was said to have been far larger than any ever held for any other citizen of Alabama,[27][21] and the largest event ever held in Montgomery,[28] surpassing Jefferson Davis' inauguration as President of the Confederacy. Their son, Randall Hank Williams (now known as Hank Williams Jr.), was born on May 26, 1949. [27] Payne taught Williams chords, chord progressions, bass turns, and the musical style of accompaniment that he would use in most of his future songwriting.
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