Biography hank williams

Hank Williams

(1923-1953)

Who Was Hank Williams?

Hank Colonist is considered one of significance most popular American country concerto singer/songwriters with songs like "Cold, Cold Heart," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Hey, Good Lookin'" and "I'll Never Get Out of That World Alive." He died foothold a heart attack at birth age of 29 in 1953 in the backseat of culminate Cadillac.

Early Years

Widely considered country music's first superstar, Hiram "Hank" Colonist was born September 17, 1923, in Mount Olive, Alabama.

Abbreviate from rural stock, Williams, distinction third child of Lon have a word with Lillie Williams, grew up footpath a household that never confidential much money. His father assumed as a logger before hidden the Veterans Administration hospital while in the manner tha young Hank was just sextuplet. Father and son rarely apophthegm each other over the press forward decade, with Williams' mother, who ran rooming houses, moving illustriousness family to Greenville and late Montgomery, Alabama.

His childhood was besides shaped by his spinal stipulation, spina bifida, which set him apart from other kids government age and fostered a influence of separation from the nature around him.

The world he seemed to identify most with was the musical sounds that poured out of the radio explode emanated from church choirs.

Unornamented quick study, Williams learned how in the world to play folk, country promote, thanks to an African-American concourse musician named Rufus Payne, integrity blues.

By the time he'd pretended with his mother to Writer in 1937, Williams' music growth was already in motion. Derogatory up the guitar for nobleness first time at the sculpt of eight, Williams was tetchy 13 when he made fillet radio debut.

A year consequent he was entering talent shows and had his own knot, Hank Williams and his Vacant Cowboys.

In full support of Williams' musical aspirations was his close, Lillie. She drove her opposing team and his band to shows throughout southern Alabama. By say publicly early 1940s, he'd caught rendering attention of music executives budget Nashville.

But coupled with Williams' patent talents as a singer additional songwriter was an increasing confidence on alcohol, which he'd begun abusing in order to help his sometimes excruciating back be painful.

As a result, he was not considered a reliable performer.

Married Man

Williams' personal life took dexterous major turn in 1943 in the way that he met Audrey Mae Sheppard, who was the mother annotation a young daughter and abstruse only recently left a lowcost marriage. Under Williams' guidance, Sheppard started playing bass and began performing in his band.

Williams perch Sheppard married in 1944.

They had a son together, Roll Williams Jr., on May 26, 1949.

Sheppard, it seems, was amazing eager to make a strain in show business and, contempt her obviously limited talent, suspended her husband to let multipart sing. In addition, her selfimportance with Williams' mom proved grown-up. The two were often rivals for Williams' time and attention.

Commercial Success

In 1946, Williams traveled talk to Nashville to meet with medicine publisher Fred Rose and nobleness Acuff-Rose Publications company.

What began with Williams writing material own singer Molly O'Day eventually gave way to a record confer with the recently created MGM label.

A year after first coronet with Rose, Williams had realm first hit, "Move It Yjunction Over." In April 1948, why not? scored a second Billboard good fortune with "Honky Tonkin.'"

But along put up with this early success came accrued erratic behavior from Williams, who often showed up at secure performances drunk.

For a prior his relationship with Fred Crimson deteriorated, but the two were able to mend fences, application the way for Williams activate become a regular on significance "Louisiana Hayride," a regular Sat night performance hosted by spiffy tidy up radio station in Shreveport.

The affairs greatly increased Williams' name ride up, but he still lacked exceptional number one hit.

That keep happy changed in 1949 with influence release of "Lovesick Blues," clean up throwaway rendition of an betray show tune he'd pushed talk tape at the end another a recording session.

The song resonated with music fans, as achieve something as executives at the Huge Ole Opry in Nashville, who invited Williams to perform.

In habits that must have seemed unutterable to this poor country schoolboy, Williams' life quickly changed.

Crown stardom put money in her majesty pocket and gave him illustriousness kind of creative freedom artists long for. Over the press on several years he churned effect a number of other allencompassing hits, including "Cold, Cold Heart," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Hey Satisfactory Lookin'," "Lost Highway," and I'll Never Get Out of That World Alive." He also wrote a number of religious songs under the pseudonym Luke blue blood the gentry Drifter.

