Hank Williams: 15 things you didnât know about the country legend
The Hank Williams legend has endured, to say the least.
The Alabama-born country icon would have turned 100 years old on Saturday, and Montgomery will host a fitting celebration of one of its proudest sons.
The Hank Williams Museum will present the Hank Williams Centennial Birthday Celebration all weekend. The agenda includes live music from Leona & Ron Williams and Perley Curtis Band on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the museum, 118 Commerce St. On Sunday, you can see Gene Watson, Jason Petty and Zachariah Malachi & The Nashville Counts at 2 p.m. at the Davis Theatre (251 Montgomery St.). Learn more.
In the meantime, we wanted to help you better understand the legend of Hank Sr., father to country star Hank Williams Jr. and grandfather to Hank III. With the help of bios found at the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Hank Williams Museum, here are a few facts you might not know about The Hillbilly Shakespeare.
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Born in Bama
Williams was born in Mt. Olive, Ala. During his youth, he also lived in Greenville before his family settled down in Montgomery, Ala. His birth certificate actually says “near Garland,” Butler County, located 50 miles south of the Alabama capital.
His dad’s jobs
The Country Music Hall of Fame bio says his parents were probably strawberry farmers when he was born, but his father Lon later worked for logging companies around Georgiana in South Alabama.
He’s a Poet!
Well, yes he’s a musical wordsmith, but Williams attended Sidney Lanier High School before dropping out of school at the age of 16. Their mascot: The Poets. Seems fitting!
His first name is…
He was born “Hiram Williams” before assuming the nickname Hank. He was actually named after Hiram I of the Bible’s Book of Kings.
His first hit
According to the Hank Williams Museum, “Move It on Over” became his first single for MGM in 1947. It was an instant hit, climbing into the top five of the country charts.
Peak Hank
The greatest years of Williams’ legendary career came in 1950 and 1951, and he was one of the most successful touring acts in country music.
The Bennett bump
The country hall of fame notes that while songs like “Honky Tonkin’” were often covered in the pop market, Tony Bennett’s 1951 cover of “Cold, Cold Heart” gave him widespread fame as a songwriter.
His Opry debut
Williams performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville for the first time in 1949. He played an unprecedented six encores.
Thick songbook
Williams recorded 225 songs in five years during his career. Of those, he wrote 128 of the songs.
A marvelous tribute
More than 25,000 people attended his funeral on Jan. 4, 1953. He is buried at Oakwood Cemetery Annex in Montgomery.
An unstoppable legacy
Shortly after his death, Williams’ music continued to connect with the public including number one hits like “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive,” “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, “Kaw-Liga” and “Take These Chains From My Heart”.
He won a Pulitzer
Williams was awarded a special posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 2010. The Pulitzer site says: “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.”
Famous forever
In 1961, Williams was one of the first inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame, alongside Jimmie Rodgers and Fred Rose.
Loki played Hank Sr.
Actor Tom Hiddleston starred as Williams in the 2016 biopic “I Saw the Light,” which follows the musical career and personal life of the country legend. Fellow Marvel star Elizabeth Olsen starred as Audrey Sheppard Williams.
George Hamilton, too! (And nearly the King)
Nearly 50 years before Hiddleston took on the daunting role of portraying the legend on the big screen, George Hamilton played him in the 1964 film “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” co-starring Susan Oliver as Audrey Williams and Red Buttons as Shorty Younger. Cool tidbit: MGM originally considered Elvis Presley to play Williams as a follow-up to “Jailhouse Rock,” but his manager Col. Tom Parker declined.