Hank Williams
Hank
Williams was born in Alabama and began playing guitar at the age
of eight. As a teenager he led his own country music outfit and
became a nationwide star through the Grand Ole Opry broadcasts.
Hailed as "the greatest hillbilly singer", Hank
signed with MGM in 1947 and recorded an extraordinary series of
immediate classics, including; I Saw The Light (1948), Lovesick
Blues (1949), I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (1949),
Moanin' The Blues (1950), Cold, Cold Heart (1951), Hey
Good Lookin' (1951), Jambalaya (1952) and Your
Cheatin' Heart (1953 - later a hit for Ray Charles).
Throughout his life he was crippled by chronic back pain and
alcoholism, and all the hurt and anguish found its way into his
voice.
He sang of sex, booze and redemption with all the
hand-wringing angst of a thousand troubled rock stars since. Love
songs of despair and blues alternated with rowdy honky-tonk
novelty songs.
 Arguably the father of rock, his Move It On Over was
the blueprint for Rock Around The Clock and provided one
reason why Hank was elected to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in
1987.
Williams died on New Year's Day in 1953 in the back seat of a
limo on his way to a gig in Canton, Ohio, after receiving a shot
of morphine and B12 for back pain and mixing it with whiskey on
the long car journey. He was 29.
His recordings continued to be a major influence on country
music well into the 1980s and beyond.
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