"A Mansion on the Hill" | ||||
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Single by Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys | ||||
B-side | "I Can't Get You Off of My Mind" | |||
Published | November 30, 1948 Acuff-Rose Publications [1] | |||
Released | December 1948 | |||
Recorded | November 7, 1947 | |||
Studio | Castle Studio, Nashville | |||
Genre | Hillbilly, Country blues | |||
Length | 2:33 | |||
Label | MGM | |||
Songwriter(s) | Hank Williams, Fred Rose | |||
Producer(s) | Fred Rose | |||
Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys singles chronology | ||||
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"A Mansion on the Hill" is a song written by Hank Williams and Fred Rose and originally recorded by Williams on MGM Records. It peaked at No. 12 on the Most Played Jukebox Folk Records chart in March 1949. [2]
The details surrounding the origins of "A Mansion on the Hill" are ambiguous. For many years, an apocryphal tale circulated that after meeting Hank Williams and hearing his compositions, Fred Rose was so impressed that he could hardly believe that the unknown singer from Alabama could have written so many quality songs by himself, so he tested Hank by giving him the title "A Mansion on the Hill" to write a song around, which Hank did in a side room. [3] In an interview years after Hank's death, his ex-wife Audrey claimed to have had a hand in writing the song herself:
Part of the reason why Williams had difficulty with "A Mansion on the Hill" might have been that he did not write narrative ballads, his best songs freezing a moment, a feeling, or a grudge in time. [5] He wound up adapting the melody for the song from Bob Wills' 1938 recording of "I Wonder If You Feel the Way I Do." The song was recorded in Nashville at Castle Studio on November 7, 1947, with Rose producing. The players included Jerry Byrd (steel guitar), Robert "Chubby" Wise (fiddle), Zeke Turner (lead guitar), probably Louis Innis (bass) and either Owen Bradley or Rose on piano. [6] It was released in December 1948 and peaked at No. 12.
"Half as Much" is an American pop standard song written by Curley Williams in 1951. It was first recorded by country music singer Hank Williams in 1952 and reached number two on the Billboard Country Singles chart.
"Hey, Good Lookin'" is a 1951 song written and recorded by Hank Williams, and his version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2003, CMT voted the Hank Williams version No. 19 on CMT's 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music. Since its original 1951 recording it has been covered by a variety of artists.
"Move It On Over" is a song written and recorded by the American country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1947.
"I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" is a song written by Fred Rose and American country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams, released by Williams in 1952.
"I Saw the Light" is a country gospel song written by Hank Williams. Williams was inspired to write the song while returning from a concert by a remark his mother made while they were arriving in Montgomery, Alabama. He recorded the song during his first session for MGM Records, and released in September 1948. Williams' version did not enjoy major success during its initial release, but eventually it became one of his most popular songs and the closing number for his live shows. It was soon covered by other acts, and has become a country gospel standard.
"Kaw-Liga" is a country music song written by Hank Williams and Fred Rose.
"Honky Tonk Blues" was a hit country and western song written and performed by Hank Williams. The original 1952 recording was a major hit, and it later became a hit for Charley Pride.
"Long Gone Lonesome Blues" is a 1950 song by Hank Williams. It was Williams' second number-one single on the Country & Western chart. "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" stayed on the charts for 21 weeks, with five weeks at the top.
"Take These Chains from My Heart" is a song by Hank Williams. It was written by Fred Rose and Hy Heath and was recorded at Williams' final recording session on September 23, 1952, in Nashville. The song has been widely praised; Williams' biographer Colin Escott deems it "perhaps the best song [Rose] ever presented to Hank...It was one of the very few songs that sounded somewhat similar to a Hank Williams song." Williams is backed by Tommy Jackson (fiddle), Don Helms, Chet Atkins, Jack Shook, and Floyd "Lightnin'" Chance (bass). In the wake of Williams' death on New Year's Day, 1953, the song shot to No. 1, his final chart-topping hit for MGM Records. Like "Your Cheatin' Heart," the song's theme of despair, so vividly articulated by Williams' typically impassioned singing, reinforced the image of Hank as a tortured, mythic figure.
"You Win Again" is a 1952 song by Hank Williams. In style, the song is a blues ballad and deals with the singer's despair with his partner. The song has been widely covered, including versions by Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, the Grateful Dead, Charley Pride, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones.
"Honky Tonkin'" is a 1947 country music song, written and recorded by Hank Williams. His song went to #14 on the Billboard country music chart in 1948. In 1982, it became the sixth chart topping single for Williams' son, Hank Williams Jr.
"Mind Your Own Business" is a 1949 song written and originally performed by Hank Williams.
"Lost Highway" is a country music song written and recorded by blind country singer-songwriter Leon Payne in 1948. It was released in October 1948 on Nashville-based Bullet label.
"(Last Night) I Heard You Crying in Your Sleep" is a song written and recorded by Hank Williams on MGM Records. It was released as the B-side of "Move It on Over" in 1947.
"The Blues Come Around" is a song written and recorded by Hank Williams for MGM Records. It was released as the B-side to the single "I'm a Long Gone Daddy" in June 1948. It was recorded at Castle Studio in Nashville with Fred Rose producing and backing from Jerry Byrd, Robert "Chubby" Wise (fiddle), Zeke Turner, probably Louis Innis (bass) and either Owen Bradley or Rose on piano. Waylon Jennings recorded the song for his 1992 album Ol' Waylon Sings Ol' Hank.
Six More Miles (To the Graveyard) is a song written by Hank Williams for MGM Records. It appeared as the B-side to "I Saw the Light" in 1948.
"My Son Calls Another Man Daddy" is a song written by Jewell House and made famous by country star Hank Williams, who released the song in 1950.
"They'll Never Take Her Love from Me" is a country song popularized by Hank Williams in 1950. In 1961, Johnny Horton also had a hit with the song, and many others have covered it.
"(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle" is a song written by Hank Williams and Jimmie Davis. It became his fourteenth consecutive Top 10 single in 1951.
Memorial Album is the first Hank Williams LP issued by MGM Records after the singer's death on New Year's Day 1953.