Hank Williams Timeline / The Online Roots of Rock

HANK WILLIAMS TIMELINE

"The Father of Modern Country Music"

America lost its innocence after World War II,
and so did Country music. Sentimental and nostalgic lyrics yielded
to the more contemporary themes of Honky Tonk – most notably drinkin' and
cheatin'. This was the stuff of Honky Tonk, and Hank Williams – "The Driftin' Cowboy" –
was its most successful artist. Hank sang about what he knew best – loneliness and heartbreak.
His songs – almost autobiographical – document the 6-year journey of a very lonely man trying to
reconcile love through the bottom of a bottle. His plaintive lyrics soon transcended Country
music and tugged at the heartstrings of middle America. Because of the universality of his
music, as attested by its success on the Pop charts, Hank Williams was one of the
first three nominees, along with Jimmie Rodgers and Fred Rose, to be
inducted into The Country Music Hall of Fame when it was
established at Nashville in 1961. He was inducted into
the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

1923 Born Hiram Williams on September 17, 1923 in Mount Olive, Alabama

Hank's father Alonzo 'Lon', a drinking man, picks strawberries and works in lumber camps. His mother Lillian, an assertive woman, plays the organ and sings at church

Sings hymns and gospel in church choir, and learns that all men are sinners

1929 Father 'Lon' is admitted to veterans hospital because of World War I injuries

After Hank's father is a hospitalized, Hank grows up under the influence of his dominant mother Lillian

1930 Moves to Georgiana, Alabama at age 7 with his mother and sister Irene

During these Depression years Lillian takes in boarders and grows vegetable garden to make ends meet. Hank sells peanuts and shines shoes for extra income

Receives $3.50 guitar from mother and is tutored by itinerant bluesman Rufe Payne, commonly known as "Tee-Tot"

Starts playing guitar on street for extra income

1937 Moves to Montgomery, Alabama at age 14

Wins amateur contest dressed as cowboy singing own song "The WPA Blues"

Performs as "The Singing Kid" on his own radio show at WFSA

Performs with various bands in taverns, dancehalls and honky tonks

Starts drinking heavily as a teenager

1939 Quits school at age 16

1940 Quits music and injures his back during a stint as a rodeo cowboy

1942 Gets fired from his WFSA radio show for drunkenness

America enters World War II and Hank, exempt from military service because of his bad back, finds work in the shipyards in Mobile, Alabama

1943 Meets Audrey May Shepard at medicine show

1944 August – Leaves employment at the shipyards

Organizes new band, "The Drifting Cowboys" which includes Audrey, who has aspirations as a singer

December 15 – marries Audrey Mae Shepard

1945 Performs again on own WFSA radio show

Hank and his Drifting Cowboys win regional following

Starts writing own songs, including gospel songs

Wants a shot a the bigtime, which means Nashville, Tennessee

About Nashville: The ASCAP/BMI feud of 1939 resulted in a local Nashville radio show "The Grand Ole Opry" being uplinked and broadcast over the NBC network – making it the most influential Country music show in America. The AFM strike of 1942/4 resulted in the Opry going coast-to-coast, and also resulted in the creation of the Acuff-Rose music publishing company in Nashville. These developments institutionalized Country music in Nashville, making it mecca for aspiring Country musicians

1946 Goes to Nashville to audition for Grand Ole Opry, and to sell songs to Acuff-Rose

The Opry passes on Williams as a performer. Without a hit record, all he would bring to the show is his drinking problem: his reputation has preceded him

Meets with Fred Rose of Acuff-Rose music publishing which results in a few songs, including "Honky Tonkin'," being released on the small Sterling label

Rose sees potential in Williams and takes him under his wing

1947 Fred Rose secures contract for Williams on the new MGM label

August 9 – "Move It On Over" is released and becomes a hit. This is the first of many Williams' tunes that will presage Rockabilly

The Grand Ole Opry sees potential in Williams, too, but is still concerned about his reliability as a contract performer. Rose suggests that Hank prove himself on radio station KWKH's "Louisiana Hayride" show in Shreveport, Louisiana

1947 HITS
Move It On Over

1948 Hank's drinking problem continues and his behaviour becomes unmanageable. Audrey files for divorce in April, but before the divorce becomes official on May 26, Hank and Audrey reconcile their differences. The divorce is subsequently annulled

August 7 - Makes guest appearance on "Louisiana Hayride" and signs on as a regular

Hank and Audrey move to Shreveport, Louisiana

The move to Shreveport is good for Hank. It separates him from his domineering mother Lillian, and puts distance between her and wife Audrey who don't get along because of their assertive natures. Audrey soon becomes pregnant, and Hank drinks less and works hard at becoming a success

1948 HITS
A Mansion On The Hill

1949 January – Records "Lovesick Blues," a song from the 1920s

May 7 – "Lovesick Blues" becomes #1 hit on "Billboard" magazine's new "Country and Western" listing

