I woke up to the news that Dave Roe passed away last night. I interviewed him last year and he was an audience favorite to say the least. He was one of the best bass players on the planet and an absolutely beautiful cat to be around. Much love to his family and friends. Here are a few links for anyone who missed the interviews. ruclips.net/video/9Ggk17nm7Ew/видео.htmlsi=bfrQUkQBttPob3t1 ruclips.net/video/b1USdcY4g28/видео.html ruclips.net/video/nCl8KhMxJBU/видео.html
I first listened to Hank Sr in the late 80's or early 90's when I was a kid because my dad always had it playing on our road trips! My favorites: Lovesick blues, I saw the light, So lonesome I could cry, My buckets got a hole in it, Your cheatin' heart... to name a few!
My Dad sang his songs when I was growing up, he played to indigenous people of remote Saskatchewan working on the Bell Telephone microwave towers. He was rewarded with beaded jackets, boots, gloves, guitar straps. I still have them today 68 years later. I read HANK and listened to the Audible as well. Moves me thinking of dear, old Dad. CD box set from England and every DVD I could find on Amazon. Yes, HANK is an intelligent, well-sourced biography-very much recommended. And thank you for your reflections and personal stories. Appreciate the kindness and the effort.
When I was a kid my dad would walk around singing “Hey Good Looking” around the house all the time. He loved Hank. My folks were from Florence Alabama. They were lucky enough to have seen him live a few times. He was well represented in our house. He was and still is a true giant in music. In addition to seeing Hank live , my mom also saw Elvis, Scotty and Bill when they were in Muscle Shoals. What a time to be alive. I still can’t comprehend my mom saw Hank in the flesh and Elvis when he was on Sun records.
It's hard to say how much Hank's music means to me. I got into Hank in 1982 age 16. I was going through a tough time back then, but Hank's music got me through the dark days. Like Otis, it was the sad lonely songs that really spoke to me. I could relate to Hank and the loneliness he sang about. I guess my favorite song of Hank's would be "I'm so lonesome I could cry" with "Take these chains from my heart" up there.
My very first recall of listening Mr. Williams was on the radio. I had to be 4 or 5 years old, dancing to his music, and i am now 65 years young. Thank you for sharing about Mr. Williams. Rest In Peace Mr. Williams Senior.
I was 4 years old in Denver in 1955, my grandfather played the radio. The song was My Buckets Got a Hole In It. I really heard him as a 17 year old in unrequited love Long Gone Lonesome Blues. Hank helped me without knowing it. I knew I wasn't the only person sad and lonely.
My Great Grandfather who was born in 1898 used to sing snippets of Jimmy Rogers and Hank Williams songs, I had no idea, I thought he was making them up, that they were his songs. He and my Great Grandmother were the closest relatives I have had, somehow I sensed how they were irreplaceable and special at an early age and I didn’t take them for granted as much as other adults at the time. It always is amazing to me that in their lifetime, they went from the end of the horse and wagon/buggy to man going to the moon. So many wonderful memories and stories.
I think you nailed it Otis. Even those of us who believe every word… Realize we are extremely human, and our fraught with frailty. Thank you so much for the richness you bring to the Internet. It’s like the history channel 4 music history, buffs!
My father had a 10 inch LP called "Moanin' The Blues" that I heard at a very young age. Eventually I got old enough to play it myself on my own little record player. Those songs have been with me all my life.
Hi Otis and everyone. I started buying Hank's records when I was 11 yrs. old -1958. Growing up in an alcoholic family we weren't allowed to be express emotion. Mom and me would go to the farmer's market and buy a Hank record every time we went, believing they were new releases - of course not realizing he had passed on 5 yrs. prior. I got caught up in His music and it really allowed me be to release a lot of those unexpressed feelings. I think Hank did this for a lot of people and the reason he was so popular. In addition his 78 rpm records really captured his soul and essence, the recording being cut right into the disc.
My Dad had Hank Williams’ songs on 45 rpm records and a little portable record player. Sometimes we were allowed to play them along with Elvis 45s. That’s probably the first time I heard Hank’s music. One of my favorite Hank Williams song is “House of Gold” . I just sang that song at a nursing home about an hour ago to some very hurting lonely folks. Hank’s songs are so real and heartfelt, nothing hardly compares…
My father born in 1930, is 93 now. In the Heart of Texas, Bangs Texas. On a 300-acre farm no running water, no electricity, battery-powered radio. The antenna was run from the house to the barn. He has always talked about the Hank Williams Grand Ole Opry multiple encore performance. He tells that story with pride.
I first heard Hank Williams in December of 1956. I was playing around with an old valve radio, and stumbled across AFN broadcasting out of Germany (I lived in the north of Scotland at the time). I can't remember which song they played, but I remember thinking he was different, and I made a note of his name, hoping to hear him again. I most definitely did hear him again! Many times! 🙂
I’m a lifelong musician and I grew in East Tennessee. My mom was from southwestern Virginia. She grew up not far from the Carter Family. She loved country music and would often watch the country TV shows on Saturdays. In those days I liked rock and roll and would try to ignore it. Many years later I was living in a house with the roadies from my band and one of them would play the “24 Hank Williams Greatest Hits” album over and over. I soon found myself listening to Hank and even made cassette tapes that our band enjoyed on our way to play shows.. It’s my opinion the thing that Hank’s music had was sincerity. When he sings the words are real and totally believable. My favorite HW songs are “You Win Again, Honkeytonk Blues, Jambalaya, I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry, and Lost Highway” . Love you channel Otis!
Alone and Forsaken, Ramblin Man and House of Gold are my favourite Hank Williams songs. I song them for years with friends on Country shows in The Netherlands
I wonder why we haven't seen Bob celebrating 100 Years of Hank. Lately I put Pandora on Hank and just listen to everything it plays and I'm convinced that he is right there with Bob Dylan as one of the greatest songwriters ever
I was 8 years old in 1970 and I bought my mother a Hank Williams album for her birthday with money I earned picking fruit on a farm . Listened to him before anyone else even Elvis , Beatles , Stones ... Still good memories !!! Chris Canada...Just an observation
i have the honour of being born on the same day as hank ! ( i'll be 54 ) as a kid, i remember my dad singing some of hank's songs & we had some records .i love to sing his stuff too !!
