Hank Williams

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Hank Williams was born in 1923 as Hiram Williams in Mount Olive, a rural community in Alabama. His mother played organ in the Baptist church, and the hymns there later coloured his own songs. He got guitar lessons from Rufus Payne, a black street musician who played blues and taught him how important rhythm and timing are. He also listened to country singers such as Roy Acuff. Williams never learned to read music. He wrote from stories and from his own experiences.

Music and breakthrough

At the end of the 1930s he was already singing on the radio in Montgomery, with his band The Drifting Cowboys. In 1947 came the hit Move It On Over, and he appeared on the radio programme Louisiana Hayride. In 1949 followed his version of Lovesick Blues, an older song that went to the top of the country chart and won him a place at the Grand Ole Opry. He then wrote Your Cheatin' Heart, Hey, Good Lookin' and I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. His songs are simple in form, with a plaintive, nasal voice and lyrics about love, loneliness and drink.

Influence

Williams had back pain all his life and became addicted to alcohol and painkillers. On New Year's Day 1953 he died, aged 29, on the back seat of a car, on his way to a concert. Even so, he became one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century. Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones learned from him, and his work helped country grow into a major force in American culture.

Listening

• 
  Lovesick Blues · Hank Williams, 1949
  Apple Music ↗

Discography

Studio albums

• 1949Hank Williams Sings
• 1952Moanin’ the Blues
• 1953Beyond the Sunset
• 1954Honky Tonkin’
• 1955Ramblin’ Man
• 1957Sing Me a Blue Song
• 1959The Unforgettable Hank Williams
• 1960The Lonesome Sound of Hank Williams
• 1960Wait for the Light to Shine
• 1961The Spirit of Hank Williams
• 1966Again
• 1971Original Sound Track: The Last Picture Show
• 2001Prodigal Son

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 1: The Origins of Pop Music^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

• Country GenreHank Williams became the blueprint of the country singer-songwriter.

See also

• Moanin’ the Blues
• Honky-tonk