May 26 – Son Randall Hank – Hank Jr – is born

June 11 – Invited to make a guest appearance on the Grand Ole Opry with "Lovesick Blues," Hank stops the show "colder than it had ever been stopped in its 31 years," requiring several encores before the audience will let the show continue

Hank Williams signs on with the Opry and starts touring with Opry regulars like Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb and Minnie Pearl. Spends money on lavish outfits

Hank and Audrey move to Nashville during the summer

October – Hank and Audrey co-host "Health and Happiness" syndicated radio show sponsored by Hadacol patent medicines

1949 HITS
Lovesick Blues / Wedding Bells / Mind Your Own Busines / You're Gonna Change / Lost Highway / My Bucket's Got A Hole In It / I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

1950 Hank has songs and sentiments that Fred Rose feels are not commercial, so the "Luke the Drifter" personna is created to publish Hank's introspective and spiritual reflections

Pop singers Polly Bergen and Teresa Brewer have hits with "Honky Tonkin'" introducing Hank's Country song to a national audience. Astute Fred Rose sees crossover potential in Hank's material and begins using his connections to interest more Pop singers in recording Hank's songs

December – Records "Cold, Cold, Heart"

Fred Rose pitches a pre-release copy of "Cold, Cold, Heart" to Columbia Records A&R man Mitch Miller, who plays it to Tony Bennett who's looking for his first hit

1950 HITS
I Just Don't Like This Kind Of Living / Long Gone Lonesome Blues / My Son Calls Another Man Daddy / Why Don't You Love Me? / Why Should We Try Anymore? / They'll Never Take Her Love From Me / Moanin' The Blues / Nobody's Lonesome For Me

1951 March – Releases "Cold, Cold, Heart"

July – Tony Bennett releases "cover version" of "Cold, Cold, Heart"

Tony Bennett's release of "Cold, Cold, Heart" becomes a million-seller, and soon other Pop artists are recording Hank Williams songs. Fame and fortune arrive at Hank's doorstep, but it's too much for him. Committed to recording dates, tour dates, Opry dates, and promotion dates, Hank begins to feel like a commodity and becomes cynical about the music business and of those around him

Reinjures back while squirrel hunting

December 13 – Undergoes surgery to relieve back pain. The operation is only partially successful, and Hank is bedridden for weeks, missing an important New Years Eve booking

The year ends with "Cold, Cold, Heart" the Country hit of the year while Hank Williams drinks more to relieve back pain and to ease the mental anguish of a volatile marriage

1951 HITS
Cold, Cold Heart / Dear John / Howlin' At The Moon / I Can't Help It / Hey, Good Lookin' / Crazy Heart / Lonesome Whistle / Baby, We're Really In Love / Ramblin' Man

1952 January 10 – Audrey again files for divorce, and is given custody of son Hank Jr

Hank is devastated, moves into an apartment and continues to drink

February – Convelesces from surgery while trying, with difficulty, to honor Opry and tour dates

March/April – Makes two appearances on NBC's "The Kate Smith Evening Hour"

The kinescopes of these two shows are among the few filmed images of Hank Williams

Summer – Tours with the Hadacol Caravan

Hires "Dr." Toby Marshall, a convicted forger with fraudulent medical credentials, to provide him with stimulants and sedatives, for which he is paid "consulting" fees. Hank gets hooked on prescription drugs and starts missing bookings

August 9 – Gets fired from the Grand Ole Opry

Moves to Shreveport and performs again on the "Louisiana Hayride"

October 15 – Signs paternity document with 31-year-old dancer Bobbie Jett. The child, Jett Williams, will be born on January 6, five days after Hank's death

October 18 – Marries eighteen-year-old beauty Billie Jean Jones

Mid-December – Leaves "Louisiana Hayride" and cancels pending engagements because of bad health. Takes time off to rest and regain health. Hopes to return to the Opry

Late-December – Goes to Montgomery with Billie Jean to see his mother and visit with old friends

December 31 – Sleeps sedated in the back seat of his chauffeur-driven baby blue Cadillac enroute to a New Years Day booking in Canton, Ohio. Doesn't wake up

1952 HITS
Honky Tonk Blues / I'm Sorry For You My Friend / Half As Much / Jambalaya / Window Shopping / Settin' The Woods On Fire / You Win Again / I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive

1953 January 1 – Officially pronounced dead at 7 a.m. in the rural town of Oak Hill, West Virginia, Tennessee at age 29

The funeral of Hank Williams is the biggest event in Montgomery, Alabama since the death of Confederate President Jefferson Davies. Roy Acuff, Carl Smith, Red Foley and Ernest Tubb pay tribute in song at the service. In the years to come, hundreds of artists will record Hank Williams songs – making him the most influential singer/songwiter in modern Country music

