43 degrees outside this morning. Long sleeve and light gloves, but otherwise great weather. Just a little bit of rain toward the end. I thought that Emigration Canyon might be cold or windy, but it was very nice, great colors. I ran up to the Donner Hill monument. I think I'll devote the rest of today's entry to country music legend Hank Williams. I'm not a country music fan in general, but I think his songs are incredibly authentic. Hank Williams is kind of the the Steve Prefontaine of the country music world (I am sure no one has ever written that sentence before):
On a warm night in June, 1949, with his first number one record
spilling out of radios across the country, a frail young man walked
onto the stage of Nashville's Ryman Auditorium for his Grand Ole Opry
debut. Behind him lay nearly a decade of struggle and rejection in
pursuit of this goal; ahead, a little more than five years in the
limelight.
By 1953, literally worn out at twenty-nine, Hank Williams was gone. But
he had given country music much of its standard repertoire, a new
definition of stardom and a legend so enduring that he is still the
model for countless singers and songwriters.
Born in Mount Olive West, Alabama (near Georgiana) on September 17th,
1923, Hiriam was the second child of Lon and Lillie Williams. Lon, a
WWI veteran, was hospitalized during most of Hank's early life, leaving
the boy's upbringing to his strong-willed mother. Small and fragile
from the beginning (and afflicted with spina bifida), Hank may well
have gravitated toward music as an alternative to sports. While living
in Georgiana, he befriended Rufus Payne, a black street musician known
as "Tee-Tot".
Years later, Hank would say that Payne had given him "all the music
training I ever had", and most biographers consider Payne the source of
the noticeable blues thread running through Hank's music. Hear a sample
of "Long Gone Lonesome Blues"
At sixteen, living in Montgomery, Williams quit school and began his
music career in earnest. He had made his first radio appearance on WSFA
in late 1936 or early 1937, and would soon become one of the station's
most popular performers. He also worked beer joints and regional shows
with his band, already named the Drifting Cowboys. Lillie drove the
group to venues in her station wagon and collected gate money. By the
early 40s, Hank was one of the biggest draws in the region, and had
come to the attention of several Nashville artists and music business
luminaries. But his reputation as a singer was already matched by the
one he'd built for drinking and unreliability. Most considered him an
unsafe bet.
In 1943 Hank met Audrey Mae Sheppard, an Alabama country girl with a
two-year old daughter, Lycrecia, from a previous marriage. Audrey
learned to play stand-up bass (well enough, anyway, to play in the
band) and began acting as manager.
They were married in December, 1944. She desperately craved a singing
career, pushing for inclusion in the show at every chance. Her
ambition, however, far exceeded her talent. Audrey would vie with
Lillie for Hank's attention throughout the relationship. In 1946, she
accompanied her husband to Nashville to meet publisher Fred Rose. Rose, in partnership with Roy Acuff, ran a successful "hillbilly"
publishing concern (Acuff-Rose, later a giant in the industry) and at
first was interested in Williams only as a writer. (Hank had begun
writing songs shortly after he started singing and playing guitar, and
sold songbooks at his club appearances.) Within the year, however, Rose
had made Hank's singing career a pet project, and arranged for him to
record four songs for the Sterling label. In March 1947, in a deal
engineered by Rose, Hank signed with MGM.
"Move It On Over" was his first MGM release and his first "Billboard"
chart entry. He charted again in April, 1948 with "Honky Tonkin". Back
home in Montgomery, Hank seemed poised for stardom; his regional
popularity was higher than ever, bolstered now by his recording
success. But he had entered the low arc of a repeating cycle that would
haunt him for the rest of his days. More often than not, he showed up
drunk (if at all) for live appearances, and was increasingly difficult
for even his best friends to be around. Many, including Rose, gave up
in frustration. Audrey filed for divorce in late April. With the
big-time nearly in his grasp, Hank Williams was bottoming out.
Hank's story could easily have ended there, but the Williamses
reconciled, the relationship with Rose was mended, and Rose set about
finding an avenue for greater exposure. Decision makers at the Opry
were still wary, but KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana was interested in
the emerging star for their Saturday night jamboree, the Louisiana
Hayride, and Hank joined the show in August. "A Long Gone Daddy" had
recently reached number six, but his next four releases failed to
chart, and a fifth, "Mansion On The Hill," stopped short of the top
ten. KWKH's fifty-thousand watts were putting Williams in living rooms
all across the eastern US every Saturday night, but his records were
falling flat.
Had he peaked? Was he, after all, only middling-star material?
Nearly fifty years later, in a world where today's icon is tomorrows
inconsequential, it is difficult to imagine a song so igniting radio
listeners that it holds the top spot on the charts for sixteen weeks.
No one in Hank's circle wanted him to waste time or tape on "Lovesick
Blues". The song was a throwaway, they said; a piece of fluff that was
more likely to damage his career than to enhance it. Hank was
insistent, though, and the song was given two quick passes at the end
of a session. Released in February, 1949, it was number one -and more-
by early May. "Lovesick Blues" was an "event"; popular beyond
precedent, imagination or belief. And, suddenly, Hank Williams was big.
Big enough, at last, for the Opry.
With success came increased creative freedom. Hank's "mainstream"
songwriting and recording efforts continued to do extremely well, but
he also delved into remorseful gospel themes and a series of
recitations under the transparent pseudonym "Luke The Drifter". Hank
the writer often seemed preoccupied with mortality and the futility of
human relationships- his marriage to Audrey was now in steady decline,
and those who knew him could easily see the real-life parallels in
songs like "You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave), "Why Don't You
Love Me" and "Cold, Cold Heart". Clearly, here was a man displaying his
demons for all to see. Hank didn't have to "interpret" sad songs; he
had only to sing from his heart.
For a time, fame and fortune staved off the consequences of his
self-destructive lifestyle. By mid 1952, however, his life was coming
apart at the seams. Audrey had filed for divorce again, this time for
good. Wracked with back pain, he was dependent on alcohol and, it is
believed, morphine. Often missing or too drunk to perform at curtain
time, he was fired by the Opry, and headed back to the Hayride in
Shreveport. In his final weeks, Hank spun hopelessly out of control.
Even his marriage to pretty young Billie Jean Jones couldn't slow his
headlong plunge. Sometime after midnight on New Year's Day, 1953,
sleeping in the back seat of his Cadillac en route to a show, Hank
Williams fulfilled the prophecy of his own "I'll Never Get Out Of This
World Alive".
Three of Hank's recordings reached the top of the charts in the year
following his death. By 1954, his earthly voice silenced, the fragile
young man from Alabama was only a legend. But in his last few torrid
years, he had changed country music forever and his musical legacy
remains its cornerstone. (from http://www.hankwilliams.com).
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