List of tributes to Hank Williams
Albums
Tribute albums to Hank Williams include the following:
- A Tribute To Hank Williams (1959) by Johnny Williams & The Singing Cowboys
- George Jones Salutes Hank Williams (1960) by George Jones
- Sings the Songs of Hank Williams (1961) by Ronnie Hawkins
- My Favorites of Hank Williams (1962) by George Jones
- Hank Locklin Sings Hank Williams (1964) by Hank Locklin
- Hank Williams the Roy Orbison Way (1970) by Roy Orbison
- Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis Sing Hank Williams (1971), by Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis
- There's a Little Bit of Hank in Me (1980) by Charley Pride
- Stars & Hank Forever: The American Composers Series (1986) by The Residents (one side contains Hank Williams songs, the other contains versions of marches by John Philip Sousa)
- Hanky Panky (1994), by The The
- Hillbilly Shakespeare (1999) by Bap Kennedy. Kennedy's follow-up album Lonely Street, released in 2000, contains numerous references to Hank Williams, and on the sleeve notes, Kennedy acknowledges that the songs were inspired by both Williams and Elvis Presley.
- Timeless (2001), by artists including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Keith Richards, Tom Petty and Hank Williams III. Timeless was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Country Album, and Cash's version of "I Dreamed About Mama Last Night", which appears on the album, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.
Other artists who have released Hank Williams tribute albums include
Doo-wop singer Dion DiMucci credited Hank Williams as his #1 musical influence, and covered "Honky Tonk Blues" on his Grammy-nominated album Bronx in Blue in 2007.
Songs
In 1981
Songs that pay tribute to Williams include:
- "Alcohol and Pills" by Fred Eaglesmith and covered by Todd Snider
- "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way", "If Old Hank Could Only See Us Now", and "Hank Williams Syndrome", all by Waylon Jennings
- "The Car Hank Died In" by the Austin Lounge Lizards
- "Classic Cars" by Bright Eyes
- "The Conversation" by Waylon Jennings and Hank Williams Jr., with the opening lyric sung by Jennings, "Hank, let's talk about your daddy"
- "Crank the Hank" by Dallas Wayne
- "Crazy Town" by Jason Aldean
- "Curse of Hank" by Tim Hus
- "The Death of Hank Williams" and "Hank Williams Sings the Blues No More", both by Jimmie Logsdon
- "Don't Look Down" by Grant Lee Phillipscontains the line "Luke the Drifter and me thumbed us a ride down the highway of dreams."
- "Family Tradition" by Hank Williams Jr.
- "Ghost of Hank Williams" by David Allan Coe
- "The Ghost of Hank Williams" by the Kentucky Headhunters
- "The Grand Ole Opry (Ain't So Grand Anymore)" by Hank Williams III includes the lyrics, "The Grand Ole Opry ain't so grand anymore/Did you know Hank Williams is not a member, but they keep him outside their door."
- "The Great Hank" by Robert Earl Keen, detailing a dream in which Hank Williams is singing in drag in a bar
- "Hank" by Her Make Believe Band
- "Hank" by Jason Boland & the Stragglers
- "Hank and Fred" by Loudon Wainwright III
- "Hank and Me" by Loved Up Les Glover
- "Hank it" by Justin Moore
- "Hank, Karen and Elvis" by The Young Fresh Fellows
- "Hank Williams" by Los Langeros
- "Hank Williams" by Ry Cooder
- "Hank Williams' Cadillac" and "I Feel Like Hank Williams Tonight" by Chris Wall
- "Hank Williams' Ghost" by Darrell Scott
- "Hank Williams' Guitar" by Freddie Hart
- "Hank Williams Said It Best" by Guy Clark and also covered recently by Mick Harvey
- "Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life" by Moe Bandy (written by Paul Craft)
- "Hank's Cadillac" by Ashley Monroe
- "Hank's Cadillac" by the group of the same name
- "Has Anybody Here Seen Hank?" by The Waterboys
- "Hats Off to Hank" by Buzz Cason
- "Heart's Hall of Fame" by the Bailey Brothers
- "Here's to Hank" by Stonewall Jackson
- "I Couldn't Sleep for Thinkin' of Hank Williams" by Henry McCullough
- "I Feel Like Hank Williams Tonight" by Jerry Jeff Walker
- "I Saw the Light" by David Crowder Band
- "If He Came Back Again" by The Highwaymen
- "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away" by Justin Moore
- "If You Don't Like Hank Williams" by Kris Kristofferson
- "A Legend Froze In Time" by David Church, including Don Helms on steel guitar
- "The Life of Hank Williams" by Hawkshaw Hawkins
- "Long White Cadillac", originally recorded by The Blasters. The song was written and later performed by guitarist Dave Alvin after he left the group. It was also covered by Dwight Yoakam.
