California Zephyr (song)

Nashville between January and March 1950.^[1] The surviving recordings of these shows feature more than forty songs that Hank never otherwise recorded. The shows present a far different side of Williams than the dark figure that has become ingrained into his legend, as biographer Colin Escott notes: "He's very unguarded, believing that no one aside from early morning listeners in and around Nashville and mid-Alabama would ever hear him. He laughs a lot, sometimes almost giggles, reminding us that he was only twenty-seven. The jokes are usually self-deprecating and the hymns are riveting."^[2] "California Zephyr" is likely Hank's take on the popular "Wabash Cannonball," made famous by his hero Roy Acuff; the melody and references to American cities and towns is strikingly similar. The recording on the single was taken from a 1951 demo^[3]