POSTHUMOUS HITS in 1953
Kaw-Liga / Your Cheatin' Heart / Take These Chains From My Heart / I Won't Be Home No More / Weary Blue From Waitin' / I Saw The Light

Influenced By:
Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb

Influenced:
Most Country singers of modern times

This Hank Williams Timeline is culled from many sources and is subject to revision.
Sunday, January 12, 2014

1923	Born Hiram Williams on September 17, 1923 in Mount Olive, Alabama
	Hank's father Alonzo 'Lon', a drinking man, picks strawberries and works in lumber camps. His mother Lillian, an assertive woman, plays the organ and sings at church
	Sings hymns and gospel in church choir, and learns that all men are sinners

1929	Father 'Lon' is admitted to veterans hospital because of World War I injuries
	After Hank's father is a hospitalized, Hank grows up under the influence of his dominant mother Lillian

1930	Moves to Georgiana, Alabama at age 7 with his mother and sister Irene
	During these Depression years Lillian takes in boarders and grows vegetable garden to make ends meet. Hank sells peanuts and shines shoes for extra income
	Receives $3.50 guitar from mother and is tutored by itinerant bluesman Rufe Payne, commonly known as "Tee-Tot"
	Starts playing guitar on street for extra income

1937	Moves to Montgomery, Alabama at age 14
	Wins amateur contest dressed as cowboy singing own song "The WPA Blues"
	Performs as "The Singing Kid" on his own radio show at WFSA
	Performs with various bands in taverns, dancehalls and honky tonks
	Starts drinking heavily as a teenager

1939	Quits school at age 16

1940	Quits music and injures his back during a stint as a rodeo cowboy

1942	Gets fired from his WFSA radio show for drunkenness
	America enters World War II and Hank, exempt from military service because of his bad back, finds work in the shipyards in Mobile, Alabama

1943	Meets Audrey May Shepard at medicine show

1944	August – Leaves employment at the shipyards
	Organizes new band, "The Drifting Cowboys" which includes Audrey, who has aspirations as a singer
	December 15 – marries Audrey Mae Shepard

1945	Performs again on own WFSA radio show
	Hank and his Drifting Cowboys win regional following
	Starts writing own songs, including gospel songs
	Wants a shot a the bigtime, which means Nashville, Tennessee
	About Nashville: The ASCAP/BMI feud of 1939 resulted in a local Nashville radio show "The Grand Ole Opry" being uplinked and broadcast over the NBC network – making it the most influential Country music show in America. The AFM strike of 1942/4 resulted in the Opry going coast-to-coast, and also resulted in the creation of the Acuff-Rose music publishing company in Nashville. These developments institutionalized Country music in Nashville, making it mecca for aspiring Country musicians

1946	Goes to Nashville to audition for Grand Ole Opry, and to sell songs to Acuff-Rose
	The Opry passes on Williams as a performer. Without a hit record, all he would bring to the show is his drinking problem: his reputation has preceded him
	Meets with Fred Rose of Acuff-Rose music publishing which results in a few songs, including "Honky Tonkin'," being released on the small Sterling label
	Rose sees potential in Williams and takes him under his wing

1947	Fred Rose secures contract for Williams on the new MGM label
	August 9 – "Move It On Over" is released and becomes a hit. This is the first of many Williams' tunes that will presage Rockabilly
	The Grand Ole Opry sees potential in Williams, too, but is still concerned about his reliability as a contract performer. Rose suggests that Hank prove himself on radio station KWKH's "Louisiana Hayride" show in Shreveport, Louisiana
	1947 HITS Move It On Over

1948	Hank's drinking problem continues and his behaviour becomes unmanageable. Audrey files for divorce in April, but before the divorce becomes official on May 26, Hank and Audrey reconcile their differences. The divorce is subsequently annulled
	August 7 - Makes guest appearance on "Louisiana Hayride" and signs on as a regular
	Hank and Audrey move to Shreveport, Louisiana
	The move to Shreveport is good for Hank. It separates him from his domineering mother Lillian, and puts distance between her and wife Audrey who don't get along because of their assertive natures. Audrey soon becomes pregnant, and Hank drinks less and works hard at becoming a success
	1948 HITS A Mansion On The Hill

1949	January – Records "Lovesick Blues," a song from the 1920s
	May 7 – "Lovesick Blues" becomes #1 hit on "Billboard" magazine's new "Country and Western" listing
	May 26 – Son Randall Hank – Hank Jr – is born
	June 11 – Invited to make a guest appearance on the Grand Ole Opry with "Lovesick Blues," Hank stops the show "colder than it had ever been stopped in its 31 years," requiring several encores before the audience will let the show continue
	Hank Williams signs on with the Opry and starts touring with Opry regulars like Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb and Minnie Pearl. Spends money on lavish outfits
	Hank and Audrey move to Nashville during the summer
	October – Hank and Audrey co-host "Health and Happiness" syndicated radio show sponsored by Hadacol patent medicines
	1949 HITS Lovesick Blues / Wedding Bells / Mind Your Own Busines / You're Gonna Change / Lost Highway / My Bucket's Got A Hole In It / I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

