[citation needed] In 1943, Williams met Audrey Sheppard at a medicine show in Banks, Alabama. He later started to consume painkillers, including morphine, and alcohol to help ease the pain. Hank's mother had claimed that he was dead. Born six days after Hank Williams died, Jett was adopted by Hank's mother Lillie Stone. [15], Their first house burned, and the family lost their possessions. It was released as the B-side to the 1953 #1 hit "Take These Chains from My Heart", as well as to the 1976 re-release of "Why Don't You Love Me". [41] The book only listed lyrics, since its main purpose was to attract more audiences, though it is also possible that he did not want to pay for transcribing the notes. Hank W. Williams, Sr., 59 of Charlestown, IN died Thursday July 3, 2014 at Floyd Memorial Hospital in New Albany, IN. In 1930, when Williams was seven years old, his father began suffering from facial paralysis. His name was misspelled as "Hiriam" on his birth certificate, which was prepared and signed when Hank was about 10 years old. [87] "Take These Chains From My Heart" was released in April 1953 and went to number 1 on the country charts. [107] The same year, Hank Williams: The Complete Mother's Best Recordings ...Plus! [55], Around this time Williams released more hit songs, such as "My Son Calls Another Man Daddy", "They'll Never Take Her Love from Me", "Why Should We Try Anymore", "Nobody's Lonesome for Me", "Long Gone Lonesome Blues", "Why Don't You Love Me", "Moanin' the Blues", and "I Just Don't Like This Kind of Living". On December 11, 1946, in his first recording session, he recorded "Wealth Won't Save Your Soul", "Calling You", "Never Again (Will I Knock on Your Door)", and "When God Comes and Gathers His Jewels", which was misprinted as "When God Comes and Fathers His Jewels". [116] In May 2014, further radio recordings by Williams were released. The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2010 awarded him a posthumous special citation "for his craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life. [46], Williams signed with MGM Records in 1947 and released "Move It on Over"; considered an early example of rock and roll music, the song became a massive country hit. It included 10 songs: "Mother Is Gone", "Won't You Please Come Back", "My Darling Baby Girl" (with Audrey Sheppard), "Grandad's Musket", "I Just Wish I Could Forget", "Let's Turn Back the Years", "Honkey-Tonkey", "I Loved No One But You", "A Tramp on the Street", and "You'll Love Me Again". Audrey Williams asked Rose if her husband could sing a song for him on that moment,[44] Rose agreed, and he liked Williams' musical style. [56] The songs depicted Luke the Drifter traveling around from place to place, narrating stories of different characters and philosophizing about life. Williams had also married Audrey Sheppard before her divorce was final, on the 10th day of a required 60-day reconciliation period.[72]. A pop cover version by Tony Bennett released the same year stayed on the charts for 27 weeks, peaking at number one. [27] His recent win at the Empire Theater and the street performances caught the attention of WSFA producers who occasionally invited him to perform on air. [23], In July 1937, the Williams and McNeil families opened a boarding house on South Perry Street in downtown Montgomery. The marriage, always turbulent, rapidly disintegrated, and Williams developed serious problems with alcohol, morphine, and other painkillers prescribed for him to ease the severe back pain caused by his spina bifida. Audrey Williams divorced him that year; the next day he recorded "You Win Again" and "I Won't be Home No More". James Ellis Garner later played fiddle for him. Payne gave Williams guitar lessons in exchange for meals prepared by Lillie Williams or money. [41] The recordings "Never Again" and "Honky Tonkin'" became successful, and earned Williams the attention of MGM Records. While living in Georgiana, Williams met Rufus "Tee-Tot" Payne, a street performer. [65] The next day, two public ceremonies were also held at the New Orleans Civic Auditorium, where 14,000 seats were sold for each. [citation needed], He taught Williams chords, chord progressions, bass turns, and the musical style of accompaniment that he would use in most of his future songwriting. [13] In 1935, the family settled in Garland, Alabama and Lillie opened a new boarding house; after a while they moved with his cousin Opal McNeil to Georgiana, Alabama,[14] where Lillie managed to find several side jobs to support her children despite the bleak economic climate of the Great Depression. [98] In 1987, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame under the category "Early Influence". As a girl, Jones had lived down the street from Williams when he was with the Louisiana Hayride, and now Williams began to visit her frequently in Shreveport, causing him to miss many Grand Ole Opry appearances. Their son, Randall Hank Williams, who would achieve fame in his own right as Hank Williams Jr., was born on May 26, 1949. Born six days after Hank Williams died, Jett was adopted by Hank's mother Lillie Stone. The Louisiana Hayride's Horace Logan described her voice as follows: "horrible, unbelievably horrible." The recordings were found by collector George Gimarc at radio station KSIB in Creston, Iowa. Their daughter Irene was born on August 8, 1922 (died 1995). [citation needed], In the fall of 1934, the Williams family moved to Greenville, Alabama, where Lillie opened a boarding house next to the Butler County courthouse. When several of his band members were conscripted into military service during World War II, Williams had trouble with their replacements, and WSFA terminated his contract because of his alcohol abuse. Fearful that disc jockeys and jukebox operators would hesitate to accept these unusual recordings, Williams used this alias to avoid hurting the marketability of his name. Because Williams may have left no will, the disposition of the remaining 50 percent was considered uncertain; those involved included Williams' second wife, Billie Jean Horton and her daughter, and Hank Williams' mother and sister. "Your Cheatin' Heart" was written and recorded in September 1952 but released in late January 1953 after Williams' death. [73], Williams was scheduled to perform at the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston, West Virginia, on Wednesday December 31, 1952. Williams eventually started to host a show on KWKH and started touring across western Louisiana and eastern Texas, always returning on Saturdays for the weekly broadcast of the Hayride. This began her quest to find out who she was and what had happened. Finally, in 1985, when she was 21, the Alabama State Court officially declared her as the daughter of Jett and Williams. Audrey Williams was Hank Williams' first wife, and she provided inspiration for some of his most famous and unhappy songs. 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