HiramKing "Hank" Williams was an American singer-songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century. Williams recorded 55 singles that reached the top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, five of which were released posthumously, and 12 of which reached No.1.
"Cold, Cold Heart" is a country music and pop song written and first recorded by Hank Williams. This blues ballad is both a classic of honky-tonk and an entry in the Great American Songbook.
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1949. The song has been covered by a wide range of musicians.
"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.
Hank Williams' discography is composed of 41 singles and 2 ten-inch LPs released during his six-year career; as well as posthumous work including: singles, compilation albums and previously unreleased material. During his lifetime, Williams placed 30 songs on Billboard's Top C&W Records, while he had eleven number one hits.
"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.
"I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)" is a song written and originally recorded by Hank Williams on MGM Records. It hit number two on the Billboard country singles chart in 1951. In his autobiography, George Jones printed the first six lines of the song and stated, "Its lyrics couldn't be more simple - or profound."
"My Sweet Love Ain't Around" is a song written and performed by Hank Williams. It was his third single on MGM Records released in January 1948.
"I Just Don't Like This Kind of Living" is a song written by Hank Williams and released as his thirteenth single on MGM Records in January 1950. The song peaked at #5 on the Best Selling Retail Folk Records chart.
"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.
"I'm Sorry for You, My Friend" is a song written and recorded by Hank Williams. It was released as the flipside to his single "Honky Tonk Blues" in 1952 on MGM Records.
"At the First Fall of Snow" is a song written by Lorene Rose. It is primarily associated with Hank Williams, who recorded it at WWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana as part of the Johnnie Fair Syrup program between August 1947 and May 1948. The surviving acetates feature Williams accompanied by his own guitar singing many of his favorite songs by Ernest Tubb, Gene Autry, and Roy Acuff, among others. MGM obtained the rights to the acetates and "At the First Fall of Snow" was released as a single in September 1955 with "Someday You'll Call My Name" as the B-side. By February 1956 it had sold thirty thousand copies.
"I Wish I Had a Nickel" is a song composed by W.S. Barnhart and Tommy Sutton. The song was a hit for country singer Jimmy Wakely but is mostly associated with Hank Williams, who performed it on KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana as part of the Johnny Fair Syrup radio show along with Wakely's other hit, "Someday You'll Call My Name." MGM obtained the right to these recordings and released "I Wish I Had a Nickel" as the B-side to "There's No Room in My Heart for the Blues" in 1956 as a posthumous single. Country music historian Colin Escott states that the Johnny Fair transcriptions "rank alongside Hank's most affecting work" and singles out the Wakely covers for particular praise: "The songs were trite and affectless in Wakely's hands, but Hank filled them with vengeance and unrequited longing."
"Rockin' Chair Money" is a song by Hank Williams. It was composed by Lonnie Glosson and Bill Carlisle.
Colin Escott is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner notes for more than 500 albums and compilations, and major contributions to stage and television productions. Honors include multiple Grammy Awards and a Tony Award nomination.