- "Lotta Boot Left To Fill" by Eric Church: "I don't think Waylon done it that way. And if he was here he'd say Hoss, neither did Hank."
- "Midnight in Montgomery" by Alan Jackson
- "Mission from Hank" by Aaron Tippin. Tippin also references Williams in "Ready to Rock (in a Country Kind of Way)".
- "Montgomery in the Rain" by Steve Young, also covered by Hank Williams, Jr.
- "My Kinda Party", originally sung by Brantley Gilbert and covered by Jason Aldean: "You can find me, in the back of a jacked up tailgate, chillin' with some Skynyrd and some old Hank"
- "The Night Hank Williams Came to Town" by Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings
- "Nosferatu Man" by Slint contains the lyrics, "If I could settle down, I'd be doing just fine/Until I hear that old train, coming down the line" from Williams's song "Ramblin'Man".
- "Ole Hank Williams" by Jim Tragas
- "Over Hank It" by Bryan Martin
- "Rebel Meets Rebel" by Rebel Meets Rebel includes the chorus, "Rebel meets rebel, we've got our pride, like old Hank said, it's been a long, hard ride".
- "The Ride" by David Allan Coe tells the story of a drifting singer's encounter with the ghost of Hank Williams on a journey from Alabama to Nashville, Tennessee.
- "Roberta" by Rev. Billy C. Wirtz (underneath the black velvet painting of Elvis, Jesus and John Wayne walking together through eternity, watched over by Hank Sr.)
- "Rollin' and Ramblin' (The Death of Hank Williams)" by R. & L. Williams and J. Clark, covered by Emmylou Harris on her 1990 album Brand New Dance.
- "Talkin to Hank" by Mark Chesnutt
- "Things Change" by Tim McGraw and "I Need You" by McGraw and wife Faith Hill
- "This Ain't Montgomery" by Joey Allcorn & Hank Williams III
- "This Old Guitar" by Martin guitar, which Young has toured with for over 30 years.
- "Time Marches On" by Tracy Lawrence
- "Time to Change my Name to Hank" written by Jim Flynn
- "Tower of Song" by Leonard Cohen
- "Tramp on Your Street" by Billy Joe Shaver
- "A Tribute to Hank Williams, My Buddy" by Luke McDaniel
- "Tribute to Hank Williams" by Tim Hardin
- "Waitin' on Hank" by Canadian country rock band Dry County
- "When You Died at Twenty-Nine" by Slaid Cleaves
- "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" by George Jones refers to Williams in the lines, "You know the heart of country music still beats in Luke the Drifter, you can tell it when he sang 'I Saw the Light'."