I heard an off-hand comment at a bar when somebody said they "crying in their beer" and I remember thinking about the famous Hank Williams song. So, I had to get to the bottom of how that song went and bought a compilation CD. Such a unique sound. This guy was in my living room (seemed like it) and every song was so direct and personal. When I feel down about life in general, I reach for the perspiration of Hank Willuams to remind me that while I may be feeling it, there's no way to match what he felt and recorded.
Thanks for this post. I'm reading that book now. I knew vaguely about Hank Williams' place in the history of American music, but I was not aware of Hank Williams' genius until my early 20's when a coworker turned me on to a Greatest Hits record, and I couldn't stop playing it. I was living the Punk Rock/Lower East Side of New York type lifestyle at the time, but that record hit me like a lighting bolt, and I've been obsessed ever since.
I'm pretty sure I heard Hank on the radio when I was three years old. This would have been not long after he died -- so probably the first song or songs of which I have any reliable memory. This was way down on the lower Gulf Coast of Florida. His music lives on.
In the late 60s and early 70s, country stations in Cedar Rapids Iowa still played Hank. My parents also had a couple albums so by the time I was 8, I was hooked.
I grew up hating country music, thinking it was corny and dull. Then a few years ago, in my early 40s, I discovered and fell in love with the music of Jimmie Rogers from the generation before Hank Williams. The music seemed so honest, authentic, and light hearted. That opened me up to country music. I soon fell in love with Hank as well.
Can't say for sure which tune was first, but I remember "Honky Tonkin'" was certainly among 'em. Nice words and thoughts of Hank, Otis. Hank's writing could draw you into a song- "I brushed your arm as I walked so close to you" (I Can't Help It). We've all have done this and the mention of it in the song- along with other lines- makes you feel like you're in it. The legend will live!
I consider myself lucky to have been born in 1961 to a rock n' roll loving Mom who loved to dance and a Hank Williams, Johnny Cash loving Dad. The first time I heard "I'm So Lonesome I could Cry" taught me the iimportance of lyrics. It made me cry. His version still makes me feel the same. Great video, Otis!
Wow I was born in 1960 in Detroit my mom was Motown and my dad was Hank .....I'm blessed at 62 to be able to attempt to play good Motown and old school country on my guitar
Ditto - I was born in 1962. Dad loved musicals and jazz, and Mum was an Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy O. fan & she loved Hank's music. Their combined record collection was an awesome place to explore
Thanks for cluing us in on that Hank bio. I'm going to have to check that one out. I've read his bios by Colin Escott, by Jerry Rivers and by Roger M. Williams and they're all pretty good, but every time someone writes a new one they always unearth something the others didn't. Thanks Otis!
I heard a lot of Hank Williams growing up. ‘I’m so Lonesome I could Cry,” is my favorite, but I always liked, ‘Move it on Over.’ When I was seventeen I went to work at our local radio station and found a treasure trove of Hanks songs. Thanks, Otis!
My Grandmother sang I saw the light and Goodnight Irene at the side of my bed as a lullaby at 3 or 4 years old. Ten years latter I am going nuts over Zep and the Stones and my Dad who only bought records from hardware stores had a lot of 1001 strings play Hank sort of things,some much worse as time went on I realized Hank is it!
My dad singing “Hey Good Looking”, then the first (and only for a longtime) network showing of “Your Cheating Heart”, and finally one “tripping” 😂night when my fellow cosmic traveler put on Hank’s Greatest Hits. Hooked a Dylan kid for life.
Being a 1957 model myself and born in Montgomery, my father (who had 11 siblings), told me many stories over the years about Hank hanging around the neighborhood back in the day. Happy Birthday Hank!
I was 2 years old when Hank died, but I remember his music very well. My parents were country music listeners and so Hank, Lefty, and the whole Grand Ol' Opry was the soundtrack of my early life. Still listening to (and playing) that music today. My favorite song to perform has always been Lost Highway. 🤠
I was born in 1960 and grew up on R&R but I discovered Hank as I expanded my tastes to the roots or R&R and into the roots and the stories of the country and blues songs I have come to love
My first exposure to Hank’s music was in 1965 in the film “Your Cheatin’ Heart”. I saw the film with my family at the Skyline drive-in theater in Logansport, IN. I was ten years old and immediately fell in love with the music. George Hamilton starred as Hank and the singing was over-dubbed by then fifteen-year-old Hank Williams Jr. at the insistence of his mother Audrey. The story of the film is well worth checking out on the Wikipedia page for the film. I love all of Hank’s music. The heartfelt vocals along with the bare bones accompaniment really appeal to me, especially when compared to the mostly over-produced crap that dominated country music for the last forty- five years or so. If I had to choose a favorite Hank song, it would probably be “Cold Cold Heart”.
I was born in 1951 and Hank was always in the air. As I grew up I felt connected to his music, the sound & feel, those songs. I like what you said Otis, Hank was a folk singer. Yes !! ❤
Before I was a teenager my uncle was partners in a record store. He was really into 78's and I can remember being at my grandmothers in the early 70's and listening to Hank on the Victrola. I used to love hand cranking the old record player and listening to everyone sing along and tap their feet to those ancient records.
I was born in 1978. First memory of hearing Mr. Hank actually came through Bob Dylan contributing to an album called, Timeless. ... Loved him instantly. Have purchased A LOT of his material since. Consider him my second all time favorite artist. ... Directly behind Mr. Dylan upon my own little pecking order. He's the man. 🤔 Recall the Christmas of 2009. Lost my dad in May that year. My better half & I moved into his house because he was terminal with cancer & wanted to die in his home. We moved in 2008 Winter. During his last month or so it was rough. Changing his diaper & all sorts of things. Was taking it's toll & could see as much on my wife. I love her, so I politely broke up with her, & kicked her outta the house. No fight or anything . Was calm inside. .... Didn't really want to, but was what was best for her type of deal. ... We got back together 2010 Spring & are still together. Have an 8yo daughter. Anyways, on the eve of that 2010 Christmas I bought some Hank Williams that I didn't already have. ... Some outtakes type of stuff. ... Remember while in line at the record store a worker patted my back & said, "Hank will cures what ails ya." ... Guess I looked how I was feeling. ... His simple gesture made a lot to me at the time. Shall never forget it Such is life 🤠 & indeed, Hank Williams will cure whatever ails ya. .... Thankful for the gifts he left us all with ♥️. My favorite might be a double CD set called, The Ultimate Collection. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. ... Thanks Mr. Otis. ... Best wishes - 🤘
Just visited the Country Music Hall of Fame for the first time while visiting with my sister in Nashville on Thursday. I saw hundreds of amazing instruments and musicians but in the middle of all that greatness, it was Hank WIlliams plain old D28 that gave me goosebumps. When I go again in years to come and see Trigger in there I'll get them again. First time I heard Hank was through George Thoroughgood and his version of "Move It On Over". I really dug into him a couple of years ago in my 50's and I only knew the tip of the tip of the iceberg. What a prolific career, made 100x more amazing by the brevity of it.
