Album: Memorial Album
Artist: Hank Williams
Born: Butler County, Alabama
Released: March 1953
Genre: Country
Influenced: Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones
Sixty one years yesterday, Hank Williams died in mysterious circumstances in the back of a Cadillac on the way to a gig in Ohio. He was one of the first in a long line of supremely talented musicians to die prematurely in their late 20s (this study looks in to the phenomenon in more detail). Thousands of mourners came to his funeral in Alabama, where he was laid to rest in a silver coffin. Soon after, MGM released the Hank Williams Memorial Album, a mix of some of his final recordings with several hits from earlier in his career, such as "Cold, Cold Heart". Clocking in at just over 20mins, this LP is for me the best introduction to Hank's genius; simple songs of heartbreak with a universal appeal that come from the experience of many nights of lonesomeness and hard-drinking.
Known in some quarters as the Hillbilly Shakespeare, his influence extends far beyond country music, with even Leonard Cohen putting Hank far above him in the "Tower of Song". This 8-song collection is a good primer to the various styles in Hank's songbook, from the honky tonk of Settin' The Woods on Fire to the western-themed music of Kaw-Liga. Many of the more familiar songs such as Hey, Good Lookin' and Cold, Cold Heart (famously covered by Norah Jones on 2002's Come Away With Me) were No.1 hits in Hank's lifetime, while my favourite track on the album, Your Cheatin' Heart (the version on the album was recorded in late September 1952), is one of the finest heartbreak songs ever written. Even if you can't stand country music, it's hard not to love Hank.
Artist: Hank Williams
Born: Butler County, Alabama
Released: March 1953
Genre: Country
Influenced: Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones
Sixty one years yesterday, Hank Williams died in mysterious circumstances in the back of a Cadillac on the way to a gig in Ohio. He was one of the first in a long line of supremely talented musicians to die prematurely in their late 20s (this study looks in to the phenomenon in more detail). Thousands of mourners came to his funeral in Alabama, where he was laid to rest in a silver coffin. Soon after, MGM released the Hank Williams Memorial Album, a mix of some of his final recordings with several hits from earlier in his career, such as "Cold, Cold Heart". Clocking in at just over 20mins, this LP is for me the best introduction to Hank's genius; simple songs of heartbreak with a universal appeal that come from the experience of many nights of lonesomeness and hard-drinking.
Known in some quarters as the Hillbilly Shakespeare, his influence extends far beyond country music, with even Leonard Cohen putting Hank far above him in the "Tower of Song". This 8-song collection is a good primer to the various styles in Hank's songbook, from the honky tonk of Settin' The Woods on Fire to the western-themed music of Kaw-Liga. Many of the more familiar songs such as Hey, Good Lookin' and Cold, Cold Heart (famously covered by Norah Jones on 2002's Come Away With Me) were No.1 hits in Hank's lifetime, while my favourite track on the album, Your Cheatin' Heart (the version on the album was recorded in late September 1952), is one of the finest heartbreak songs ever written. Even if you can't stand country music, it's hard not to love Hank.
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