Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Hank Williams, Birth Year: 1923, Birth date: September 17, 1923, Birth State: Alabama, Birth City: Mount Olive, Birth Country: United States. Finally, after not hearing from the singer for two solid hours, the driver pulled the car over in Oak Hill, West Virginia, at 5:30 in the morning. [Part 1]", "Hank Williams Sr. makes his Grand Ole Opry debut", "The Year's Top Country and Western Records", "Hank Williams' last ride: Driver recalls lonesome end", Huber, Patrick, Goodson, Steve & Anderson, David 2014, Haislop, Neil, Lathrop, Tad & Sumrall, Harry 1995, "1985 Inductee: Lifework Award for Performing Achievement", "Hank Williams Wins Again, And Inspires Countless Covers | uDiscover", "Hank Williams receives additional Grammy Recognition as "Lovesick Blues" inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame", "The Beatles' catalogue wins 'Best Historical Album' Grammy", "Hank Williams: Native American group Inducts Him", "The 2010 Pulitzer Prize Winners Special Awards and Citations", "Hilary Williams Details Her Brush with Death in 'Sign of Life', "New exhibit explores Hank Williams' family legacy", "Hilary Williams on Triumphant New Album 'My Lucky Scars,' Family Legacy", "Country Singer Hank Williams Jr.'s Daughter, 27, Killed in Tennessee Car Crash", "The Hank Williams Lineage Continues with Hank3's Son "IV", "Nashville Skyline: Hank Williams' Life After Death", "The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams to be released in October", "Nashville Skyline: Johnny Cash and Hank Williams: Got Some More Music Here", "Hear a newly discovered Hank Williams performance", "Six Decades Later, A Long-Lost Hank Williams Recording Resurfaces", "Newly Discovered Hank! [54] After a few more moderate hits, in 1949 he released his version of the 1922 Cliff Friend and Irving Mills song "Lovesick Blues",[55] made popular by Rex Griffin. While he was medically disqualified from military service after suffering a back injury caused by falling from a bull during a rodeo in Texas, his band members were all drafted to serve. Despite his physical failings, Williams was cleared for more travel. Hank Williams, Jr., was only 3 years old when his father died ("Hank".Bio para.4). Williams was among the first class of artists inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961, and in 2010, the Pulitzer Board awarded him a special citation for songwriting. The investigating officer in Oak Hill declared later that Carr told him that he had pulled over at the Skyline Drive-In restaurant outside Oak Hill, and found Williams dead. When several of his band members were drafted during World War II, he had trouble with their replacements, and WSFA terminated his contract because of his alcoholism. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. They hit it off, and Williams asked Sheppard to marry him almost immediately. [35] His recent win at the Empire Theater and the street performances caught the attention of WSFA producers who occasionally invited him to perform on air. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame in 1999. Why was Hank Williams an alcoholic? Alternate titles: Hiram King Williams, the Hillbilly Shakespeare. He purchased the DSC title for $35 from the "Chicago School of Applied Science"; in the diploma, he requested that the DSc was spelled out as "Doctor of Science and Psychology". The identity of her famous father remained a mystery to her until her early twenties. Secondly,how did hank williams pass away? At a Veterans Affairs clinic in Pensacola, Florida, doctors determined that the cause was a brain aneurysm, and Elonzo was sent to the VA Medical Center in Alexandria, Louisiana. In regards to her half-brother and where they stand today, Jett said: As far as having a personal relationship, we dont have like a brother-sister relationship, but we do get along; we do business and I think the world does realize that both of us have our dads best interest at heart.. [19] Carr's account of how he discovered that Williams was dead outside Oak Hill is challenged by Dr. Leo Killorn, a Canadian intern at Beckley hospital, West Virginia, fifteen miles from Oak Hill, who claims that Carr drove up to the hospital and asked him to see Williams. Montgomery, Alabama Hank Williams was country music's first megastar. Williams remains a beloved albeit tragic figure in country music and his work continues to influence musicians to this day. In 1951, Williams fell during a hunting trip in Tennessee, reactivating his old back pains. Years of back pain, alcoholism, and prescription drug abuse severely compromised Williams' health. [19] In 1935, they settled in Garland, Alabama, where Lillie opened a new boarding house; they later