I can't remember the 1st time-but the albums were many in my Dads collection & the music was always around our family, friends, life. As a 22 y/o i experienced terrible tragedy, i drowned myself in Hank Williams until i could cry no more-thank you Mr.Williams for dragging me out of the hole i crawled into- saved my life I adore him🩵 Happy 100th!!!!!
My dad was a Korean war veteran and in the 60's we heard Hank Williams Friday and Saturday, cold cold heart. I saw the light. Honky tonkin'. His favorite was Kawliga, my uncles called him that. We had Kawliga put under his name on his gravestone. Thanks for the memories.
I’m So Lomesome I Coukd Cry, I Heard That Loneosme Whistke Blow, Alone And Forsaken etc are my favorites also if it wasn’t for Hank rock n roll wouldn’t have ended up sounding the way it does he was a huge inspiration on Chuck Berry
Growing up in the 70/80's with a mother and 4 brothers, I was introduced to everyone from Bob Dylan, Gil Scott Heron, The sex pistols/punk but also country music. My mum, who passed away last year, loved Willie Nelson and all those outlaw country cats but also had a compilation record with country hits from across the years and on that was Hey Good Lookin' and that was my first introduction to Hank. It was only later in my life that I discovered he was the main man in country and to be honest, I think always will be. When I used to watch old videos of him, it never struck me he was so young, he always looked much older. I guess that's alcohol addiction for you. I can't imagine what else he would have written had he lived longer.
I was born 5 days before Hank died. My dad played him without quit on his little 45rpm turntable so you can say I cut my teeth listening to Hank. Soon be approaching the age where I lose my teeth and I'm still listening to Hank. - Check out his live radio recordings unearthed not too many years ago. Hank and his band unchained without studio/record executive restrictions. One realizes that he was not only the genres greatest songwriter but with apologies to George and Merle, the greatest singer. His body of work in so few years is unparalleled. Hank is legend.
First Hank Williams song I remember hearing is my Dad playing and singing I Saw The Light. Like you, I didn’t know that the singer didn’t write the song.
The first time I heard a Hank song was I might have been 8 years old. Me and my grandfather just came home from hauling hay all day and he was heading to the shower and he came in the door singing cool, cool water. I didn’t ask him about it but we were both hot and dirty and it really resonated with me. Around 18 I started actually buying Hank cassettes.
My earliest memories of hearing Hank was my grandfather’s old MGM 78’s. This would have been the early 50’s. I can’t explain it but the sad ones really got me. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry and They’ll Never Take Your Love From Me stand out as well as Lovesick Blues. We didn’t have a tv but there was a little portable record player that I would listen to constantly . I absorbed that music and somehow understood where it had come from. To me Hank is as important as any great novelist. He’s sort of the Shakespeare of country blues. To me great songs come from meaningful events in life . Hank Williams had an eventful life that had more than his share of sadness.
I was born in 1949 one day after Hank Jr. So I grew up being ingrained in Hank's music it was as much as part of my country life as breathing or My morning oatmeal l can't remember a day when it wasn't in the background of my life. Best documentary on Hank is by BBC
I listened to a Indianapolis radio station back in 1974, I think it was 1430am, not sure about that but I heard Hank. I wasn’t a country guy but I got into it for a time. I believe it opened my mind up to new music while listening to that old music if that makes sense. Thank again Otis!
As a kid I went down the “Luke the Drifter” trail. Hearing his phrasing was so impressionable. It was always the lyrics for me. “I Can’t Help it if I’m Still in Love with You” is probably my favorite.
I can't remember not hearing Hank in our house. My Dad played it his entire life. Whenever I hear "Hey Good Lookin'" I remember him singing that to my Mom.
I too, like the commenter below, was born in 1951 where Hanks music was a part of the air. I'm humbled to hear this posting this morning and join in the chorus of those who are celebrating Hank's 100th. His music is eternal.
Elvis cover, on Hank Williams Your Cheatin' Heart, was the first Hank Williams song I heard. I guess that I was 5 or mabye 6 years old, and a few years later I bought a Greatest Hits Album with Hank Williams.
First memory of Hank would be a commercial on TV for a compilation album that came on in the afternoon about the time I would have been watching Gilligan's Island. Maybe a gospel comp because I Saw the Light is definitely the first Hank song I remember hearing. First deep dive into the Hank mythos would be Your Cheating Heart by Chet Flippo a great book I recently replaced after losing my original copy years ago. Favorite Hank story came about back in the early 90s when I walked into my grandparent's house wearing a Hank tshirt. My grandfather, who had served on the Knoxville Police Department, remarked on it and told me that Hank had stopped by the station the night he died and he got to meet him. I was completely blown away..... until Grandma Daisy walked in the kitchen. "Ray! You were selling TVs by the time Hank died and you know it!" Good old Grandma. Always enjoy your videos. Thanks for reminding me about Hank's birthday.
Otis , agree 100% on loving the dark and gospel stuff from Hank . The same with a lot of other artist , it makes you feel that you're not alone in this world and the emotions are felt by all of us and that why the blues are so important and it's strange how it makes you're emotions feel better , when you are sad .
It's crazy to think how people live to 100 not regularly, but it happens. Him being only 100 is insane, like that means that he could technically still be alive today if he hadn't died back then and its wild to think about how short history is and how different the world would be if Hank had still been around for just about all of country music history to unfold. I've always loved Six More Miles, Settin the Woods on Fire & ofc I'm so Lonesome I could Cry. Have a great day y'all!
Only like 1/4 of one percent of people make it to 100, it's a pretty big achievement. I can't think of a single one of his contemporaries that are still alive.
My father played a Best of Collection very often when I was a child in the sixties. Records like this were very hard to find in Germany in these times. I loved it.
I ordered that yellow 40 Greatest Hits to complete my first order of CDs from Columbia House or BMG. I have no memory of what other CDs I received from that order, because Hank blew the top right off my head. Which was what Emily Dickinson said good poetry did for her. That's good enough for me.
I got into Hank when I was learning to play guitar. My then girlfriend broke up with me because I would burn a needle through Hank’s white album collection, drink whiskey and stare at myself in the mirror………..remaining silent for hours…….just staring and listening… “This ain’t gonna work out”……..or something like that is what she said.
