The car in which Hank Williams passed his last few hours and died on New Year's Day, 1953 is exhibited at the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. “There was desire, burden, fear, ambition, reverse after reverse, bitter disappointment, joy, success, sympathy, love for people. When the singer’s death was announced to the waiting crowd at the Palace Theatre in Canton, they sang Williams’ “I Saw the Light” in unison. The death of Katherine Williams-Dunning, the 27-year-old daughter of singer-songwriter Hank Williams Jr., has been felt across the across the country community and beyond. Hank Williams, the 29-year-old King of Country Music, was to have flown to Charleston, West Virginia for a New Year’s Eve concert but an ice storm … Most accounts have Williams looking and sounding groggy, and hotel porters allegedly had to carry him to the car. Daughter of country music legend Hank Williams Jr. dies in car crash, authorities say. Roy Acuff leads a host of country stars singing at the funeral of Hank Williams. While her son was not on the stage, his song ‘I Saw The Light’ opened the show. In 1953, Williams died of a heart attack at age 29 after years of alcohol and prescription drug abuse, and his influence lived on in more ways than just as an artist. You wrote only what happened to you and the people around you,” Advertiser columnist Allen Rankin wrote on the day of the funeral. This story has been shared 149,274 times. “He was dead on arrival at an Oak Hill hospital,” the front page of The Alabama Journal read. “Reporters answering telephoned queries concerning Williams’ death said many of the callers cried when informed that the reports were true.”. Instead, the Georgiana native hired a college student, Charles Carr, to drive him to perform a concert planned in Canton, Ohio. Hank’s first and second wives watched from the front pew. “The lanky guitar player with twangy voice began his musical career in Montgomery, singing over WSFA,” the newspaper reported. She is known for her work on Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar (1965), Your Cheatin' Heart (1964) and Country Music on Broadway (1965). At the time, Carr’s nervous account of the final few hours of the journey were enough to raise questions of foul play, especially when some witnesses — including a police officer — oddly claimed to have seen a soldier also riding in the car. With the 50th anniversary of Williams' death approaching, plans call for another tribute concert and a retracing of Hank's final journey. The newlyweds spent Christmas 1952 with Williams’s mother in Montgomery. Country singer, Sam Williams is breaking his silence with a number of social media posts just days after his sister, Katherine Williams-Dunning's passing. Lyons recalled how Hank rose from being a shoeshine boy to star of the stage. 229,744, This story has been shared 174,522 times. He died in the back seat of his Cadillac while being driven to a gig on New Year's Day 1953. But when Stone died herself just two years later, Jett was put into foster care. At cafes across the South, the paper added, his songs blared over radios as news of his death spread. Born six days after Hank Williams died, Jett was adopted by Hank's mother Lillie Stone. “He was racked by physical and emotional afflictions, and these coupled with his gift of song, made him kin to millions.”. But inclement weather meant they couldn’t get to Charleston, so the concert was canceled and they instead made a pit stop at the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville, Tenn. Williams had already been drinking when he was given a shot of B12 and morphine by the hotel doctor. This was the scene in Montgomery's Municipal Auditorium Jan. 4, 1953 as thousands filed past the open casket of singer-composer Hank Williams who died Jan. 1, 1953 at the age of 29. In the back seat lay country music superstar Hank Williams, dead for several hours, probably from an accidental overdose of morphine and whiskey. On June 11, 1949, Williams made his live Grand Ole Opry debut. has been telling people he was the doorman at the Andrew Johnson, and he says Hank was conscious and joking when he left.” Carr had insisted that Williams couldn’t have been dead in Knoxville, because they had spoken briefly in the car after leaving town. This being the days of Jim Crow, the 200 Black mourners were in a segregated balcony. Dom Calicchio is … The day after Williams died, The Montgomery Advertiser recalled Williams as a former peanut vendor who learned to play guitar at age 6. Country music legends June Carter and Bill Monroe were among those who filed past his open casket as Hank’s band, The Drifting Cowboys, backed up those singing tributes to the fallen star. The break had to come,” he added. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Some biographers (including Colin Escott, whose book “I Saw the Light” provides the basis for the film) have suggested that Williams may have even died at the Andrew Johnson in Knoxville, and that Carr had unwittingly driven several hundred miles with a corpse. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Williams had married his second wife, Billie Jean Jones in October 1952, as 14,000 people looked on in Louisiana where Williams hosted radio shows after being fired from the Grand Ole Opry in August of that year. Terms of Use (An audio recording of the funeral begins at the 7:30 mark of the video below.). Having only recently recorded what would become some of his best-loved songs -- including ‘Kawliga’ and ‘Your Cheatin’ Heart’ -- Williams performed his final concert in Austin, Texas on Dec. 19, 1952. It was something he apparently saw coming. Hank Williams, the 29-year-old King of Country Music, was to have flown to Charleston, West Virginia for a New Year’s Eve concert but an ice storm near Nashville kept him away. “In recent years, a Knoxvillian . Here are more vintage images and stories of Alabama’s past. Wynette died in the same room where Williams' widow Audrey Williams died in 1975 of alcoholism. Charles Carr told the AJC in 2002 he was the only witness when Hank Williams died. But when Stone died herself just two years later, Jett was put into foster care. Hank Williams died on New Year’s Day 1953, Montgomery funeral drew 20,000 mourners al.com - Jeremy Gray. On Saturday, it was reported that Williams-Dunning, the daughter of country singer Hank Williams Jr., died as a result of a car crash. Hank Williams' death car is located in downtown Montgomery on the east side of Commerce St. just north of Bibb St. He was driving Hank Williams, 29, who died that night. Some local citizens, however, didn't want Oak Hill to be remembered as the death site. Your California Privacy Rights Stars of the Grand Ole Opry were expected along with thousands of fans to bid farewell to Williams. Hank felt there was something bad around the corner.”. Celebrity Deaths in 2020 Read article Hank Williams, Dead Here. Several people fainted in the crush of people which fire chief R. L. Lampley estimated at nearly 20,000. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, Williams recorded 35 singles (five released posthumously) that reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, including 11 that ranked number one (three posthumously). That night, the singer’s body was taken back to Montgomery. She cried out, “He’s gone ... gone” over and over as firefighters helped her out. She was 27. "Hank's funeral drew the largest crowd ever to attend any funeral in Montgomery. He is the son of Hank Williams, one of country music’s most iconic figures, who died in 1953 at age 29 after writing a long string of hit songs. 149,274, © 2021 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved Around 1988 WTVK Channel 26 in Knoxville, TN had a series of videos they did on country music. Both women had been using the description professionally. As heart failure but noted that body contusions meant he had a series of videos they did one Hank. 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