Hank Williams: The Man Who Transformed Country Music
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-10-18/hank-williams-man-who-transformed-country-music
Hank Williams was twenty-nine when he died in 1953, yet his songs and influence have endured. He was inducted into both the Rock ‘n’ Roll and the Country Music Halls of Fame. Earlier this year, the Pulitzer Prize board honored Williams with a special citation. It praised him "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." Though little is known about the man behind the music, a new box set of a Nashville radio show Williams hosted in 1951 aims to change that. These recordings show the musician as humorous, folksy and ambitious. We'll look at Hank Williams the man and the legacy.
Guests
Colin Escott
Grammy Award-winning author and music historian who wrote the liner notes for “Hank Williams: the Complete Mother’s Best Recordings…Plus.” His books include "Good Rockin’ Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll" and "Hank Williams: The Biography."
Jett Williams
musician, the only daughter of Hank Williams, one of the producers of “Hank Williams: the Complete Mother’s Best Recordings…Plus." Her autobiography is "Ain't Nothin' As Sweet as My Baby."
Comments
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Question: Jett, you mentioned earlier you were the best kept secret in country music. Do you think that it did you a dis-service and do you think it fueled the issues you and Hank Williams Jr. had later in your life?
Marie Seay
Wichita Ks.
316-806-6212
Does Jett have any contact with Hank Williams Jr?
Does Jett have any contact with Hank Williams Jr?
Jett's life has sounds like a captivating story in and of itself. I know she has written a book, but has there been any interest in a screenplay?
HI, what a pleasant surprise to hear Hank on your program. We were fans of his for many years, before he passed. When Hank sang :your cheating heart" my brother would get so teary eyed and sometimes cry. If was where he could get a beer, he would drink in in honor of Hanks best songs. I listened all day the day he passed, to his music. Thanksl
Jett,
I'm glad you found your origins. Thanks to you and everyone responsible for preserving your dad's work and making it available. Hank Williams, your father, was a music pioneer and made a huge contribution.
I am saddened to hear your dad suffered from childhood back injury. As a Chiropractor I can tell you that much medical and surgical back pain care in your dad's time was not well understood or very successful. As an "invisible" injury, like TBI, sufferers are sometimes even falsely labelled malingerers. Travel can certainly exacerbate it. Understandably many people rely on Rx drugs and alcohol to relieve even residual post surgical pain and later discover, like a Catch-22, that these remedies themselves have severe unintended adverse and sometimes fatal, effects on health.
Nobody ever truly feels or understands another person's pain. That your dad worked so hard while under pain shows his strength of character.
God has special love for children who loose their parents.
JW, Wichita, KS.
In 1954 when I was 11, my uncle took me to Hank's grave and told me an interesting story. If you could, I'd like to know if there is any truth in it.
Uncle Gus said that shortly after Hank's death the the City of Montgomery was ashamed of Hank because of his drug and alcohol use. Therefore he was buried early, before it was scheduled, in a back section of the cemetary. When people from all over started ariving in Montgomery, the city had his body exumed and then reinterned in a formal ceremony at the top of the hill.
I was just 17 and 6 months when Hank Sr died. He was my hero as a kid. The first song I ever sang on a stage in public was Hank's "You Win Again."
Folks called me "Kawliga" back then (maybe because I had a wooden head, I don't know). Hank Williams was the finest country singer-songwriter. I have most of his songs on record. I still sing his stuff, even at 75. No other country singer made an impression like Hank Sr. I remember the first time he appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. He sang "Lovesick Blues," and got called back for an encore (that was unheard of before then). I still miss him, today. God Bless you, Hank.
Where did the name "Jett" come from? That is my daughter's first name! Her Father passed away before explaining it to me-I just agreed and love it. XOXO A~ Oddly enough,we love Hanks music too (over lady Ga Ga-who is that?).
Where did the name "Jett" come from? That is my daughter's first name! Her Father passed away before explaining it to me-I just agreed and love it. XOXO A~ Oddly enough,we love Hanks music too (over lady Ga Ga-who is that?).
My sister sent this to me, so I'm a week behind everyone else.
I missed my only chance to hear Hank, Sr. in Rochester, New York. The official reason for his 'no show' was back trouble.
He died during my senior year in high school, back in New York City. I wrote a biography for our yearbook and everybody signed my book "To Barefoot Bob, King of the Hillbillies" because of it. Hank and I share a birthday September 17th.
My two favorites are "I Can't Help It" and "The Blues Come Around" (every evenin' when the sun goes down.)
The simplicity and directness of his songs impress me even more today than they did when I was a young fan, especially the earlier ones before he started wrtiting pop hits like Kaw Liga and Jambalaya. Those are fun songs, like Move Over Big Dog, but lack the feeling of the love songs.
Enjoyed your comment. See mine below, too. I think I have everything Hank recorded now, with the boxed sets they've released. I was disgusted when they cast George Hamilton to play him (I thought the late James Best would have been perfect - he was on Dukes of Hazard and was silly, but was a fine actor.)
Hamilton was better than I expected, but Red Buttons as Hank's sidekick and drummer? What drummer. I'm ramblin' like Luke the Drifter, better stop.
holle dear
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