K says her favorite song is "Setting the Woods On Fire" ...for me the first song that really registered that was Hank was when I was very young .It was "Hey Good Lookin'" but I love "Alone and Forsaken" and "I Can't Help( It If I'm Still In Love With You)" but it's so hard to pick...and yes it is Folk music!
Elvis also nailed gospel - I’m not a Christian but that stuff is gold. No offense meant - I’m just a different stripe of inner peace- but those old gospel songs can really inspire ❤
Hank Williams had a deeply spiritual side. All his gospel songs are theologically correct and give the glory to his savior Jesus Christ! Amen! I love all the “Lovesick Blues Boy” music!
Good Morning! Alex T sent me over.....I'm glad he did! Hank Senior was a singer, not like the noise makers on the radio today. His real name was Hiram? Ha! never knew that! I've met Hank Jr. several times now. He has a place near here over in Wisdom, Montana.
Thanks so much Otis! I’m not sure the very first time I heard Hank. I was born and raised in NE Alabama in ‘48, so Hank was always present as I grew up. I might have first heard Hank’s songs from my brother, Steve Young, who was born in ‘42 an was 6 years older than me. Steve loved Hank. Of course as the 50’s came on, Elvis, Jerry Lee and R & R began to take over the airwaves a bit, but Hank and country music was always everywhere too. Steve lived in Montgomery as a young man for quite a while. He said he and friends used to go out to Hanks grave late at night and he would sing and play music while having a few drinks. Back then you could go to his grave 24/7/365 and no one thought anything about it. I love Hanks music and also learned many of his songs. I always loved the sad ones and nearly any set I ever played had Hank’s songs included. Alone and Forsaken, Singin’ Waterfall, Long Gone Lonesome Blues, So Lonesome I Could Cry (truly a masterpiece). There’s so many great ones, all the different kinds he wrote, and Hank’s heart and soul can still be heard in all his music, all you have to do is listen!
I heard the occasional Hank Williams song growing up on the radio. We listen to a lot of radio and we're from rural North Carolina. Around age twenty I bought a Luke The Drifter cassette. I loved it, it was all narrative talkin songs. Then a few years later I realized my mom had up a four lp collection and listen to it one night while visiting. Not long thereafter RUclips came along and since then I've listened to a lot more Hank Williams. I like his honky-tonk songs best
God knows I heard Hank long before I ever knew who Hang was. Earliest I can remember is hearing my Mom singing "Hey Good Lookin'" in the house to me and my brother. We didn't have much outside music around the house outside of what my Mom would misremember from before she married my Dad and he told her he didn't want "that stuff playing in the house". Wanted to express my condolences about the loss of Dave Roe. Thanks so much for getting him to share his stories here. He may be gone but his voice carries on thanks in part to what you do.
Pentax K-1000! Boy do I remember those! With their non-electronic mechanical shutters, when your button-battery ran out you could still go right on taking pictures, just without the light meter working. They were workhorse 35mm TTL SLRs; all the photography students and budding pros were looking to buy those, or if they had a few extra bucks, the Nikkormats, which likewise had mechanical shutters. One of my side hustles for about 10 years during the 80s and 90s was a vintage camera gear shop in NYC at the renowned Annex Flea Market on 6th Ave at 26th St, in Manhattan. This period was truly a 'Golden Age' for camera collecting which ended with the advent of digital photography in the mid 90s. For years I'd gig downtown in SOHO or Tribeca joints every Friday and Saturday night with my Blues band, and then be out at the Flea Market all day every Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine, dealing cameras! We used to make crazy good money, but it's a good thing I was still young 'cause I sure didn't get much sleep back then! Sorry for the digression, but I haven't heard the K-1000 mentioned in decades and it sure brought back memories! They were the equivalent of Epiphones or Squiers of cool, cheap, all-metal SLR cameras! We must have sold hundreds of them. :)
1978 my grandparents played Hank Williams in the house religiously on record and 8 track, and I still listen to him on pandora and youtube to this day.
We are driving up from Atlanta for the Hank 100 celebration in Leiper’s Fork tomorrow. Shawn Camp is leading that one. No one more influential than Hank Sr. Thanks for your posts Otis.
First time I heard Hank was when I was just a baby. I grew up just above dirt poor and we (my brother, cousins, and I) would be sitting around grandmas record player listening to Hank, old Willie, Patsy Cline, plus many others, and I was always drawn to Hank’s music. Here we are 40 years later and not a day goes by where I don’t listen to Hank. You could hear the pain in his voice. It sounded like he was telling you his life story every record. My favorite has to be, “I’ll never get out of this world alive”. I also started listening to Hank 3 in my 20’s and he and his granddaddy are still two of my favorite people to listen to. God bless you and yours.
Thx Otis. God bless Hank Williams. Heard him in the sixties. Side note: We would sing “Your cheatin’ heart”while my grandfather played the guitar on the front porch. 😉
I woke up to the news that Dave Roe passed away last night. I interviewed him last year and he was an audience favorite to say the least. He was one of the best bass players on the planet and an absolutely beautiful cat to be around. Much love to his family and friends.
Here are a few links for anyone who missed the interviews.
ruclips.net/video/9Ggk17nm7Ew/видео.htmlsi=bfrQUkQBttPob3t1
ruclips.net/video/b1USdcY4g28/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/nCl8KhMxJBU/видео.html
No!!!!!
And I just reacted the same way...NO!!! He truly was a great player and a great interview too!
So sad to hear this. Dave was a real talent and a nice man.
Sad to hear. Really enjoyed seeing him here telling stories
RIP Mr. Roe
My mom played Hank Williams every day when I was growing up. And I'm 70
I first listened to Hank Sr in the late 80's or early 90's when I was a kid because my dad always had it playing on our road trips!
My favorites: Lovesick blues, I saw the light, So lonesome I could cry, My buckets got a hole in it, Your cheatin' heart... to name a few!
My Dad sang his songs when I was growing up, he played to indigenous people of remote Saskatchewan working on the Bell Telephone microwave towers.
He was rewarded with beaded jackets, boots, gloves, guitar straps.
I still have them today 68 years later.
I read HANK and listened to the Audible as well. Moves me thinking of dear, old Dad.
CD box set from England and every DVD I could find on Amazon. Yes, HANK is an intelligent, well-sourced biography-very much recommended. And thank you for your reflections and personal stories. Appreciate the kindness and the effort.
