The Singing Kid

The Hillbilly Shakespeare - Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

by Trebor Snillor
When I listen to classic American country music, there is hardly anything more exemplary than the tunes of Hank Williams Sr.. The “Hillbilly Shakespeare” of Alabama made a huge impact in his highly abbreviated life.

Williams was born Hiram Williams in 1923, in Butler County, Alabama. He was named after a famous Mason. His father was a railroad engineer who became disabled by a brain aneurism while Hiram was still a young boy. Hiram’s mother Lillie took over at this point and provided for the family. She alternately worked as a night nurse and managed boarding houses to make ends meet. “Harm” (as he was called) received his first guitar from his Mother – a gift famously purchased from selling peanuts. He took his new guitar and finagled lessons from Rufus Payne, a well-known local street performer. Young Hiram was gifted despite lacking the ability to read music. He could play well by ear -- Roy Acuff and Jimmie Rodgers were his inspirations in these early preteen years.

At age 14, Hiram won a local Montgomery talent contest and then got himself a small radio gig at WSFA. From here he formed a group called the Drifting Cowboys. At this point, the teen wunderkind changed his name to Hank and his group started touring theaters and honky-tonks throughout the South. Hank’s band mates were drafted away into WWII in the next few years -- while he kept a civilian status. Williams was ranked 4F due to childhood spina bifada, a condition which caused him chronic pain throughout his entire life.

In his 20’s, Hank was incredibly prolific and successful. He published a song book, got a contract with Sterling Records, then MGM records and finally landed a coveted spot on the Grand Ole Opry. During this period he rolled out hit after hit… Move It On Over, Honky Tonkin’, Your Cheatin Heart. His songs were national hits and his status became legend. Unfortunately Williams grappled with alcoholism and “sister morphine” -- very possibly as self-medications for his chronic spinal pain. He was evicted from Grand Ole Opry for drunken behavior. After this setback, he had to return to concert tours and radio gigs. One such gig was Louisiana Hayride -- a radio show with a huge listening audience at the time.

Williams was married twice although his second marriage was very brief. He had a close girlfriend between the wives -- he did not ever lack for female companionship. He fathered Hank Jr. with his first wife, Audrey and he fathered a daughter out-of-wedlock with a girlfriend named Bobbie Jett. Audrey actually succeeded mother Lillie as Williams’ manager – strong women played a prominent role in his music success. Audrey and Lillie both stayed involved in Williams' career through his adulthood and even after his divorce from Audrey.

Williams died at age 29 and the circumstances of his death were a bit strange. He was en route to a concert in Charleston, West Virginia in 1952. He was being driven in his Cadillac by a college student hired as his driver. Williams was medicating himself with chloral hydrate and liquor in the back seat, nursing what might have been a bad cold. When asked if he wanted to stop for a bite he said, “No, not hungry”. When stopping for gas in Oak Hill, the driver saw that Williams in fact had expired. The doctor who performed the autopsy said that Williams had received punches and kicks fairly recently though there was no record of him being in a fight.

Williams had a “Dr. Feel good” who prescribed many sedatives and morphine (paralleling the Elvis story in some ways). It may be that Hank over-medicated himself in that Cadillac – the end story is murky and gauzy like an alcoholic blur. We probably will never get a complete or clear account. What we will get instead are the wonderful songs of this Alabama cowboy story teller .. we'll have his honky-tonk songs for every country jukebox, and for every generation to come.

© 2014 Snillor Productions