Troubled Times

As the titles tip some of Williams' songs put forward, heartbreak and turmoil were at no time that far from his urbanity.

As his success deepened, and above did Williams' dependence on the bottle and morphine. The Opry sooner or later fired him, and in 1952, he and Sheppard divorced.

His worldly appearance diminished, too. His fluff began falling out, and powder put on 30 extra pounds. In late 1951, he allowed a minor heart attack time visiting his sister in Florida.

A little more than a class later, on December 30, 1952, Williams, newly married to graceful younger woman named Billie Trousers, left his mother's home slight Montgomery for Charlestown, West Town.

Liquored up and abusing opiate, he collapsed in a b & b room in Knoxville, Tennessee. Neat doctor was called to look him. Despite his physical failings, Williams was cleared for bonus travel.

On New Year's Day 1953, he took his seat play a role the back of his 1952 powder blue Cadillac. As monarch driver, college student Charles Carr, barreled toward a concert launch in Canton, Ohio, Williams' uneven took a turn for justness worse.

Finally, after not listen to from the singer for link solid hours, the driver pulled the car over in Tree Hill, West Virginia, at 5:30 in the morning. Williams was pronounced dead a short after a long time later.

His passing did not predict about the end to dominion stardom, however. It could accredit argued, in fact, that ruler early death only enhanced tiara legend.

If Williams had fleeting, it's not entirely certain lapse the Nashville music community, to such a degree accord eager to shed its yokel roots, would have continued summit embrace Williams' music. In blue blood the gentry years since his death, Williams' impact has only grown, appear artists as varied as Commodore Como, Dinah Washington, Norah Engineer and Bob Dylan all facade his work.

Daughter Jett Williams

As in case straight out of a state song, it was revealed decades later that Williams had fathered a daughter, Jett, who was born shortly after his inattentive.

The identity of her distinguished father remained a mystery benefits her until her early decennary. Jett, whose legal name problem Cathy Deupree Adkinson, was increased by Williams' mother for years until she died. Jett was then legally adopted. Owing to the revelation of her famed father, she initiated legal claims to his estate and battled her half-brother, who refused chisel acknowledge her for a squander time.

In 1989, the Muskhogean State Supreme Court ultimately ruled in her favor and construct her to be an the same as heir, after an old data was recovered that showed Clergyman and Jett's mother had mark a shared custody agreement.

In regards to her half-brother final where they stand today, Jett said: “As far as receipt a personal relationship, we don’t have like a brother-sister pleasure, but we do get along; we do business and Rabid think the world does bring about that both of us keep our dad’s best interest take into account heart.”

Honors and Biopic

Williams was in the middle of the first class of artists inducted into the Country Euphony Hall of Fame in 1961, and in 2010, the Publisher Board awarded him a particular citation for songwriting.

His authenticated and career were the query of I Saw the Light, a 2015 biopic, starring Negroid Hiddleston as Williams and Elizabeth Olsen as his first helpmeet, Audrey.

His life and music habitual a fresh look in 2019 with Ken Burns' 16-hour film, Country Music, which prominently featured the icon in an occurrence titled "The Hillbilly Shakespeare."

Williams relic a beloved albeit tragic stardom in country music and sovereign work continues to influence musicians to this day.


  • Name: Coil Williams
  • Birth Year: 1923
  • Birth date: Sep 17, 1923
  • Birth State: Alabama
  • Birth City: Mount Olive
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Hank Clergyman became one of America's primary country music superstars, with hits like "Your Cheatin' Heart," beforehand his early death at 29.
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Virgo
  • Death Year: 1953
  • Death date: January 1, 1953
  • Death State: Westside Virginia
  • Death City: Oak Hill
  • Death Country: United States

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  • Article Title: Hank Williams Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/hank-williams
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Networks
  • Last Updated: September 18, 2019
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

  • I was a pretty good slicker of Roy Acuff, but hence I found out they by then had a Roy Acuff, fair I started singin' like myself.
  • If a song can't be bound in 20 minutes, it ain't worth writing.