Hank Williams died 70 years ago: 20,000 attended 1953 Alabama funeral He formed the Drifting Cowboys backup band, which was managed by his mother, and dropped out of school to devote his time to his career. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). He had 2 stepmothers and a mother. Among other fake titles, he said that he was a Doctor of Science. Updates? [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. Marshall stated that Williams told him that he had decided to "destroy the Hank Williams that was making the money they were getting". [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). Carr requested a doctor for Williams, who was feeling the combination of the chloral hydrate and alcohol he consumed on the way from Montgomery. [61], In 1950, Williams began recording as "Luke the Drifter" for his religious-themed recordings, many of which are recitations rather than singing. When he tried to move his hands, they snapped back to the same position the hotel porters had arranged him in. He acknowledged that in previous testimony he had falsely claimed to be a physician. Now free to travel without Williams' schooling taking precedence, the band could tour as far away as western Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. [106], On February 8, 1960, Williams' star was placed at 6400 Hollywood Boulevard on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. All Rights Reserved. An immensely talented songwriter and an impassioned vocalist, he also experienced great crossover success in the popular music market. He was one of the finest young men that we ever knew, Acuff said. Cardwell injected Williams with two shots of vitamin B12 that also contained a quarter-grain (16.2 mg) of morphine. 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. Author Colin Escott concluded in his . Carr was exhausted and, according to the police reports, nervous enough to invite suspicion that foul play had been involved in Williams' death. His first wife and his mother were the driving forces behind having the marriage declared invalid, and they pursued the matter for years. Best Answer. [31], In July 1937, the Williams and McNeils opened a boarding house on South Perry Street in downtown Montgomery. The investigating officer in Oak Hill declared later that Carr told him that he had pulled over at the Skyline Drive-In restaurant outside Oak Hill, and found Williams dead. His name was misspelled as "Hiriam" on his birth certificate, which was prepared and signed when he was 10 years old. It's hard to know another's lips will kiss you And hold you just the way I used to do [83] After Williams' death, a judge ruled that the wedding was not legal because Jones' divorce had not become final until 11 days after she married Williams. . 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. A rookie Tennessee highway patrol officer, Swann Kitts, told reporters he had stopped the Cadillac and fined Carr $25 for speeding, The United Press reported on Jan. 2, 1952. Carr and Williams checked out of the hotel at around 10:45p.m. Hotel porters had to carry Williams to his vehicle, an Olympic Blue 1952 Cadillac Series 62 convertible, as he was coughing and hiccupping. He also wrote a number of religious songs under the pseudonym Luke the Drifter. Carr drove through the night as Williams declined his offer to stop for food. Advertisement. The Journal that day reported WSFA received hundreds of calls and telegrams requesting the station play his songs. Hank Williams' last ride: Driver recalls lonesome end - ajc The day after Williams died, The Montgomery Advertiser recalled Williams as a former peanut vendor who learned to play guitar at age 6. Marshall admitted that he had also prescribed chloral hydrate to his recently deceased wife, Faye, as a headache medicine. [19] Carr's account of how he discovered that Williams was dead outside Oak Hill is challenged by Dr. Leo Killorn, a Canadian intern at Beckley hospital, West Virginia, fifteen miles from Oak Hill, who claims that Carr drove up to the hospital and asked him to see Williams. He attributed the decision to Williams' declining career: "Most of his bookings were of the honky-tonk beer joint variety that he simply hated. [33], He never learned to read music; instead he based his compositions in storytelling and personal experience. [97] His funeral was said to have been far larger than any ever held for any other citizen of Alabama, and the largest event ever held in Montgomery. [79], On December 15, 1944, Williams married Audrey Sheppard. [82], On October 18, 1952, Williams and Billie Jean Jones were married by a justice of the peace[83] in Minden, Louisiana. [77], During his last recording session on September 23, 1952, Williams recorded "Kaw-Liga", along with "Your Cheatin' Heart", "Take These Chains from My Heart", and "I Could Never be Ashamed of You". No, Hank Williams Sr is not single. He was dismissed by the Grand Ole Opry because of his unreliability and alcoholism. He was unresponsive and rigor mortis had already begun to set in. Williams told a story in later concerts that attributed his name change to a cat's yowling. By the end of 1952, Williams had started to suffer heart problems. Hank Williams was born in September 1923 in a small Alabama farming community about 70 miles south of Montgomery. Defending his position, he claimed that Williams possibly committed suicide. Lyons recalled how Hank rose from being a shoeshine boy to star of the stage. [63] The songs depicted Luke the Drifter traveling around from place to place, narrating stories of different characters and philosophizing about life. Williams remains a beloved albeit tragic figure in country music and his work continues to influence musicians to this day. [70], In November 1951, Williams fell during a hunting trip with his fiddler Jerry Rivers in Franklin, Tennessee. 