moved with Williams' cousin Opal McNeil to Georgiana, Alabama,[20] where Lillie took several side jobs to support the family despite the bleak economic climate of the Great Depression. Prior to that, duplicates were made and intended to be published by a third party. On the evening of Dec. 30, 1952, the restless, rail-thin 29-year-old tossed and turned in bed at his home in Montgomery, Ala. Best Answer. "[34], On March 10, Marshall was called again to testify. Defending his position, he claimed that Williams possibly committed suicide. That all changed in 1949 with the release of "Lovesick Blues," a throwaway rendition of an old show tune he'd pushed to tape at the end of a recording session. [83], On January 2, Williams' body was transported to Montgomery, Alabama, where it was placed in a silver casket that was displayed at his mother's boarding house for two days. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. By the early 1940s, he'd caught the attention of music executives in Nashville. In 1951, Williams fell during a hunting trip in Tennessee, reactivating his old back pains and causing him to be dependent on alcohol and prescription drugs. Police found empty beer cans and unfinished song lyrics in the Cadillac where Williams died. Hank Williams was just 29-years-old when he died, but had lived quite a life in his short years. Jett, whose legal name is Cathy Deupree Adkinson, was raised by Williams' mother for two years until she died. [89] Dr. P. H. Cardwell injected Williams with two shots of vitamin B12 that also contained a quarter-grain of morphine. A pop cover version by Tony Bennett released the same year stayed on the charts for 27 weeks, peaking at number one. The suit demanded that both of the publishing companies continue to pay her half of the royalties from Hank Williams' records. A picture from the past came slowly stealing As I brushed your arm and walked so close to you Then suddenly I got that old time feeling I can't help it if I'm still in love with you. The marriage was always turbulent and rapidly disintegrated, and Williams developed serious problems with alcohol, morphine, and other painkillers prescribed for him to ease the severe back pain caused by his spina bifida occulta. The album, named The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams, was released on October 4, 2011. Under the name of Dr. C. W. Lemon he prescribed Williams with amphetamines, Seconal, chloral hydrate, and morphine.[6]. "[36], On March 19, Marshall declared that he felt Williams was depressed and committed suicide by taking a higher dose of the drugs he had prescribed. Hank Williams Jr. was performing his father, Hank Sr.'s, songs on stage at age 8. . [73] That same year, Williams had a brief extramarital affair with dancer Bobbie Jett, with whom he fathered a daughter, Jett Williams. Williams and Sheppard lived and worked together in Mobile. 4. One year later, he released a cover of "Lovesick Blues", a huge country hit, which propelled him to stardom on the Grand Ole Opry. [26] His final single released during his lifetime was ironically titled "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive." During one of his concerts, Williams met his idol, Grand Ole Opry star Roy Acuff backstage,[43] who later warned him of the dangers of alcohol, saying, "You've got a million-dollar talent, son, but a ten-cent brain. Carr told Cooper this happened at the side of the road six miles from Oak Hill, but investigating officer Howard Janney placed it in the Skyline Drive-In restaurant's parking lot, noting that Carr sought help from a Skyline employee. He returned to Shreveport, Louisiana, to perform on KWKH and WBAM shows and in the Louisiana Hayride, for which he toured again. After Hawkshaw Hawkins and other performers started singing "I Saw the Light" as a tribute to Williams, the crowd, now realizing that he was indeed dead, followed them. He found hemorrhages in the heart and neck and pronounced the cause of death as "insufficiency of the right ventricle of the heart". [17] Author Colin Escott concluded in his book Hank Williams: The Biography that the cause of death was heart failure caused by the combination of alcohol, morphine and chloral hydrate.[18]. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. [13][14], As a child, Williams was nicknamed "Harm" by his family and "Herky" or "Skeets" by his friends. His mother subsequently demanded that the school board terminate the coach; when they refused, the family moved to Montgomery, Alabama. The popular song "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" became a hit for Hank Williams in 1949. [29] Around two tons of flowers were sent. On New Year's Day in 1953 the heart of country music was broken; the Shakespeare of Country Music died in the backseat of a powder blue Cadillac in Oak Hill, West Virginia on his way to a booking in Canton, Ohio. [84], A man named Lewis Fitzgerald (born 1943) claimed to be Williams' illegitimate son; he was the son of Marie McNeil, Williams' cousin. If Williams had lived, it's not entirely certain that the Nashville music community, so eager to shed its hillbilly roots, would have continued to embrace Williams' music. Stopping for gas in Oak Hill, West Virginia, Carr realized Williams was dead. His name was misspelled as "Hiriam" on his birth certificate, which was prepared and signed when he was 10 years old. [30] Williams's remains are interred at the Oakwood Annex in Montgomery. All Rights Reserved. The performances greatly increased Williams' name recognition, but he still lacked a number one hit. An immensely talented songwriter and an impassioned vocalist, he also experienced great crossover success in the popular music market. While her son was not on the stage, his song I Saw The Light opened the show. One characteristic of Williams' recordings as "Luke the Drifter" is the use of narration rather than singing. Meanwhile, Lewis Fitzgerald's son Ricky billed himself as Hank Williams IV following his father's claim of being Williams' son. In 1946, Williams traveled to Nashville to meet with music publisher Fred Rose and the Acuff-Rose Publications company. As people across his native Alabama picked up their newspapers that day, they were greeted with the tragic news Williams had died. But along with this early success came increased erratic behavior from Williams, who often showed up at live performances drunk. And he looked so satisfied I can't help it if I'm still in love with you. He was one of the finest young men that we ever knew, Acuff said. He denied any responsibility in both deaths. [16] Williams' father was frequently relocated by the lumber company railway for which he worked, and the family lived in many southern Alabama towns. [31], In July 1937, the Williams and McNeils opened a boarding house on South Perry Street in downtown Montgomery. Both women had been using the description professionally. Hank Williams had something that humanity universally needs -- a song with a heart-felt message.. Jett did not learn that she was Williams' daughter until the early 1980s. Little did he know that the woman he would fall in love with would be the key to his success. About 3,000 friends of the family shuffled through his mothers living room on Montgomerys North McDonough Street where Williams body was lain in state that Saturday night. The song, backed by "Kaw-Liga", was No. (An audio recording of the funeral begins at the 7:30 mark of the video below. You wrote only what happened to you and the people around you, Advertiser columnist Allen Rankin wrote on the day of the funeral. The funeral took place on January 4 at the Montgomery Auditorium, where an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 attended while the auditorium was filled with 2,750 mourners. Hank Williams was born Hiram Williams[3] on September 17, 1923,[4] in the rural community of Mount Olive in Butler County, Alabama. After an autopsy, the cause of death was determined to be "insufficiency of the right ventricle of the heart.". It provided the title for the 1964 biographic film of the same name, which starred George Hamilton. [123] Several members of Williams' descendants became musicians: Hank Williams Jr., daughter Jett Williams, grandsons Hank Williams III and Sam Williams, and granddaughters Hilary Williams[124] and Holly Williams are also country musicians. Later on, Williams recorded "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It", one of the songs that Payne taught him. [58] He brought together Bob McNett (guitar), Hillous Butrum (bass), Jerry Rivers (fiddle) and Don Helms (steel guitar) to form the most famous version of the Drifting Cowboys, earning an estimated $1,000 per show (equivalent to $11,400 in 2021) That year Audrey Williams gave birth to Randall Hank Williams (Hank Williams Jr.). Fearful that disc jockeys and jukebox operators would hesitate to accept these unusual recordings, Williams used this alias to avoid hurting the marketability of his name. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Williams and her son, Hank Jr., became estranged after he turned 18. Carr was 17, a freshman on break from Auburn. Lyons recalled how Hank rose from being a shoeshine boy to star of the stage. A doctor injected. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he recorded 55 singles (five released posthumously) that reached the top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, including 12 that reached No. [40] Williams' alcohol use started to become a problem during the tours; on occasion he spent a large part of the show revenues on alcohol. The 27-year-old was driving the car, which was. Marshall stated that Williams told him that he had decided to "destroy the Hank Williams that was making the money they were getting". In 2011, Williams' 1949 MGM number one hit, "Lovesick Blues", was inducted into the Recording Academy Grammy Hall of Fame. [29] In 1937, Williams got into a fight with his physical education teacher about exercises the coach wanted him to do. "Ol' Hank" was just 29 years old when he died, the same age as English Romantic Poet Shelley when he drowned in the Gulf of . [81] A relationship with a woman named Bobbie Jett during this period resulted in a daughter, Jett Williams, who was born five days after Williams died. Williams, Sheppard, and the Drifting Cowboys band in 1951 The American entry into World War II in 1941 marked the beginning of hard times for Williams. [21] Their first house burned down, and the family lost their possessions. Williams, who wrote most of his songs himself, crafted direct, emotionally honest lyrics that had a poetic simplicity that spoke not only to fans of country and western music but to a much broader audience, as evidenced by the pop hit crooner Tony Bennett had with his cover of Cold, Cold Heart in 1951. The set was re-released on Hank Williams: The Legend Begins in 2011. It was her second marriage and his first. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! His father worked as a logger before entering the Veterans Administration hospital when young Hank was just six. Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. [87] Carr called the Charleston auditorium from Knoxville to say that Williams would not arrive on time owing to the ice storm and was instead ordered to drive Williams to Canton, Ohio, for a New Year's Day concert there. In 1952, he divorced Sheppard and married singer Billie Jean Horton. "[25] An estimated 15,000 to 25,000 people passed by the silver coffin, and the auditorium was filled with 2,750 mourners. Marshall admitted that he had also prescribed chloral hydrate to his recently deceased wife, Faye, as a headache medicine. Hank Williams, Sr. passed away on January 1, 1953 at 29 years old.Hank Williams Net Worth. During World War II Williams commuted between Mobile, where he worked in a shipyard, and Montgomery, where he pursued a musical career. When he tried to move his hands, they snapped back to the same position the hotel porters had arranged him in. [3] In October 1952, he married Billie Jean Jones. His childhood was also shaped by his spinal condition, spina bifida, which set him apart from other kids his age and fostered a sense of separation from the world around him. The unfinished lyrics were later returned to Sony/ATV, which handed them to Bob Dylan in 2008 to complete the songs for a new album. [77], During his last recording session on September 23, 1952, Williams recorded "Kaw-Liga", along with "Your Cheatin' Heart", "Take These Chains from My Heart", and "I Could Never be Ashamed of You". Ernest Tubbs began the funeral with Beyond the Sunset and Red Foley and The Statesman Quartet sang Peace In The Valley.. Audrey Williams divorced him that year; the next day he recorded "You Win Again" and "I Won't be Home No More". Is Hank Williams Sr single? While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. His life and music received a fresh look in 2019 with Ken Burns' 16-hour documentary, Country Music, which prominently featured the icon in an episode titled "The Hillbilly Shakespeare.". [105] Williams had 11 number one country hits in his career ("Lovesick Blues", "Long Gone Lonesome Blues", "Why Don't You Love Me", "Moanin' the Blues", "Cold, Cold Heart", "Hey, Good Lookin'", "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)", "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive", "Kaw-Liga", "Your Cheatin' Heart", and "Take These Chains from My Heart"), as well as many other top 10 hits. A year after first meeting with Rose, Williams had his first hit, "Move It On Over." He won the first prize of $15, singing his first original song "WPA Blues". A quick study, Williams learned how to play folk, country and, thanks to an African-American street musician named Rufus Payne, the blues. [80] In June 1952, Williams moved in with his mother, even as he released numerous hit songs such as "Half as Much" in April, "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" in July, "You Win Again" in September, and "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" in November. In 1977, a national organization of CB truck drivers voted "Your Cheatin' Heart" as their favorite record of all time. One woman was carried out after