I came into this world 3 weeks before he left us !!He has influence me all my life, nuff said !!
I heard Hank when my dad had his records when I was 6 years old I’m now 76 and still listen to him and so does my dad at 100 years old.Canadian boy.
My dad turned me on to Hank as a kid......I'm still listening to him at 66 years old. Love his songs.
When I was a kid my dad would walk around singing “Hey Good Looking” around the house all the time. He loved Hank. My folks were from Florence Alabama. They were lucky enough to have seen him live a few times. He was well represented in our house. He was and still is a true giant in music. In addition to seeing Hank live , my mom also saw Elvis, Scotty and Bill when they were in Muscle Shoals. What a time to be alive. I still can’t comprehend my mom saw Hank in the flesh and Elvis when he was on Sun records.
It's hard to say how much Hank's music means to me. I got into Hank in 1982 age 16. I was going through a tough time back then, but Hank's music got me through the dark days. Like Otis, it was the sad lonely songs that really spoke to me. I could relate to Hank and the loneliness he sang about. I guess my favorite song of Hank's would be "I'm so lonesome I could cry" with "Take these chains from my heart" up there.
My very first recall of listening Mr. Williams was on the radio. I had to be 4 or 5 years old, dancing to his music, and i am now 65 years young.
Thank you for sharing about Mr. Williams.
Rest In Peace Mr. Williams Senior.
I was 4 years old in Denver in 1955, my grandfather played the radio. The song was My Buckets Got a Hole In It. I really heard him as a 17 year old in unrequited love Long Gone Lonesome Blues. Hank helped me without knowing it. I knew I wasn't the only person sad and lonely.
My Great Grandfather who was born in 1898 used to sing snippets of Jimmy Rogers and Hank Williams songs, I had no idea, I thought he was making them up, that they were his songs. He and my Great Grandmother were the closest relatives I have had, somehow I sensed how they were irreplaceable and special at an early age and I didn’t take them for granted as much as other adults at the time. It always is amazing to me that in their lifetime, they went from the end of the horse and wagon/buggy to man going to the moon. So many wonderful memories and stories.
I listen to a lot of blues,r&b,jazz by original artists,and the people who still bear the flame.And I listen to Hank Williams.
Respect to Hank III. I hope he's doing well.
I think you nailed it Otis.
Even those of us who believe every word… Realize we are extremely human, and our fraught with frailty.
Thank you so much for the richness you bring to the Internet. It’s like the history channel 4 music history, buffs!
Happy 100th birthday to the real king of country and western music. So many hit songs.
My father had a 10 inch LP called "Moanin' The Blues" that I heard at a very young age. Eventually I got old enough to play it myself on my own little record player. Those songs have been with me all my life.
Hi Otis and everyone. I started buying Hank's records when I was 11 yrs. old -1958. Growing up in an alcoholic family we weren't allowed to be express emotion. Mom and me would go to the farmer's market and buy a Hank record every time we went, believing they were new releases - of course not realizing he had passed on 5 yrs. prior. I got caught up in His music and it really allowed me be to release a lot of those unexpressed feelings. I think Hank did this for a lot of people and the reason he was so popular. In addition his 78 rpm records really captured his soul and essence, the recording being cut right into the disc.
My Dad had Hank Williams’ songs on 45 rpm records and a little portable record player. Sometimes we were allowed to play them along with Elvis 45s. That’s probably the first time I heard Hank’s music. One of my favorite Hank Williams song is “House of Gold” . I just sang that song at a nursing home about an hour ago to some very hurting lonely folks. Hank’s songs are so real and heartfelt, nothing hardly compares…
I'm 26 and Hank Williams's music means the world to me. I really identify with him and the struggles he went through.
My father born in 1930, is 93 now. In the Heart of Texas, Bangs Texas. On a 300-acre farm no running water, no electricity, battery-powered radio. The antenna was run from the house to the barn. He has always talked about the Hank Williams Grand Ole Opry multiple encore performance. He tells that story with pride.
I have that Hank book. It’s a great read! I love Hank Williams music- I’m 49 years old. I met Hank Jr. In 2018 before his concert in eldorado ar.
I first heard Hank Williams in December of 1956. I was playing around with an old valve radio, and stumbled across AFN broadcasting out of Germany (I lived in the north of Scotland at the time). I can't remember which song they played, but I remember thinking he was different, and I made a note of his name, hoping to hear him again. I most definitely did hear him again! Many times! 🙂
I’m a lifelong musician and I grew in East Tennessee. My mom was from southwestern Virginia. She grew up not far from the Carter Family. She loved country music and would often watch the country TV shows on Saturdays. In those days I liked rock and roll and would try to ignore it. Many years later I was living in a house with the roadies from my band and one of them would play the “24 Hank Williams Greatest Hits” album over and over. I soon found myself listening to Hank and even made cassette tapes that our band enjoyed on our way to play shows..
It’s my opinion the thing that Hank’s music had was sincerity. When he sings the words are real and totally believable. My favorite HW songs are “You Win Again, Honkeytonk Blues, Jambalaya, I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry, and Lost Highway” . Love you channel Otis!
Hank was without a doubt the greatest singer/songwriter ever. A true genius. My favorite song Cold Cold Heart.
Alone and Forsaken, Ramblin Man and House of Gold are my favourite Hank Williams songs. I song them for years with friends on Country shows in The Netherlands
I wonder why we haven't seen Bob celebrating 100 Years of Hank. Lately I put Pandora on Hank and just listen to everything it plays and I'm convinced that he is right there with Bob Dylan as one of the greatest songwriters ever
I was 8 years old in 1970 and I bought my mother a Hank Williams album for her birthday with money I earned picking fruit on a farm . Listened to him before anyone else even Elvis , Beatles , Stones ... Still good memories !!! Chris Canada...Just an observation
i have the honour of being born on the same day as hank ! ( i'll be 54 ) as a kid, i remember my dad singing some of hank's songs & we had some records .i love to sing his stuff too !!
I heard an off-hand comment at a bar when somebody said they "crying in their beer" and I remember thinking about the famous Hank Williams song. So, I had to get to the bottom of how that song went and bought a compilation CD. Such a unique sound. This guy was in my living room (seemed like it) and every song was so direct and personal. When I feel down about life in general, I reach for the perspiration of Hank Willuams to remind me that while I may be feeling it, there's no way to match what he felt and recorded.
Went through Nashville over the weekend and they had a nice billboard to Hank's 100th up along I-65.
