Hank Williams Sr. Biography

Hank Williams’ real name is Hiram King Williams. He was born on September 17, 1923 in Mt. Olive west, Ala. He was a son of a World War I veteran which results to a childhood where he was mostly taken care of by his strong-willed mother. He was afflicted with Spina Bifida (a defect from birth wherein the spinal cord does not form properly). They later transferred in Georgiana, Ala where he met his friend a black American named Rufie Payne who is a street musician. This friend he mentioned gave him all the training he ever needed in music. In 1934, Hiram King got into a fight with his coach. Hiram’s mother anticipated the resignation of the coach, but he didn’t so they moved to Montgomery. At the age of 16, Hiram King quit school and decided to follow his dream to become a country singer. It was also at this age in which he decided to change his name to Hank- a name he decided suitable for his career. Hank would play with his guitar in front of the WSFA radio studios until he was invited to come in and perform on air. After his performance, the listeners liked his style and asked more for his songs. After his success on radio stations, he started his own band named “Drifting cowboys”. They frequently performed in clubs and parties. In 1939, he dropped out of school to focus more in his band. But the World War II affected the band badly; all of his band members enlisted for the army and the substitutions refuse to work with Hanks since he is always drunk. Hank Williams was already recognized by fellow country artists but his addiction to alcohol blocked his way for success. In August 1942, he was fired by WSFA because of “Habitual Drunkenness”. In 1943, he met Audrey Mae Sheppard who was his manager and later became her wife in December of 1944. After the help of Sheppard’s friend, Hank signed a contract with Sterling Records and releases his first single “Move it on over” in 1947. In 1948, his song “Honky Tonkin’” was placed in the billboard charts. But because of his alcohol addiction, His manager gave up on him and his wife filed a divorce. But they were reconciled and Hank’s career went back to life. His famous songs were “Lovesick blues”, “You’re gonna change, and “cold cold heart” which gained their places in the billboard charts. But life for Hank is not all rainbows and butterflies. In 1952, he and Sheppard got divorced. And then he married a girl named Jean Jones but still he was miserable. In January 1, 1953, he injected himself with Vitamin B12 and morphine which got him killed. He left handwritten lyrics to a song that was yet to be recorded; it was entitled “I’ll never get out of this world alive”.

Hank was considered as the best country singer for some. His self made lyrics give the notion to reality because he is also experiencing these. His top country songs like

Long Gone Lonesome blues mirror his sad experiences about his life.