she collapsed. [142], For other people named Hank Williams, see. His physical appearance diminished, too. They later had a daughter named Irene. [79], On December 15, 1944, Williams married Audrey Sheppard. [59] During 1949, he joined the first European tour of the Grand Ole Opry, performing in military bases in England, Germany and the Azores. [25][26] Payne's base musical style was blues. The Pulitzer Prize jury awarded him a posthumous special citation in 2010 for his "craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life". He wrote songs weekly to perform during the shows. [100] "Take These Chains From My Heart" was released in April 1953 and reached No. However, much of what led to his non-sobriety is exactly what made his music as good as it was. A year later he was entering talent shows and had his own band, Hank Williams and his Drifting Cowboys. His song "Your Cheatin' Heart" was written and recorded in September 1952, but released in late January 1953 after his death. The break had to come, he added. Williams told a story in later concerts that attributed his name change to a cat's yowling. [47] As a result of the new variety of his repertoire, Williams published his first songbook, Original Songs of Hank Williams. [46], In 1945, when he was back in Montgomery, Williams started to perform again for the WSFA radio station. Celebrity Births Deaths and Ages Hank Williams Sr. The first celebration, in 1954, featured the unveiling of a monument at the Cramton Bowl that was later placed at the gravesite of Williams. Due to Williams' excesses, Fred Rose stopped working with him. The marriage was technically invalid, since Sheppard's divorce from her previous husband did not comply with the legally required 60-day trial reconciliation. All rights reserved (About Us). The station's owner called the local police chief. His hair began falling out, and he put on 30 extra pounds. This being the days of Jim Crow, the 200 Black mourners were in a segregated balcony. [23] Despite his medical condition, the family managed fairly well financially throughout the Great Depression. Jones refused to pay, and further stated that Marshall later intended to convince her to pay him by assuring that he would "pave her the way to collect her husband's state". He had a message. His passing did not bring about the end to his stardom, however. A doctor injected Williams with two shots of vitamin B12 that contained morphine. The Journal that day reported WSFA received hundreds of calls and telegrams requesting the station play his songs. Another researcher decided it could have happened at any of the gas stations near Mount Hope. Meanwhile, "Weary Blues From Waitin'" reached No. Killorn stated that the fact that Carr told him it was Hank Williams caused him to remember the incident. [77] The next day, two public ceremonies were held at the New Orleans Civic Auditorium, where 14,000 seats were sold for each. The lanky guitar player with twangy voice began his musical career in Montgomery, singing over WSFA, the newspaper reported. [98][99] Williams' remains are interred at the Oakwood Annex in Montgomery. [82], On October 18, 1952, Williams and Billie Jean Jones were married by a justice of the peace[83] in Minden, Louisiana. He showed up unannounced at the family's home in Montgomery. [66] In 1951, "Dear John" became a hit, but it was the flip side, "Cold, Cold Heart", that became one of his most recognized songs. After determining that Williams was dead, Carr asked for help from the owner of the station who notified the police. [18], In the fall of 1934, the Williams family moved to Greenville, Alabama, where Lillie opened a boarding house next to the Butler County courthouse. [31], The president of MGM told Billboard magazine that the company got only about five requests for pictures of Williams during the weeks prior to his death, but over 300 afterwards. [138], After Williams' death, Audrey Williams filed a suit in Nashville against MGM Records and Acuff-Rose. In the 1970s, he created his own musical identity, combining country with Southern rock and blues. "When I pulled it back up, I noticed that his hand was stiff and cold." Hiram "Hank" Williams died on January 1, 1953, at the age of 29. Reporters answering telephoned queries concerning Williams death said many of the callers cried when informed that the reports were true.. Hank Williams Sr. was born on Monday and have been alive for 10,699 days, Hank Williams Sr. next B'Day will be after 7 Months, 12 Days, See detailed result below. was honored with a Grammy nomination for Best Historical Album. His mother was Audrey, and his step mothers were Bobbie Jett, who had his stepsister, and Billie Gean who was a widow just months after she married