Thanks for this post. I'm reading that book now. I knew vaguely about Hank Williams' place in the history of American music, but I was not aware of Hank Williams' genius until my early 20's when a coworker turned me on to a Greatest Hits record, and I couldn't stop playing it. I was living the Punk Rock/Lower East Side of New York type lifestyle at the time, but that record hit me like a lighting bolt, and I've been obsessed ever since.
I'm pretty sure I heard Hank on the radio when I was three years old. This would have been not long after he died -- so probably the first song or songs of which I have any reliable memory. This was way down on the lower Gulf Coast of Florida. His music lives on.
In the late 60s and early 70s, country stations in Cedar Rapids Iowa still played Hank. My parents also had a couple albums so by the time I was 8, I was hooked.
I grew up hating country music, thinking it was corny and dull. Then a few years ago, in my early 40s, I discovered and fell in love with the music of Jimmie Rogers from the generation before Hank Williams. The music seemed so honest, authentic, and light hearted. That opened me up to country music. I soon fell in love with Hank as well.
The 11 year old kid next door taught me, as a 4 through 7 year old, Hank songs. IM SO LONESOME I COULD CRY is my favorite.
Hank Williams Sr is and was a ICON
Can't say for sure which tune was first, but I remember "Honky Tonkin'" was certainly among 'em. Nice words and thoughts of Hank, Otis. Hank's writing could draw you into a song- "I brushed your arm as I walked so close to you" (I Can't Help It). We've all have done this and the mention of it in the song- along with other lines- makes you feel like you're in it. The legend will live!
I consider myself lucky to have been born in 1961 to a rock n' roll loving Mom who loved to dance and a Hank Williams, Johnny Cash loving Dad. The first time I heard "I'm So Lonesome I could Cry" taught me the iimportance of lyrics. It made me cry. His version still makes me feel the same. Great video, Otis!
Wow I was born in 1960 in Detroit my mom was Motown and my dad was Hank .....I'm blessed at 62 to be able to attempt to play good Motown and old school country on my guitar
Ditto - I was born in 1962. Dad loved musicals and jazz, and Mum was an Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy O. fan & she loved Hank's music. Their combined record collection was an awesome place to explore
Thanks for cluing us in on that Hank bio. I'm going to have to check that one out. I've read his bios by Colin Escott, by Jerry Rivers and by Roger M. Williams and they're all pretty good, but every time someone writes a new one they always unearth something the others didn't. Thanks Otis!
I heard a lot of Hank Williams growing up. ‘I’m so Lonesome I could Cry,” is my favorite, but I always liked, ‘Move it on Over.’ When I was seventeen I went to work at our local radio station and found a treasure trove of Hanks songs. Thanks, Otis!
My Grandmother sang I saw the light and Goodnight Irene at the side of my bed as a lullaby at 3 or 4 years old. Ten years latter I am going nuts over Zep and the Stones and my Dad who only bought records from hardware stores had a lot of 1001 strings play Hank sort of things,some much worse as time went on I realized Hank is it!
My favourite Hank williams song is why dont you love me like you used to do and Happy Heavenly birthday Hank x
My dad singing “Hey Good Looking”, then the first (and only for a longtime) network showing of “Your Cheating Heart”, and finally one “tripping” 😂night when my fellow cosmic traveler put on Hank’s Greatest Hits. Hooked a Dylan kid for life.
Being a 1957 model myself and born in Montgomery, my father (who had 11 siblings), told me many stories over the years about Hank hanging around the neighborhood back in the day. Happy Birthday Hank!
I was 2 years old when Hank died, but I remember his music very well. My parents were country music listeners and so Hank, Lefty, and the whole Grand Ol' Opry was the soundtrack of my early life. Still listening to (and playing) that music today. My favorite song to perform has always been Lost Highway. 🤠
I was born in 1960 and grew up on R&R but I discovered Hank as I expanded my tastes to the roots or R&R and into the roots and the stories of the country and blues songs I have come to love
My first exposure to Hank’s music was in 1965 in the film “Your Cheatin’ Heart”. I saw the film with my family at the Skyline drive-in theater in Logansport, IN. I was ten years old and immediately fell in love with the music. George Hamilton starred as Hank and the singing was over-dubbed by then fifteen-year-old Hank Williams Jr. at the insistence of his mother Audrey. The story of the film is well worth checking out on the Wikipedia page for the film.
I love all of Hank’s music. The heartfelt vocals along with the bare bones accompaniment really appeal to me, especially when compared to the mostly over-produced crap that dominated country music for the last forty- five years or so. If I had to choose a favorite Hank song, it would probably be “Cold Cold Heart”.
i was a toddler,and my aunts would stand me on top of the kitchen table and play Hey Good Lookin' so i could dance.
I was born in 1951 and Hank was always in the air. As I grew up I felt connected to his music, the sound & feel, those songs. I like what you said Otis, Hank was a folk singer. Yes !! ❤
Before I was a teenager my uncle was partners in a record store. He was really into 78's and I can remember being at my grandmothers in the early 70's and listening to Hank on the Victrola. I used to love hand cranking the old record player and listening to everyone sing along and tap their feet to those ancient records.
I was born in 1978. First memory of hearing Mr. Hank actually came through Bob Dylan contributing to an album called, Timeless. ... Loved him instantly. Have purchased A LOT of his material since. Consider him my second all time favorite artist. ... Directly behind Mr. Dylan upon my own little pecking order.
He's the man.
🤔 Recall the Christmas of 2009. Lost my dad in May that year. My better half & I moved into his house because he was terminal with cancer & wanted to die in his home. We moved in 2008 Winter. During his last month or so it was rough. Changing his diaper & all sorts of things. Was taking it's toll & could see as much on my wife. I love her, so I politely broke up with her, & kicked her outta the house. No fight or anything . Was calm inside. .... Didn't really want to, but was what was best for her type of deal. ... We got back together 2010 Spring & are still together. Have an 8yo daughter.
Anyways, on the eve of that 2010 Christmas I bought some Hank Williams that I didn't already have. ... Some outtakes type of stuff. ... Remember while in line at the record store a worker patted my back & said, "Hank will cures what ails ya." ... Guess I looked how I was feeling. ... His simple gesture made a lot to me at the time. Shall never forget it
Such is life
🤠
& indeed, Hank Williams will cure whatever ails ya. .... Thankful for the gifts he left us all with
♥️.
My favorite might be a double CD set called, The Ultimate Collection.
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.
