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. [42] He continued to show up for his radio show intoxicated, so in August 1942 the WSFA radio station fired him for "habitual drunkenness". At his mothers request, the concert in Canton went on as planned. His father was a railroad engineer who was also a victim of shell shock after a year of fighting in France in 1918 during World War I and spent many years in veterans hospitals. Stamey. [80] In June 1952, Williams moved in with his mother, even as he released numerous hit songs such as "Half as Much" in April, "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" in July, "You Win Again" in September, and "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" in November. Born and raised in Alabama, Williams was given guitar lessons by African-American blues musician Rufus Payne in exchange for meals or money. His first wife and his mother were the driving forces behind having the marriage declared invalid, and they pursued the matter for years. "[44], He worked for the rest of the war for a shipbuilding company in Mobile, Alabama, as well as singing in bars for soldiers. His father was a Mason and his mother was a member of the. "[34], On March 10, Marshall was called again to testify. [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 told Hill that his mother was interested in talking to him about his problems and her need to collect Elonzo's disability pension. 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. [85] In 2005, the BBC documentary series Arena featured an episode on Williams. 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. The unfinished lyrics were later returned to Sony/ATV, which handed them to Bob Dylan in 2008 to complete the songs for a new album. During World War II Williams commuted between Mobile, where he worked in a shipyard, and Montgomery, where he pursued a musical career. More than half of the 66 recordings he would make under his own name (he also released a string of religious-themed recordings under the name Luke the Drifter) were Top Ten country and western hits, many of them reaching number one, including Cold, Cold Heart, Your Cheatin Heart, Hey, Good Lookin, Jambalaya (On the Bayou), and Ill Never Get Out of This World Alive. His extraordinary Lost Highway peaked at number 12. [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". [32] During the same year, he participated in a talent show at the Empire Theater. Astrological Sign: Virgo, Death Year: 1953, Death date: January 1, 1953, Death State: West Virginia, Death City: Oak Hill, Death Country: United States, Article Title: Hank Williams Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/hank-williams, Publisher: A&E; Television Networks, Last Updated: September 18, 2019, Original Published Date: April 2, 2014. The janitor was accused of theft, but the charges were later dropped when a judge determined that her version of events was true. 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. Williams and Sheppard lived and worked together in Mobile. [11] Carr later drove on until he stopped for fuel at a gas station in Oak Hill, West Virginia, where he discovered Williams seemingly asleep in the back seat. He was dismissed by the Grand Ole Opry because of his unreliability and alcoholism. Long plagued by alcoholism, Williams fell ill at the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville on the last night of 1952. 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. His body was initially transported to Montgomery and placed in a silver coffin shown at his mother's boarding house. But along with this early success came increased erratic behavior from Williams, who often showed up at live performances drunk. [13], The town's coroner and mortician, Dr. Ivan Malinin, a Russian immigrant who barely spoke English, performed the autopsy on Williams at the Tyree Funeral House. His name was misspelled as "Hiriam" on his birth certificate, which was prepared and signed when he was 10 years old. [120] The same year, Hank Williams: The Complete Mother's Best RecordingsPlus! Lillie Stone, Audrey Williams, and Hank Williams, Jr., seated on a bed while looking through letters and cards received after the death of Hank Williams, Sr. Williams began his music career in Montgomery in 1937, when producers at local radio station WSFA hired him to perform and host a 15-minute program. 4. [67], Williams' career reached a peak in the late summer of 1951 with his Hadacol tour of the U.S. with Bob Hope and other actors. 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. He was unable to read or notate music to any significant degree. His hair began falling out, and he put on 30 extra pounds. His song "Your Cheatin' Heart" was written and recorded in September 1952, but released in late January 1953 after his death. Jett, whose legal name is Cathy Deupree Adkinson, was raised by Williams' mother for two years until she died. Little did he know that the woman he would fall in love with would be the key to his success. [33], He never learned to read music; instead he based his compositions in storytelling and personal experience. [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". [29] Around two tons of flowers were sent. [59] On May 21, he had been admitted to North Louisiana Sanitarium for the treatment of his alcoholism, leaving on May 24. Audrey Williams divorced him that year; the next day he recorded "You Win Again" and "I Won't be Home No More". 