At this stage Williams began abusing alcohol, a problem that haunted him the rest of his life but that came about partly as a result of his attempts to self-medicate agonizing back pain caused by a congenital spinal disorder. A doctor injected Williams with two shots of vitamin B12 that contained morphine. 29, January 1st 1953. "Long Gone Daddy: A Biography of Hank Williams, Country Music's Tragic Hero". While Jett was a college junior at the University of Alabama in Montgomery majoring in recreation therapy, her adoptive . 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. It was at this time that Williams decided to change his name informally from Hiram to Hank. [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. [17] From that time on, Lillie assumed responsibility for the family. medically disqualified from military service, I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You), Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration, "Luke the Drifter and the Secrets of Country | ABCtales", "Cowtown Birthplace of Western Swing - Hank Williams", Escott, Colin, Merritt, George & MacEwen, William 2015, "Show 9 Tennessee Firebird: American country music before and after Elvis. "I saw that the overcoat and blanket that had been covering Hank had slipped off," Carr told yet another reporter. Best Answer. The identity of her famous father remained a mystery to her until her early twenties. [142], For other people named Hank Williams, see. [1] His alcoholism worsened in 1952. He died in 1939, but his musical legacy would live on in Williams. [139] On October 22, 1975, a federal judge in Atlanta, Georgia, ruled Horton's marriage to Williams was valid and that half of Williams' future royalties belonged to her.[140]. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! 4. [66] In 1951, "Dear John" became a hit, but it was the flip side, "Cold, Cold Heart", that became one of his most recognized songs. Liquored up and abusing morphine, he collapsed in a hotel room in Knoxville, Tennessee. [85] In 2005, the BBC documentary series Arena featured an episode on Williams. That night, the singers body was taken back to Montgomery. [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. Another researcher decided it could have happened at any of the gas stations near Mount Hope. He was driving Hank Williams, 29, who died that night. Williams and Sheppard married in 1944. Williams' mother had claimed that he was dead. He remained hospitalized for eight years, rendering him mostly absent throughout Williams' childhood. He was scheduled to perform a few gigs on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to see in. [77] The next day, two public ceremonies were held at the New Orleans Civic Auditorium, where 14,000 seats were sold for each. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. 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. Williams was pronounced dead a short while later. [62] was honored with a Grammy nomination for Best Historical Album. All rights reserved (About Us). In 1951, Williams fell during a hunting trip in Tennessee, reactivating his old back pains. Williams, Sheppard, and the Drifting Cowboys band in 1951 The American entry into World War II in 1941 marked the beginning of hard times for Williams. He died of a heart attack at the age of 29 in 1953 in the backseat of his Cadillac. As a result, he was not considered a reliable performer. A. [22] At a chance meeting in Georgiana, Williams met U.S. Representative J. Lister Hill while Hill was campaigning across Alabama. In addition, her relationship with Williams' mom proved complicated. [41], The American entry into World War II in 1941 marked the beginning of hard times for Williams. Carr talked to Williams for the last time when they stopped at a restaurant in Bristol, Virginia. In mid-June 2020, Katherine Williams-Dunning the daughter of country singer Hank Williams Jr. was killed in a car crash in Tennessee. PolyGram contended that Williams' contract with MGM Records, whose back catalogue they owned at the time, prior to current owner Universal Music's absorption of PolyGram the next year, gave them rights to release the radio recordings. Carr later kept driving until he reached a gas station in Oak Hill, West Virginia, where Williams was discovered unresponsive in the back seat. In regards to her half-brother and where they stand today, Jett said: As far as having a personal relationship, we dont have like a brother-sister relationship, but we do get along; we do business and I think the world does realize that both of us have our dads best interest at heart.. After the failure of his audition, Williams and Audrey Sheppard attempted to interest the recently formed music publishing firm Acuff-Rose Music. Williams, who was recently separated from WSM "for failure to make appearances," was a resident of Montgomery, Ala. As a youth he sold peanuts and shined shoes, meanwhile strumming on a. As a boy, Williams was the musical protg of Rufus Payne, an African American street performer who went by the name Tee-Tot and busked on the streets of Georgiana and Greenville, Alabama. [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. 