Featured In
ALBUMHank 100: Greatest Radio HitsHank Williams
Albums by Hank Williams
ALBUMI’m Gonna Sing: The Mother’s Best Gospel Radio RecordingsHank Williams
ALBUMHank Williams: Lost HighwayRandal Myler, Mark Harelik & Hank Williams
ALBUMThe Lonesome Sound Of Hank WilliamsHank Williams
Hank Williams's Popular Music Videos
Cold Cold Heart
Hank Williams
There's a Tear In My Beer
Hank Williams, Jr. & Hank Williams
Artist Playlists
Hank Williams Essentials
The Bard of honky-tonk traveled a hard road.
Hank Williams: The Songwriters
Pay tribute to The Hillbilly Shakespeare.
Inspired by Hank Williams
His raw take on country left an indelible footprint on music.
Hank Williams: Deep Cuts
Hard-hitting swingers and lesser-known weepers.
Artist Biography
As a child, future country legend Hank Williams met Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne, a Black blues musician who offered him guitar lessons in exchange for meals or money.
∙ Williams distilled Rufus Payne’s blues, Jimmie Rodgers’ yodeling and lyric imagery, and Ernest Tubb’s honky-tonk into a unique—and highly commercial—sound.
∙ When he performed at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry in 1949, he was called back for an unprecedented six encores.
∙ Hank’s longest-running No. 1 single, “Lovesick Blues,” stayed atop the C&W Singles chart for 17 weeks.
∙ During the last five years of his life, he recorded over 200 songs, more than half of which he wrote himself.
∙ Three songs from his final recording session—“Kaw-Liga,” “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” and “Take These Chains From My Heart”—became posthumous No. 1 hits.
∙ Williams was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
∙ His life was the subject of two biopics, 1964’s Your Cheatin’ Heart and 2016’s I Saw the Light.
∙ His songs have been covered by such diverse artists as Jeff Buckley, Norah Jones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, and Tony Bennett.
Hometown
Georgiana, AL, United States
Genre
Country