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. On . And he looked so satisfied I can't help it if I'm still in love with you. Another researcher decided it could have happened at any of the gas stations near Mount Hope. His substance abuse problems continued to spiral out of control as he moved to Nashville and officially divorced Sheppard. At around midnight on New Year's Day, Thursday, January 1, 1953, they crossed the Tennessee state line and arrived in Bristol, Virginia. It was her second marriage and his first. [127] His great-grandson Coleman Finchum, son of Hank Williams III, released his debut single credited to IV and the Strange Band in 2021. Later, he started to consume painkillers, including morphine, and alcohol to ease the pain. Among other fake titles, he said that he was a Doctor of Science. 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. Williams was scheduled to perform at the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston, West Virginia on Wednesday, December 31 (New Year's Eve), 1952. When new wife Billie Jean asked what was the matter, she claimed his. 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. 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. Carr stopped at a small all-night restaurant and asked Williams if he wanted to eat. Killorn stated that the fact that Carr told him it was Hank Williams caused him to remember the incident. Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. 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. In 1930, when Williams was seven years old, Elonzo began experiencing facial paralysis. People from 35 states were said to have made the trip to say farewell to Hank. Marshall stated that Williams told him that he had decided to "destroy the Hank Williams that was making the money they were getting". 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. As the titles of some of Williams' songs suggest, heartbreak and turmoil were never that far from his life. The newlyweds spent Christmas 1952 with Williamss mother in Montgomery. The song was number one on the country charts for six weeks. The Opry eventually fired him, and in 1952, he and Sheppard divorced. His father worked as a logger before entering the Veterans Administration hospital when young Hank was just six. [23] Despite his medical condition, the family managed fairly well financially throughout the Great Depression. [30] Payne and Williams lost touch, though Payne also eventually moved to Montgomery, where he died in poverty in 1939. The 27-year-old was driving the car, which was. [83], On January 2, Williams' body was transported to Montgomery, Alabama, where it was placed in a silver casket that was displayed at his mother's boarding house for two days. A pop cover version by Tony Bennett released the same year stayed on the charts for 27 weeks, peaking at number one. [18], In the fall of 1934, the Williams family moved to Greenville, Alabama, where Lillie opened a boarding house next to the Butler County courthouse. Carr immediately realized that he was dead and informed the filling station's owner, Glenn Burdette, who called the chief of the local police, O.H. Liquored up and abusing morphine, he collapsed in a hotel room in Knoxville, Tennessee. Less than 48 hours later, Hank Williams was dead. James Ellis Garner later played fiddle for him. Entrance marker of the Oakwood Annex Cemetery in, Grave of Audrey (left) and Hank Williams (right) at Oakwood Annex Cemetery, Oklahoma investigation of Horace Marshall. Despite his physical failings, Williams was cleared for more travel. 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. "[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. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)Getty Images. . Due to Williams' tour schedules, some of the shows were previously recorded to be played in his absence. In ways that must have seemed unimaginable to this poor country boy, Williams' life quickly changed. On New Year's Day 1953, at the age of 29, Williams suffered from heart failure while being driven to his next scheduled concert in Charleston, West Virginia, and died suddenly in the back seat of the car in Oak Hill, West Virginia. [68] In October, Williams recorded a demo, "There's a Tear in My Beer" for a friend, "Big Bill Lister", who recorded it in the studio. Picking up the guitar for the first time at the age of eight, Williams was just 13 when he made his radio debut. Fearful that disc jockeys and jukebox operators would hesitate to accept these unusual recordings, Williams used this alias to avoid hurting the marketability of his name. 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. His funeral was held the next day, Sunday Jan. 4, 1953, at Montgomerys City Auditorium. Williams dropped out of school in October 1939 so that he and the Drifting Cowboys could work full-time. [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". In Knoxville, Tennessee, the two stopped at the Andrew Johnson Hotel. On New Year's Day 1953, he took his seat in the back of his 1952 powder blue Cadillac. [134] Gimarc contacted Williams' daughter Jett, and Colin Escott, writer of a biography book on Williams. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Pulitzer Prize jury awarded him a posthumous special citation in 2010 for his "craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life". In 1951, Williams hosted a 15-minute show for Mother's Best Flour on WSM radio. A doctor injected Williams with B12 and morphine and porters carried the legendary singer-songwriter to the car. Updates? [5] He met Horace Raphol "Toby" Marshall in Oklahoma City, who claimed to be a doctor. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. [85], Williams was scheduled to perform at the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston, West Virginia, on December 31, 1952. Carr told Cooper this happened at the side of the road six miles from Oak Hill, but investigating officer Howard Janney placed it in the Skyline Drive-In restaurant's parking lot, noting that Carr sought help from a Skyline employee.
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