Alcohol-Related Deaths in West Virginia - Hank Williams (Paperback)

Chapters: Hank Williams. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 23. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Hiram King "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923January 1, 1953) was an American country music performer. Though unable to read or write music to any significant degree, he came to be regarded as among the greatest country music stars of all time. Williams died at age 29; his death is widely believed to have resulted from a mixture of alcohol and drugs. He charted numerous number one hits in the country music world, and his songs have been recorded by hundreds of other artists, many of whom have also had hits with the tunes. Williams has been covered in a range of pop, gospel, blues and rock styles. His son Hank Williams, Jr., daughter Jett Williams, and grandchildren Hank Williams III, Holly Williams, and Hilary Williams are also professional singers. His music was widely influential, and has been covered by performers including Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Beck Hansen, Johnny Cash, Tony Bennett, Patsy Cline, Ray Charles and Louis Armstrong. Williams was born in a log cabin in Mount Olive, Alabama (Butler County), to Elonzo Huble "Lon" Williams and Jessie Lillybelle "Lillie" Skipper. He was named after Hiram I of Tyre ( one of the three founders of the Masons, according to Masonic legend), but his name was misspelled as "Hiriam" on his birth certificate. As a child he was nicknamed "Harm" by his family. He was born with a mild undiagnosed case of spina bifida occulta, a disorder of the spinal column, which gave him lifelong pain a factor in his later abuse of alcohol and drugs. He was Lon's and Lillie's third and last child together, preceded by a brother who died shortly after birth, and sister Irene. Williams' father was an employee for a lumber company railway line and was frequently tr...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=16341