- "Winkin' Blinkin' Country Music Star" by Tex Garrison contains the lyrics "A storybook of love gone wrong by Luke the Driftin' Vagabond"
- Jesus & Bocepus By Kid Rock
- Hank and Jesus by The Cadillac Three
- Drank like Hank by Josh Thompson
- "Play Me A Hank Song" by Tyler Childers
Other songs include "Hank, It Will Never Be the Same Without You", "Hank Williams Meets Jimmie Rodgers", "Tribute to Hank Williams", "Hank and Lefty Raised My Country Soul", "Hank Williams Will Live Forever", "The Ghost of Hank Williams," "In Memory of Hank Williams", "Thanks Hank", "Hank's Home Town", "Good Old Boys Like Me" (Hank Williams and Tennessee Williams), "Why Ain't I Half as Good as Old Hank (Since I'm Feeling All Dead Anyway)?" and "The Last Letter" (Mississippi disc jockey Jimmy Swan's reading of a letter to Williams by M-G-M boss Frank Walker).[5]
"I've Done Everything Hank Did But Die" was written and performed by Keith Whitley. Never officially released, it was presumably recorded sometime after Whitley had surpassed the age of 29, Hank's age when he died. Whitley, who like his idol battled alcoholism, died of acute alcohol poisoning at the age of 33.
On the album
Films
Films that depict Hank Williams include:
- Your Cheatin' Heart (1964), directed by Gene Nelson, starring George Hamilton as Williams and Susan Oliver as Audrey Williams
- Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave (1980), directed by David Acomba and starring Sneezy Waters
- The Last Ride (2011), which depicts the last four days of Williams' life, directed by Harry Thomason and starring Henry Thomas as Williams and Jesse James as Silas the young driver[6]
- I Saw the Light (2015), directed by Marc Abraham and starring Tom Hiddleston.[7] Williams' grandson, singer Hank Williams III, publicly expressed his displeasure with the film, calling it "deeply flawed."[8]
The 2004 Canadian film Hank Williams First Nation, directed by Aaron James Sorensen, is about a Cree tribesman who suspects that Williams faked his death and travels to Nashville, Tennessee to see if he is still alive.
Filmmaker Paul Schrader wrote an unproduced script entitled Eight Scenes From the Life of Hank Williams.[9]
Other tributes
The
The play Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave is a fictional account of the concert he was traveling to when he died. Written by Maynard Collins, the play toured across Canada from 1977–1990, and starred Sneezy Waters. A film, made for Canadian TV, first aired on December 31, 1980.
On Dolly Parton's 2008 album, Backwoods Barbie, the song "The Lonesomes" mentions Hank Williams: "Just like that old song by Hank Williams, I am so lonesome I could cry." On her 2014 album Blue Smoke, the song "Home" mentions Williams when saying "I'm so lonesome I could cry just like old Hank."
The chorus of Waylon Jennings' hit "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" refers to "...Hank Williams pain songs and Newbury's train songs, and blue eyes cryin' in the rain."
Music videos
Year | Video | Director |
---|---|---|
1989 | "There's a Tear in My Beer" (with Hank Williams, Jr. )
|
Ethan Russell |
"Honky Tonk Blues" | ||
1996 | "Cold, Cold Heart | Buddy Jackson |
Sources
- ^ Larkin, Colin.
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(help) p.127 - ^ Celon, Curtis.
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(help) p.80 - ^ Escott, Colin; Florita, Kira.
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(help) p.117 - ^ Tichi, Cecelia.
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(help) p.18 - ^ Brackett 2000, p. 219–22
- ^ Kit, Borys (30 March 2010). "'Big Bang' star lands lead in 'I Hop' film". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 3, 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ "IMDb listing for 2015 release of "I Saw the Light"". IMDb.
- ^ "Fox News: Hank Williams' grandson criticizes 'I Saw the Light' biopic". Fox News.
- ISBN 978-0-252-07508-7
- ^ "2003 Lucille Lortel Awards Nominees". LortelAward.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (May 4, 2003). "Outer Critics Circle Award Winners Announced; Hairspray Leads the Pack". Playbill. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (December 23, 2002). "Rocking My Life Away: Hank Williams Comes Alive Off Broadway". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
- ^ McCarter, Jeremy (March 12, 2006). "Man in Black II". New York Magazine. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ McCarter, Jeremy (August 14, 2005). "Rip. Mix. Burn". New York Magazine. Retrieved June 2, 2013.