Hank Williams 100th Birthday would have been on 9-17-23

 

Hank notes

* His real name is Hiram King Williams.

* He was born Sept. 17, 1923 in Mount Olive, AL (near Georgiana in Butler County).

* Williams was born with spina bifida, a painful lifelong condition of the spinal column. 

* He had a sister, Irene. 

* Williams father, Elonzo, served in World War I and came home with shell shock. Elonzo was hospitalized and would not play a major role his children's lives. 

* In 1930, Irene and her children lived in Georgiana, where Williams was influenced musically early by blues street singer Rufus "Tee Tot" Payne. 

* Williams' family would move to Greenville in 1934.

* In 1937 when he was 13, Williams' mother Lillie moved the family to Montgomery and opened a boarding house.

* Williams formed his The Drifting Cowboys band in Montgomery. 

* He and Audrey were married on Dec. 15, 1944 in Andalusia, AL. 

* Williams signed with MGM Records in 1947, and released "Move It on Over." 

* Williams released a series of major hits over the next five years. He recorded 225 songs, 128 of which he wrote. 11 of his recordings became No. 1 hits. 

* His son Hank Williams Jr. was born May 26, 1949.

* Williams was a star on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville from 1949-1952.

* Williams died at in on January 1, 1953, at age 29 while traveling to a scheduled concert in Canton, Ohio. 

* Three days later on Jan. 4, 1953, Williams was buried in Montgomery, with more than 25,000 mourners.

* Two days after Williams funeral, his daughter Jett Williams was born. 

* In 1961, Williams was one of the first three to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. 

* In 2010, he was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for his songwriting craftsmanship and for his role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force.