...
Thanks Mr. Otis. ... Best wishes - 🤘
Thank you very much for sharing this with us . I really like what you have to say .
Just visited the Country Music Hall of Fame for the first time while visiting with my sister in Nashville on Thursday. I saw hundreds of amazing instruments and musicians but in the middle of all that greatness, it was Hank WIlliams plain old D28 that gave me goosebumps. When I go again in years to come and see Trigger in there I'll get them again. First time I heard Hank was through George Thoroughgood and his version of "Move It On Over". I really dug into him a couple of years ago in my 50's and I only knew the tip of the tip of the iceberg. What a prolific career, made 100x more amazing by the brevity of it.
I can't remember the 1st time-but the albums were many in my Dads collection & the music was always around our family, friends, life. As a 22 y/o i experienced terrible tragedy, i drowned myself in Hank Williams until i could cry no more-thank you Mr.Williams for dragging me out of the hole i crawled into- saved my life
I adore him🩵
Happy 100th!!!!!
Thanks Otis Gibbs. I enjoy your videos.
My dad was a Korean war veteran and in the 60's we heard Hank Williams Friday and Saturday, cold cold heart. I saw the light. Honky tonkin'.
His favorite was Kawliga, my uncles called him that. We had Kawliga put under his name on his gravestone. Thanks for the memories.
Otis, you have the best Stories, about the best people.
I wish I had known this yesterday. I played out at a Farmers Market yesterday and while I did play several Hank songs, I would have played more.
I’m so lonesome I could cry Hank Williams
It is Shakespeare to me
I’m So Lomesome I Coukd Cry, I Heard That Loneosme Whistke Blow, Alone And Forsaken etc are my favorites also if it wasn’t for Hank rock n roll wouldn’t have ended up sounding the way it does he was a huge inspiration on Chuck Berry
Growing up in the 70/80's with a mother and 4 brothers, I was introduced to everyone from Bob Dylan, Gil Scott Heron, The sex pistols/punk but also country music. My mum, who passed away last year, loved Willie Nelson and all those outlaw country cats but also had a compilation record with country hits from across the years and on that was Hey Good Lookin' and that was my first introduction to Hank. It was only later in my life that I discovered he was the main man in country and to be honest, I think always will be. When I used to watch old videos of him, it never struck me he was so young, he always looked much older. I guess that's alcohol addiction for you. I can't imagine what else he would have written had he lived longer.
I was born 5 days before Hank died. My dad played him without quit on his little 45rpm turntable so you can say I cut my teeth listening to Hank. Soon be approaching the age where I lose my teeth and I'm still listening to Hank. - Check out his live radio recordings unearthed not too many years ago. Hank and his band unchained without studio/record executive restrictions. One realizes that he was not only the genres greatest songwriter but with apologies to George and Merle, the greatest singer. His body of work in so few years is unparalleled. Hank is legend.
First Hank Williams song I remember hearing is my Dad playing and singing I Saw The Light. Like you, I didn’t know that the singer didn’t write the song.
The first time I heard a Hank song was I might have been 8 years old. Me and my grandfather just came home from hauling hay all day and he was heading to the shower and he came in the door singing cool, cool water. I didn’t ask him about it but we were both hot and dirty and it really resonated with me. Around 18 I started actually buying Hank cassettes.
My earliest memories of hearing Hank was my grandfather’s old MGM 78’s. This would have been the early 50’s. I can’t explain it but the sad ones really got me. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry and They’ll Never Take Your Love From Me stand out as well as Lovesick Blues. We didn’t have a tv but there was a little portable record player that I would listen to constantly . I absorbed that music and somehow understood where it had come from. To me Hank is as important as any great novelist. He’s sort of the Shakespeare of country blues. To me great songs come from meaningful events in life . Hank Williams had an eventful life that had more than his share of sadness.
I really agree with you about Hank and Jerry Lee
I was born in 1949 one day after Hank Jr. So I grew up being ingrained in Hank's music it was as much as part of my country life as breathing or My morning oatmeal l can't remember a day when it wasn't in the background of my life. Best documentary on Hank is by BBC
I listened to a Indianapolis radio station back in 1974, I think it was 1430am, not sure about that but I heard Hank. I wasn’t a country guy but I got into it for a time. I believe it opened my mind up to new music while listening to that old music if that makes sense. Thank again Otis!
As a kid I went down the “Luke the Drifter” trail. Hearing his phrasing was so impressionable. It was always the lyrics for me. “I Can’t Help it if I’m Still in Love with You” is probably my favorite.
I can't remember not hearing Hank in our house. My Dad played it his entire life. Whenever I hear "Hey Good Lookin'" I remember him singing that to my Mom.
I too, like the commenter below, was born in 1951 where Hanks music was a part of the air. I'm humbled to hear this posting this morning and join in the chorus of those who are celebrating Hank's 100th. His music is eternal.
Elvis cover, on Hank Williams Your Cheatin' Heart, was the first Hank Williams song I heard. I guess that I was 5 or mabye 6 years old, and a few years later I bought a Greatest Hits Album with Hank Williams.
First memory of Hank would be a commercial on TV for a compilation album that came on in the afternoon about the time I would have been watching Gilligan's Island. Maybe a gospel comp because I Saw the Light is definitely the first Hank song I remember hearing.
First deep dive into the Hank mythos would be Your Cheating Heart by Chet Flippo a great book I recently replaced after losing my original copy years ago.
Favorite Hank story came about back in the early 90s when I walked into my grandparent's house wearing a Hank tshirt. My grandfather, who had served on the Knoxville Police Department, remarked on it and told me that Hank had stopped by the station the night he died and he got to meet him. I was completely blown away..... until Grandma Daisy walked in the kitchen. "Ray! You were selling TVs by the time Hank died and you know it!" Good old Grandma.
Always enjoy your videos. Thanks for reminding me about Hank's birthday.
🤠👍🎶🎶🎂 cheers Hank.. And first time heard his music was in the 60's...
Otis , agree 100% on loving the dark and gospel stuff from Hank . The same with a lot of other artist , it makes you feel that you're not alone in this world and the emotions are felt by all of us and that why the blues are so important and it's strange how it makes you're emotions feel better , when you are sad .
It's crazy to think how people live to 100 not regularly, but it happens. Him being only 100 is insane, like that means that he could technically still be alive today if he hadn't died back then and its wild to think about how short history is and how different the world would be if Hank had still been around for just about all of country music history to unfold. I've always loved Six More Miles, Settin the Woods on Fire & ofc I'm so Lonesome I could Cry. Have a great day y'all!