1950	Hank has songs and sentiments that Fred Rose feels are not commercial, so the "Luke the Drifter" personna is created to publish Hank's introspective and spiritual reflections
	Pop singers Polly Bergen and Teresa Brewer have hits with "Honky Tonkin'" introducing Hank's Country song to a national audience. Astute Fred Rose sees crossover potential in Hank's material and begins using his connections to interest more Pop singers in recording Hank's songs
	December – Records "Cold, Cold, Heart"
	Fred Rose pitches a pre-release copy of "Cold, Cold, Heart" to Columbia Records A&R man Mitch Miller, who plays it to Tony Bennett who's looking for his first hit
	1950 HITS I Just Don't Like This Kind Of Living / Long Gone Lonesome Blues / My Son Calls Another Man Daddy / Why Don't You Love Me? / Why Should We Try Anymore? / They'll Never Take Her Love From Me / Moanin' The Blues / Nobody's Lonesome For Me

1951	March – Releases "Cold, Cold, Heart"
	July – Tony Bennett releases "cover version" of "Cold, Cold, Heart"
	Tony Bennett's release of "Cold, Cold, Heart" becomes a million-seller, and soon other Pop artists are recording Hank Williams songs. Fame and fortune arrive at Hank's doorstep, but it's too much for him. Committed to recording dates, tour dates, Opry dates, and promotion dates, Hank begins to feel like a commodity and becomes cynical about the music business and of those around him
	Reinjures back while squirrel hunting
	December 13 – Undergoes surgery to relieve back pain. The operation is only partially successful, and Hank is bedridden for weeks, missing an important New Years Eve booking
	The year ends with "Cold, Cold, Heart" the Country hit of the year while Hank Williams drinks more to relieve back pain and to ease the mental anguish of a volatile marriage
	1951 HITS Cold, Cold Heart / Dear John / Howlin' At The Moon / I Can't Help It / Hey, Good Lookin' / Crazy Heart / Lonesome Whistle / Baby, We're Really In Love / Ramblin' Man

1952	January 10 – Audrey again files for divorce, and is given custody of son Hank Jr
	Hank is devastated, moves into an apartment and continues to drink
	February – Convelesces from surgery while trying, with difficulty, to honor Opry and tour dates
	March/April – Makes two appearances on NBC's "The Kate Smith Evening Hour"
	The kinescopes of these two shows are among the few filmed images of Hank Williams
	Summer – Tours with the Hadacol Caravan
	Hires "Dr." Toby Marshall, a convicted forger with fraudulent medical credentials, to provide him with stimulants and sedatives, for which he is paid "consulting" fees. Hank gets hooked on prescription drugs and starts missing bookings
	August 9 – Gets fired from the Grand Ole Opry
	Moves to Shreveport and performs again on the "Louisiana Hayride"
	October 15 – Signs paternity document with 31-year-old dancer Bobbie Jett. The child, Jett Williams, will be born on January 6, five days after Hank's death
	October 18 – Marries eighteen-year-old beauty Billie Jean Jones
	Mid-December – Leaves "Louisiana Hayride" and cancels pending engagements because of bad health. Takes time off to rest and regain health. Hopes to return to the Opry
	Late-December – Goes to Montgomery with Billie Jean to see his mother and visit with old friends
	December 31 – Sleeps sedated in the back seat of his chauffeur-driven baby blue Cadillac enroute to a New Years Day booking in Canton, Ohio. Doesn't wake up
	1952 HITS Honky Tonk Blues / I'm Sorry For You My Friend / Half As Much / Jambalaya / Window Shopping / Settin' The Woods On Fire / You Win Again / I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive

1953	January 1 – Officially pronounced dead at 7 a.m. in the rural town of Oak Hill, West Virginia, Tennessee at age 29
	The funeral of Hank Williams is the biggest event in Montgomery, Alabama since the death of Confederate President Jefferson Davies. Roy Acuff, Carl Smith, Red Foley and Ernest Tubb pay tribute in song at the service. In the years to come, hundreds of artists will record Hank Williams songs – making him the most influential singer/songwiter in modern Country music
	POSTHUMOUS HITS in 1953 Kaw-Liga / Your Cheatin' Heart / Take These Chains From My Heart / I Won't Be Home No More / Weary Blue From Waitin' / I Saw The Light

	Influenced By: Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb
	Influenced: Most Country singers of modern times

	This Hank Williams Timeline is culled from many sources and is subject to revision. Sunday, January 12, 2014