The Originals: Hank Williams, Sr

Hank Williams, Sr. has an impact on music that has long outlasted his 29 years on earth, through his words, his style, through his children and grandchildren, even in the reckless way he lived his life. When you're still revered 54 years after your death, there's no doubt that you're an Original.

Born September 17, 1923 in Mount Olive West, Alabama, Hiram King Williams (Hiram for Hiram I of Tyre, a king that united with Israel's legendary King Solomon and revered by Masons for his role in the construction of Solomon's Temple) faced troubles from his earliest days. His father, Elonzo, was hospitalized for most of Hank's early life due to what doctors diagnosed as facial paralysis due to a brain aneurysm. The World War I vet was cared for at the VA Medical Center in Alexandria, Louisiana, leaving Hank to be raised by his strong-willed mother, Lillie.

He was also small and frail from birth, suffered from an undiagnosed case of spina biffida that plagued him all his days, had a brother who was still-born, and, as many Americans did at the time, was hit hard by the Great Depression.

Hank found refuge in music, thanks to a black street musician whom he later credited with giving him "all the musical training I ever had," Rufus "Tee Tot" Payne, which gave Williams the bluesy tone that was a prominent part of his music.

Dropping out of school at 16, Hank began his musical career in earnest, making his first radio appearance in late 1936 or early 1937, in Montgomery, Alabama. He also formed the band that would stay with him his entire career, the Drifting Cowboys, and played regional shows which Lillie would drive them to and collect gate money.

By the early 40's, Hank was making a name for himself as a big draw in the region and caught the attention of Nashville, but he also gained another reputation, that of being unreliable and very prone to drink, which made him an unsafe bet.

In 1943, he met the woman who would go through so much with him (and because of him) in Audrey Mae Sheppard, a divorcee with a two-year-old daughter, Lycrecia, and a burning ambition for a singing career of her own. She learned stand-up bass well enough to join the band and became Hank's manager. They married in December 1944, and she would be in constant battle from then on with Hank, his demons, and with his mother for his attention.

She went with him to Nashville to meet with Fred Rose, one-half with country legend Roy Acuff of what would become one of the most powerful publishing companies in music, Acuff/Rose, in 1946. Rose was only interested in Hank as a songwriter at first, but soon took on his singing as a pet project and got him a four-song deal with the Sterling label. In March of 1947, with Rose smoothing the way, he signed with MCA.

The roller coaster truly began here. He released "Move It On Over" in 1947 to some success, then charted again in April of '48 with "Honky Tonkin'," but was fully in alcohol's grip by now, and either no-showed or showed up drunk at live gigs, causing Rose to wash his hands of him and Audrey to file for divorce.

But soon he reconciled with Audrey and Rose, and righted himself briefly. The Grand Ole Opry, the "Mother Church of Country Music," didn't think he was right for them yet, so Rose had to look for other avenues, and one came open in Shreveport, Louisiana, on KWKH radio, and the "Louisiana Hayride."

Even with this, though, Hank's records hit a dry spell, four of them not charting, and "Mansion On The Hill" not hitting the top ten, despite 50,000 watts carrying him into many of eastern America's homes. It took a song no one wanted him to record to bring him to superstar status.

Against the advice of everyone, he recorded "Lovesick Blues" in February, 1949, and it went to number one on the charts and stayed there for 16 straight weeks. Then, the Opry said, "Sure, Hank, come on over."

Many legendary hits followed ("Your Cheatin' Heart," "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "Kaw-Liga," etc.) and Hank held the demons at bay with fame's shield, but it soon broke down, and by 1952, Audrey was ready to go for good, the Opry fired him for his continued unreliability, and Hank was fully captured by alcohol, and because of that back pain, morphine.

On the way from Knoxville to a show in Canton, Ohio, in the backseat of a Cadillac accompanied only by a few empty beer cans and the words to an unrecorded song called "Then Came That Fateful Day," Hank Williams slipped away, making the prophecy of his last single, "I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive," come true.

His legacy has become legend, his children, Hank, Sr. and Jett have carved out careers of their own (Junior's is Hall of Fame worthy in its own right), and now his grandchildren Hank III, Holly and Hilary are trying it out. All of this from a man who is still the gold standard, even if it was all too brief.