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. One famous person of Williams, Jr.'s . Jett was 21 when she realized Williams could be her biological father. 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. After an autopsy, the cause of death was determined to be "insufficiency of the right ventricle of the heart.". In February 2005, the Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling stating that Williams' heirsson, Hank Williams Jr, and daughter, Jett Williamshave the sole rights to sell his recordings made for a Nashville radio station in 1951. Williams had married his second wife, Billie Jean Jones in October 1952, as 14,000 people looked on in Louisiana where Williams hosted radio shows after being fired from the Grand Ole Opry in August of that year. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. (An audio recording of the funeral begins at the 7:30 mark of the video below. She stated that she received after Williams' death a bill for $800 from Marshall for the treatment. Around this time, he met Billie Jean Jones, a girlfriend of country singer Faron Young, at the Grand Ole Opry. His funeral took place on January 4 at the Montgomery Auditorium,[23] with his coffin placed on the flower-covered stage. 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. "[25] An estimated 15,000 to 25,000 people passed by the silver coffin, and the auditorium was filled with 2,750 mourners. He was very kind, and said Oak Hill General Hospital was six miles on my left," and that would place him in Mount Hope. 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. When several of his band members were drafted during World War II, he had trouble with their replacements, and WSFA terminated his contract because of his alcoholism. [59] During 1949, he joined the first European tour of the Grand Ole Opry, performing in military bases in England, Germany and the Azores. Despite his relatively brief career, he is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century, especially in country music. In ways that must have seemed unimaginable to this poor country boy, Williams' life quickly changed. 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". Why was Hank Williams an alcoholic? Williams had also married Sheppard before her divorce was final, on the 10th day of a required 60-day reconciliation period. On the evening of Dec. 30, 1952, the restless, rail-thin 29-year-old tossed and turned in bed at his home in Montgomery, Ala. [28] His musical style contained influences from Payne along with several other country influences, among them Jimmie Rodgers, Moon Mullican, and Roy Acuff. "[36], On March 19, Marshall declared that he felt Williams was depressed and committed suicide by taking a higher dose of the drugs he had prescribed. "I saw that the overcoat and blanket that had been covering Hank had slipped off," Carr told yet another reporter. She was a headstrong, recently divorced mother of a 2-year-old, six months his senior and also a musician. A line of thousands filled two-and-a-half city blocks as the funeral procession carried Hank to Oakwood Cemetery. He purchased the DSC title for $25 from the Chicago School of Applied Science; in the diploma, he requested that the DSc be spelled out as "Doctor of Science and Psychology". [60] Williams released seven hit songs after "Lovesick Blues", including "Wedding Bells",[55] "Mind Your Own Business", "You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)", and "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It". He told Hill that his mother was interested in talking to him about his problems and her need to collect Elonzo's disability pension. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. "I went inside and an older guy, around 50, came back out with me, looked in the back seat, and said, 'I think you've got a problem'. Driver recalls Hank Williams' last ride - Chron Prior to that, duplicates were made and intended to be published by a third party. [134] Gimarc contacted Williams' daughter Jett, and Colin Escott, writer of a biography book on Williams. During an initial hearing, Marshall insisted that he was a doctor, refusing to answer further statements. In 1951, Williams hosted a 15-minute show for Mother's Best Flour on WSM radio. A pop cover version by Tony Bennett released the same year stayed on the charts for 27 weeks, peaking at number one. What if Hank Williams Sr. was still alive? - Quora Copy. Hank Williams decided he wanted to go ahead with the performances he had scheduled on . In 1948, he moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, and he joined the Louisiana Hayride, a radio show broadcast that propelled him into living rooms all over the Southeast appearing on weekend shows. [58] He brought together Bob McNett (guitar), Hillous Butrum (bass), Jerry Rivers (fiddle) and Don Helms (steel guitar) to form the most famous version of the Drifting Cowboys, earning an estimated $1,000 per show (equivalent to $11,400 in 2021) That year Audrey Williams gave birth to Randall Hank Williams (Hank Williams Jr.). Representative Cunningham presented the committee a telegram from Marshall's seized files, directed to the estate of Hank Williams for $736.39, and stated that the committee was evaluating the revocation of Marshall's parole. Williams dropped out of school in October 1939 so that he and the Drifting Cowboys could work full-time. [73] That same year, Williams had a brief extramarital affair with dancer Bobbie Jett, with whom he fathered a daughter, Jett Williams. From The Montgomery Advertiser. In Knoxville, Tennessee, the two stopped at the Andrew Johnson Hotel. [133] In May 2014, further radio recordings by Williams were released. His father worked as a logger before entering the Veterans Administration hospital when young Hank was just six. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. At cafes across the South, the paper added, his songs blared over radios as news of his death spread. The set was re-released on Hank Williams: The Legend Begins in 2011. Carr talked to Williams for the last time when they stopped at a restaurant in Bristol, Virginia. A year after first meeting with Rose, Williams had his first hit, "Move It On Over." Williams' personal life took a major turn in 1943 when he met Audrey Mae Sheppard, who was the mother of a young daughter and had only recently left a messy marriage. It is unimportant whether you liked his songs, whether in your opinion he created ugliness or beauty. 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). [120] The same year, Hank Williams: The Complete Mother's Best RecordingsPlus! Beside Hanks coffin were two large wreaths shaped like guitars, another set of flowers was shaped like a Bible, two lamps were shining purple lights, and in his hands there was a small Bible. [94] He also wrote that Williams had been severely beaten and kicked in the groin recently (during a fight in a Montgomery bar a few days earlier), and local magistrate Virgil F. Lyons ordered an inquest into Williams' death concerning a welt that was visible on his head. This addiction eventually led to his divorce from Audrey Williams and his dismissal from the Grand Ole Opry. Under Williams' guidance, Sheppard started playing bass and began performing in his band. It was her second marriage and his first. In addition, her relationship with Williams' mom proved complicated. Jones refused to pay, and further stated that Marshall later intended to convince her to pay him by assuring that he would "pave her the way to collect her husband's state". After determining that Williams was dead, Carr asked for help from the owner of the station who notified the police. Hank Williams Sr. [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. Among other fake titles he claimed to be a Doctor of Science. [7] Because of an ice storm in the Nashville area that day, Williams could not fly, so he hired a college student, Charles Carr, to drive him to the concerts. At around midnight on New Year's Day, Thursday, January 1, 1953, they crossed the Tennessee state line and arrived in Bristol, Virginia. Arthur Whiting was also a guitarist for the Drifting Cowboys. He was scheduled to perform a few gigs on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to see in. The pain and anguish that led him to drink could be heard in his songs. By the early 1940s, he'd caught the attention of music executives in Nashville. Many of their replacements refused to play in the band due to Williams' worsening alcoholism. The house had a small garden on which they grew diverse crops that Williams and his sister Irene sold around Georgiana. His mother stated that she bought it with money from selling peanuts, but many other prominent residents of the town claimed to have been the one who purchased the guitar for him. [5] He was the third child of Jessie Lillybelle "Lillie" (ne Skipper) (18981955) with Elonzo Huble "Lon" Williams (18911970). Years of back pain, alcoholism, and prescription drug abuse severely compromised Williams' health. 7. [113] In the 1980 Canadian film, Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave, Williams is portrayed by singer Sneezy Waters. 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. 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. [142], For other people named Hank Williams, see. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. His son, Hank Jr., was ranked on the same list. A doctor injected. Hank Williams - Biography - IMDb 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. [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. Advance ticket sales totaled $3,500. [30] Payne and Williams lost touch, though Payne also eventually moved to Montgomery, where he died in poverty in 1939. [33] In 1943, Williams met Audrey Sheppard at a medicine show in Banks, Alabama. Hank Williams died 70 years ago: 20,000 attended 1953 Alabama funeral Audrey Williams asked Rose if her husband could sing a song for him on that moment,[51] Rose agreed, and he liked Williams' musical style. Later that year he received his first recording contract, with Sterling Records; however, it was on the start-up label MGM that he had his first hit, Move It on Over in 1947. [33], As part of an investigation of illicit drug traffic conducted by the Oklahoma legislature, representative Robert Cunningham seized Marshall's files.