Hiram King "Hank" Williams (17 September 1923 – 1 January 1953) was an American country singer-songwriter and musician from Alabama. He became a country legend after joining the Grand Ole Opry, but his alcoholism led to his early death at the age of 29 in 1953.
Biography[]
Hiram King Williams was born in Mount Olive, Butler County, Alabama on 17 September 1923, the third son of World War I veteran and Freemason Lon Williams. Williams was named for Hiram I of Tyre, one of the three legendary founders of the Freemasons. He was raised by his mother Lillie while his father was hospitalized at a VA Medical Center in Alexandria, Louisiana, and his family later moved to Georgiana, Alabama. He met the African-American blues musician Rufus "Tee Tot" Payne, who gave him guitar lessons in exchange for meals or money. In 1937, Williams moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where he began a career in music under his new name, "Hank Williams". The WSFA radio station hired him to host a 15-minute program, and Williams played with the Drifting Cowboys for years. When many members of his band were drafted into the US Army during World War II, Williams was fired from WSFA, which disapproved of his alcoholism. He later signed on with MGM Records, joining the Louisiana Hayride radio program. In 1948, he covered "Lovesick Blues", carrying him into the mainstream of music. He joined the Grand Ole Opry, and he proceeded to write the hits "Your Cheatin' Heart", "Hey, Good Lookin'", and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". Williams was also active in politics, supporting the conservative Republican Party. On 14 October 1952, he sent presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower a telegram that informed him that Williams was honored to endorse a military figure for president. That same year, he divorced his wife Audrey Sheppard and was dismissed by the Grand Ole Opry for his alcoholism. On 1 January 1953, he died of heart failure in Oak Hill, West Virginia after years of alcoholism, back pain, and prescription drug abuse. His son Hank Williams Jr. would also become a country musician.