Only like 1/4 of one percent of people make it to 100, it's a pretty big achievement. I can't think of a single one of his contemporaries that are still alive.
My father played a Best of Collection very often when I was a child in the sixties. Records like this were very hard to find in Germany in these times. I loved it.
I ordered that yellow 40 Greatest Hits to complete my first order of CDs from Columbia House or BMG. I have no memory of what other CDs I received from that order, because Hank blew the top right off my head. Which was what Emily Dickinson said good poetry did for her. That's good enough for me.
My uncle loved Hank senior so probably from him. I'm so lonesome I could cry one of my favorites
I got into Hank when I was learning to play guitar. My then girlfriend broke up with me because I would burn a needle through Hank’s white album collection, drink whiskey and stare at myself in the mirror………..remaining silent for hours…….just staring and listening…
“This ain’t gonna work out”……..or something like that is what she said.
K says her favorite song is "Setting the Woods On Fire" ...for me the first song that really registered that was Hank was when I was very young .It was "Hey Good Lookin'" but I love "Alone and Forsaken" and "I Can't Help( It If I'm Still In Love With You)" but it's so hard to pick...and yes it is Folk music!
Elvis also nailed gospel - I’m not a Christian but that stuff is gold. No offense meant - I’m just a different stripe of inner peace- but those old gospel songs can really inspire ❤
Hank Williams had a deeply spiritual side. All his gospel songs are theologically correct and give the glory to his savior Jesus Christ! Amen! I love all the “Lovesick Blues Boy” music!
Thankfully I got most of my Hank albums in the 90s and early 00s at an average of $2ea at backwoods flea markets all over Alabama. 🤘
Good Morning! Alex T sent me over.....I'm glad he did! Hank Senior was a singer, not like the noise makers on the radio today. His real name was Hiram? Ha! never knew that! I've met Hank Jr. several times now. He has a place near here over in Wisdom, Montana.
Huge impact on so many. Otis, he had the same impact on me as a young man when I "discovered" him. Changed my perception of music forever.
My first memory was Jerry Lee's Sun version of "You Win Again" in the 1950s. Hank was soon on my radar by 1960.
Thanks so much Otis! I’m not sure the very first time I heard Hank. I was born and raised in NE Alabama in ‘48, so Hank was always present as I grew up. I might have first heard Hank’s songs from my brother, Steve Young, who was born in ‘42 an was 6 years older than me. Steve loved Hank. Of course as the 50’s came on, Elvis, Jerry Lee and R & R began to take over the airwaves a bit, but Hank and country music was always everywhere too. Steve lived in Montgomery as a young man for quite a while. He said he and friends used to go out to Hanks grave late at night and he would sing and play music while having a few drinks. Back then you could go to his grave 24/7/365 and no one thought anything about it. I love Hanks music and also learned many of his songs. I always loved the sad ones and nearly any set I ever played had Hank’s songs included. Alone and Forsaken, Singin’ Waterfall, Long Gone Lonesome Blues, So Lonesome I Could Cry (truly a masterpiece). There’s so many great ones, all the different kinds he wrote, and Hank’s heart and soul can still be heard in all his music, all you have to do is listen!
I heard the occasional Hank Williams song growing up on the radio. We listen to a lot of radio and we're from rural North Carolina. Around age twenty I bought a Luke The Drifter cassette. I loved it, it was all narrative talkin songs. Then a few years later I realized my mom had up a four lp collection and listen to it one night while visiting. Not long thereafter RUclips came along and since then I've listened to a lot more Hank Williams. I like his honky-tonk songs best
As a kid my Dad would sing "Hey Good Looking" and "I'm So Lonesome" whilst doing the washing up!
God knows I heard Hank long before I ever knew who Hang was. Earliest I can remember is hearing my Mom singing "Hey Good Lookin'" in the house to me and my brother. We didn't have much outside music around the house outside of what my Mom would misremember from before she married my Dad and he told her he didn't want "that stuff playing in the house".
Wanted to express my condolences about the loss of Dave Roe. Thanks so much for getting him to share his stories here. He may be gone but his voice carries on thanks in part to what you do.
This channel is gold ✨
Pentax K-1000! Boy do I remember those! With their non-electronic mechanical shutters, when your button-battery ran out you could still go right on taking pictures, just without the light meter working. They were workhorse 35mm TTL SLRs; all the photography students and budding pros were looking to buy those, or if they had a few extra bucks, the Nikkormats, which likewise had mechanical shutters. One of my side hustles for about 10 years during the 80s and 90s was a vintage camera gear shop in NYC at the renowned Annex Flea Market on 6th Ave at 26th St, in Manhattan. This period was truly a 'Golden Age' for camera collecting which ended with the advent of digital photography in the mid 90s. For years I'd gig downtown in SOHO or Tribeca joints every Friday and Saturday night with my Blues band, and then be out at the Flea Market all day every Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine, dealing cameras! We used to make crazy good money, but it's a good thing I was still young 'cause I sure didn't get much sleep back then!
Sorry for the digression, but I haven't heard the K-1000 mentioned in decades and it sure brought back memories! They were the equivalent of Epiphones or Squiers of cool, cheap, all-metal SLR cameras! We must have sold hundreds of them. :)
My Mum, she would sing Hey Good Look'en in the kitchen when I was a kid - mid 60's
1978 my grandparents played Hank Williams in the house religiously on record and 8 track, and I still listen to him on pandora and youtube to this day.
My dad would come into the house singing "Hey Good Lookin'"
We are driving up from Atlanta for the Hank 100 celebration in Leiper’s Fork tomorrow. Shawn Camp is leading that one. No one more influential than Hank Sr. Thanks for your posts Otis.
First time I heard Hank was when I was just a baby. I grew up just above dirt poor and we (my brother, cousins, and I) would be sitting around grandmas record player listening to Hank, old Willie, Patsy Cline, plus many others, and I was always drawn to Hank’s music. Here we are 40 years later and not a day goes by where I don’t listen to Hank. You could hear the pain in his voice. It sounded like he was telling you his life story every record. My favorite has to be, “I’ll never get out of this world alive”. I also started listening to Hank 3 in my 20’s and he and his granddaddy are still two of my favorite people to listen to. God bless you and yours.
Thx Otis. God bless Hank Williams. Heard him in the sixties. Side note: We would sing “Your cheatin’ heart”while my grandfather played the guitar on the front porch. 😉