Although generally I am not into country music at all, there is of course, as there always is for anyone with anything, an exception, and this can only be the original true King of Country himself, Hank Williams. I like Hank's music because of a certain grittiness to the sound, the now cliched country music themes are all still there of course and in abundance; - Mothers, trains, flowers, death, eating strange French-American food at parties held in swamps, but, it is minus the whining sanitised sound which has crept in, in the years after Hank's sad departure. Also, Hank's vocals on stage were second to none, which is not something that can be said of many other country music icons; and his trusty reliables, the Drifting Cowboys were note perfect, every time.
I won't relate Hank's life story here, this is available on many of the impressive tribute sites across the 'net, but we'll cover the barest of the basics.
Hank was born into a dirt poor family, as the Americans say, in Mount Olive West, Alabama, in 1923. He was always in poor health, and instead of sport, turned to music for a release. By the time he was 14 he was doing the usual rounds of local concerts, music competitions and not long after became a regular on WSFA Radio, an incredible feat for a young lad. Well, the rest, including Hank's tragic death at the age of 29 in 1953, is history.
Hank as Luke the Drifter
At the height of his fame and success, Hank Williams recorded a number of tracks in the style of a lay preacher, he called this alter ego, Luke the Drifter. These tracks are hated by some, loved by others, thankfully I am with the latter camp. And, just by coincidence, here are all 14 Luke the Drifter tracks available for you to listen to / download. ***I have to point out that, as I am UK based, I am allowed to do this as our laws put music recordings and radio shows in the Public Domain, at the end of the 50th year since the original release year / broadcast. All Hank Williams music released in the UK before 1957 is in this category, including the tracks listed here. If you are not UK based, please check your own country's laws before opening / downloading this music
Tracks: 1. Pictures of Life's Other Side 2. Men with Broken Hearts 3. Help me Understand 4. Too many parties and too many pals 5. Please make up your Mind
Tracks 6. I've been down that Road Before 7. Be Careful of Stones that you Throw 8. I dreamed about Mama last night 9. The Funeral 10. Beyond the Sunset 11. Just Waitin' 12. Everything's OK 13. No, no, Joe 14. Ramblin' Man
As was true with many other artists of Hank's time, a goodly chunk of Hank's career was fuelled by radio and radio stations. So much so, that Hanks' radio performances were and still are considered as important as his studio work. No self respecting Hank Williams fan will accept that a collection of all Hank's singles and albums is 'it'; one read of the many sites which list / review the mammoth 10 CD Complete Hank Williams boxed set, will make you realise that the use of the word 'complete' has left many Hank puerists rather angry, as it does not contain all of the major radio sets and other recorded live performances. This is at odds with the UK passion of collecting all the Beatles material; over here we're quite happy to settle on the studio work as being 'it', and consider any obscure live recordings, demos, radio shows etc as being optional extras, oddities, novelties, but this is not good enough when it comes to Hank, but, there may be some justification for this. For some unknown reason, Hank and the Drifting Cowboys played a phenomenal amount of material on stage, that was never recorded in the studio. This was not akin to the throwaway rock 'n' roll sets / medlies that a big rock band will add to their set to pad it out, these were a goodly number of top class songs, now much revered by his legion of fans, some now very old fans from Hank's own time, but also, younger fans who have strayed into a coffee bar to hear one of his classics blasting out the radio or juke box. Hank's voice was so good live, his band so professional and the recording technology a far cry from the cylinder some 30 years before, that many of these radio performances are as clean, slick and clear as a whistle as they possibly can be. So, yes, maybe Hank's legion of fans ( of which I am one, by the way ) have a justifiable gripe, as it's a darn tootin' shame not to have these openly available, but, we can tilt the scales our way, a little. Read on.
Despite the most sought after live material by Hank Williams' fans continuing to be withheld from release by Hank's family, this is the mammoth 72 Mother's Best radio shows, some live recordings have been issued and re-issued over the years, and one of these releases is now in the Public Domain in the UK, and this is the Health and Happiness radio shows.
Although the shows themselves were indeed fine, there is some humour behind this particular series, recorded over 2 weekends in October in 1949. For Hank, it was inevitable that, first considering the locale and the music, that the Doctor Good wagon would come calling. Ok, a bit obscure, but what I mean is, even in the South of the 1940s and 1950s, there were frauds and charlatans selling useless cure-alls, and what better way than to blast your message, than across the airwaves, acting as sponsors to a show featuring the hottest act in town? This is indeed what happened here to Hank Williams, as the Health and Happiness shows were recorded not just to get Hank and the boys to yodel and twang away, but to sell one such panacea. The product in question, or one of them anyway, Hadacol, had a mild laxative and a few shots of liquor and that was it! Apparently it sent you merrily on your way, which presumably meant you whistled and sang as you dashed across the lobby.
And... here they are, all 8 Health and Happiness shows. Just click on the links below. One thing though, as the source copies for this were in a poor state, 3 of the 8 shows have Hank's voice down in pitch a tad. I have corrected this as much as I can, with good results for 7 and 8 ( although not perfect ), but 6 has made him a veritable baritone, but sounds good for that, so could have been worse. But if you have a better sound programme than I have, then try a 2 or 3 % increase in speed ( not pitch ), if that doesn't do it, add the pitch anyway, may work.***And again, I have to point out that, as I am UK based, I am allowed to do this as our laws put music recordings and radio shows in the Public Domain, at the end of the 50th year since the original release year / broadcast. All Hank Williams music released in the UK before 1957 is in this category, including the tracks listed here. If you are not UK based, please check your own country's laws before opening / downloading this music.***
