Hank Williams

Born September 17, 1923, in Mount Olive West, Alabama

Hank Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 2, 1953) was born in Mount Olive West, Alabama. Williams brought country music into the modern era, and his influence spilled over into the folk and rock arenas as well. By age 16, he’d formed the first version of his legendary Drifting Cowboys and was playing on a local radio station. He moved to Nashville in 1946, where he signed with the famed Acuff-Rose publishing company and landed a recording contract with MGM the following year. His initial MGM release, "Move It On Over," was a rocking country blues song made popular all over again in the 70s by George Thorogood. In 1949, his "Lovesick Blues" topped the C&W chart and remained in the Top 15 for 10 months. His debut on the Grand Ol' Opry that same year earned him six encores, and he became a regular cast member. "Lovesick Blues" was the first of 11 million-selling singles for Williams over the next four years. All totaled, Williams cracked the C&W Top Ten 36 times.

Williams' best-known songs — "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Hey, Good Lookin," "Cold, Cold Heart" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" — endure as American classics, speaking in eloquent vernacular to fans of country, blues, pop and rock-and-roll alike. The "outlaw" school of country singer-songwriters who followed in Williams' wake — including his own son, Hank Williams Jr., Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash— would have been inconceivable without Williams’ rough-hewn artistry. However, problems with drugs and alcohol led to Williams' premature death by heart attack at age 29 while en route to a show. In 1961, Williams was the first artist elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.