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. Roy Acuff, along with a host of countrys biggest stars, performed I Saw The Light., MONTGOMERY, AL - JANUARY 4: Guitar themed flower arrangements adorn the gravesite of country singer Hank Williams as he is laid to rest at the Oakwood Cemetary Annex on January 4, 1953 in Montgomery, Alabama. The song was number one on the country charts for six weeks. [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. While living in Georgiana, Williams met Rufus "Tee-Tot" Payne, a street performer. He died of a heart attack in a drug- and alcohol-induced stupor in the backseat of a car, probably in West Virginia, while being driven from Knoxville, Tennessee, to a concert in Canton, Ohio. Marshall stated that Williams told him that he had decided to "destroy the Hank Williams that was making the money they were getting". . "[44], He worked for the rest of the war for a shipbuilding company in Mobile, Alabama, as well as singing in bars for soldiers. [71] During his recovery, he lived with his mother in Montgomery, and later moved to Nashville with Ray Price. "Tom [Hiddleston, the actor portraying Williams] puts across that impending sense of doom. [15] That evening, when the announcer at Canton announced Williams's death to the gathered crowd, they started laughing, thinking that it was just another excuse. One characteristic of Williams' recordings as "Luke the Drifter" is the use of narration rather than singing. [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.). He returned to Shreveport, Louisiana, to perform on KWKH and WBAM shows and in the Louisiana Hayride, for which he toured again. [52] Rose signed Williams to a six-song contract, and leveraged this deal to sign Williams with Sterling Records. As a girl, Jones had lived down the street from Williams when he was with the Louisiana Hayride, and now Williams began to visit her frequently in Shreveport, causing him to miss many Grand Ole Opry appearances. Elonzo stayed to celebrate his son's birthday in September before he returned to the medical center in Louisiana. From The Montgomery Advertiser. [85], Williams was scheduled to perform at the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston, West Virginia, on December 31, 1952. [113] In the 1980 Canadian film, Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave, Williams is portrayed by singer Sneezy Waters. Williams told a story in later concerts that attributed his name change to a cat's yowling. He was dismissed by the Grand Ole Opry because of his unreliability and alcoholism. "[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. After an autopsy, the cause of death was determined to be "insufficiency of the right ventricle of the heart.". Keillor, Garrison. [6] The family's first child, Ernest Huble Williams, was born on July 5, 1921; he died two days later. His funeral took place on January 4 at the Montgomery Auditorium,[23] with his coffin placed on the flower-covered stage. Despite his physical failings, Williams was cleared for more travel. [123] Several members of Williams' descendants became musicians: Hank Williams Jr., daughter Jett Williams, grandsons Hank Williams III and Sam Williams, and granddaughters Hilary Williams[124] and Holly Williams are also country musicians. Over the next several years he churned out a number of other big hits, including "Cold, Cold Heart," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Hey Good Lookin'," "Lost Highway," and I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive." 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. Shortly thereafter he became a regular on the newly created Louisiana Hayride radio program based in Shreveport, Louisiana. A doctor injected. [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. [39] The band started playing in theaters before the start of the movies and later in honky-tonks. Due to Williams' tour schedules, some of the shows were previously recorded to be played in his absence. His substance abuse problems continued to spiral out of control as he moved to Nashville and officially divorced Sheppard. [16], The circumstances of Williams's death are still controversial. 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. In 1951, Williams fell during a hunting trip in Tennessee, reactivating his old back pains and causing him to be dependent on alcohol and prescription drugs. 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. Williams remains a beloved albeit tragic figure in country music and his work continues to influence musicians to this day. His funeral was held the next day, Sunday Jan. 4, 1953, at Montgomerys City Auditorium. His official cause of death was listed as heart failure, but there are many who say otherwise. In 1977, a national organization of CB truck drivers voted "Your Cheatin' Heart" as their favorite record of all time. As his driver, college student Charles Carr, barreled toward a concert venue in Canton, Ohio, Williams' health took a turn for the worse. The funeral took place on January 4 at the Montgomery Auditorium, where an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 attended while the auditorium was filled with 2,750 mourners. [30] Williams's remains are interred at the Oakwood Annex in Montgomery. You wrote only what you felt boil up inside you. In Knoxville, Tennessee, the two stopped at the Andrew Johnson Hotel. [25][26] Payne's base musical style was blues. His life and music received a fresh look in 2019 with Ken Burns' 16-hour documentary, Country Music, which prominently featured the icon in an episode titled "The Hillbilly Shakespeare.". This addiction eventually led to his divorce from Audrey Williams and his dismissal from the Grand Ole Opry. It provided the title for the 1964 biographic film of the same name, which starred George Hamilton. Carr stopped at a small all-night restaurant and asked Williams if he wanted to eat. When new wife Billie Jean asked what was the matter, she claimed his. 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.