They called him the “Hillbilly Shakespeare.”
And for good reason.
Born Hiram King Williams on September 17, 1923, in Mount Olive, Alabama, Hank came into this world with music in his blood — and pain in his bones. His father, a World War I veteran, was hospitalized for years when Hank was just a child, leaving his mother to raise him and his sister alone. She played organ at the local Baptist church, where young Hank sang in the choir. By six, he had a guitar in his hands. By his teens, he was playing street corners, shining shoes, and absorbing blues lessons from local Black musician Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne — influences that would shape his raw, emotional sound.
By the late 1940s, Hank had taken Nashville by storm. After signing with Acuff-Rose Publishing and MGM Records, he joined the Louisiana Hayride radio show in 1948 and soon scored his first No. 1 hit with “Lovesick Blues.” In 1949, he made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry, earning an unheard-of six encores. One hit followed another: “Hey, Good Lookin’,” “Cold, Cold Heart,” “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart.” In just four short years, he produced 11 million-selling singles and dominated the country charts.
But behind the spotlight was suffering.
Hank endured chronic back pain from spina bifida occulta, worsened by injury. To cope, he turned to alcohol and prescription drugs — a dangerous mix that spiraled out of control. By 1952, his health was failing, his marriage had collapsed, and he was fired from the Opry due to missed performances. Though he remarried, instability followed him like a shadow.
On New Year’s Day, 1953, en route to a show in Canton, Ohio, Hank Williams died in the back seat of his Cadillac. He was just 29 years old. The official cause: heart failure, likely brought on by years of substance abuse and emotional despair.
More than 25,000 mourners attended his funeral in Montgomery, Alabama. And yet, his death only magnified his legend. Twenty-six singles reached the Top 10. Four went to No. 1 after he died. He became one of the first inductees into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, later receiving a posthumous Pulitzer Prize.
Dead at 29 — but eternal in influence.
Few artists who died so young left behind a body of work so enduring. Hank Williams didn’t just sing about heartbreak and loneliness — he made the world feel it.