Williams, Sr. (Williams para.14). Lillie was unwilling to let him reclaim his position as the head of the household. As a boy, Williams was the musical protg of Rufus Payne, an African American street performer who went by the name Tee-Tot and busked on the streets of Georgiana and Greenville, Alabama. With Hill's help, the family began collecting the money. Probably taught his first chords by Payne, Williams began playing the guitar at age 8. His son, Hank Jr., was ranked on the same list. [127] His great-grandson Coleman Finchum, son of Hank Williams III, released his debut single credited to IV and the Strange Band in 2021. The newlyweds spent Christmas 1952 with Williamss mother in Montgomery. Now free to travel without Williams' schooling taking precedence, the band could tour as far away as western Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. The two were often rivals for Williams' time and attention. Discover Hank Williams' Death Car in Montgomery, Alabama: Cadillac where country's first big star was found dead. 7. [7] Because of an ice storm in the Nashville area that day, Williams could not fly, so he hired a college student, Charles Carr, to drive him to the concerts. But coupled with Williams' obvious talents as a singer and songwriter was an increasing dependence on alcohol, which he'd started abusing in order to relieve his sometimes excruciating back pain. Long plagued by alcoholism, Williams fell ill at the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville on the last night of 1952. Williams was an American singer-songwriter and musician regarded as one of the most significant country music artists of all time. [120] The same year, Hank Williams: The Complete Mother's Best RecordingsPlus! Williams' personal life took a major turn in 1943 when he met Audrey Mae Sheppard, who was the mother of a young daughter and had only recently left a messy marriage. [96] An estimated 15,000 to 25,000 people passed by the silver casket, and the auditorium was filled with 2,750 mourners. His son, Hank Williams, Jr., a successful country performer in his own right (like Williamss grandson, Hank Williams III), sang Williamss songs in the film biography Your Cheatin Heart (1964). In Knoxville, Tennessee, the two stopped at the Andrew Johnson Hotel. The album included unreleased songs. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Hank Williams, byname of Hiram Williams, also called the Hillbilly Shakespeare, (born September 17, 1923, Georgiana, Alabama, U.S.died January 1, 1953, Oak Hill, West Virginia), American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who in the 1950s arguably became country music 's first superstar. [42] He continued to show up for his radio show intoxicated, so in August 1942 the WSFA radio station fired him for "habitual drunkenness". Later, he started to consume painkillers, including morphine, and alcohol to ease the pain. I was a pretty good imitator of Roy Acuff, but then I found out they already had a Roy Acuff, so I started singin' like myself. There he sang "Hey Good Lookin'", and the next week Como opened the show singing the same song, with apologies to Williams. Lillie Williams became the Drifting Cowboys' manager. The material was restored and remastered by Michael Graves and released by Omnivore Recordings. Montgomery, Alabama - Family at Hank Williams memorial unveiling. Entrance marker of the Oakwood Annex Cemetery in, Grave of Audrey (left) and Hank Williams (right) at Oakwood Annex Cemetery, Oklahoma investigation of Horace Marshall. [60] Williams released seven hit songs after "Lovesick Blues", including "Wedding Bells",[55] "Mind Your Own Business", "You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)", and "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It". His life and career were the subject of I Saw the Light, a 2015 biopic, starring Tom Hiddleston as Williams and Elizabeth Olsen as his first wife, Audrey. The court rejected claims made by PolyGram Records and Legacy Entertainment in releasing recordings Williams made for the Mother's Best Flour Show. [121] In 1999, Williams was inducted into the Native American Music Hall of Fame. The Opry eventually fired him, and in 1952, he and Sheppard divorced. Jett was 21 when she realized Williams could be her biological father. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Their son, Randall Hank Williams (now known as Hank Williams Jr.), was born on May 26, 1949. Instead, Williams died 67 years ago, on Jan. 1, 1953. [17] From that time on, Lillie assumed responsibility for the family. After Hawkshaw Hawkins and other performers started singing Williams' song "I Saw the Light" as a tribute to him, the crowd realized that he was indeed dead and began to sing along.