Hank Williams

HIRAM "HANK" WILLIAMS d1953. American singer, songwriter and musician widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century. He recorded 55 singles that reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart (five of which were released posthumously) including 12 that reached No1. Although unable to read or notate music to any significant degree, he wrote such iconic hits as ; "Your Cheatin' Heart" / "Hey, Good Lookin'" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". Years of back pain, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health and at the age of just 29, he suffered from heart failure and died suddenly in the back seat of a car near Oak Hill West Virginia (en route to a concert in Canton Ohio) on New Year's Day 1953. Despite his relatively brief career, he is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century, especially in country music. Many artists have covered his songs and he has influenced Chuck Berry / Elvis Presley / Johnny Cash / Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, amongst others. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961/ the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 / the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 / the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame in 1999 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2010 he was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize 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"