Who Wrote The Song Blues Man

Born September 17, 1923, in Mount Olive, Alabama, Hank Williams was determined to be a country music star as a kid. Settled with his family in Montgomery, by 1937, a 14-year-old Williams had already dropped out of school to pursue his career, even informally changing his birth name of “Hiram” to “Hank” as it would be a better stage name.

Though he never knew how to read music, Williams wrote songs based on personal experiences and storytelling, using the chords and chord progressions from early guitar lessons he received, in exchange for meals or money, from blues musician Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne. Calling Payne his “only teacher,” Williams later recorded one of the first songs the bluesman taught him how to play, the 1933 Clarence Williams-penned “My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It.“

Often performing on the streets with his Silvertone guitar, as a teen Williams won $15 in a talent contest at The Empire Theater for singing one of his first original songs called “WPA Blues”—writing the lyrics around the melody from country music pioneer Riley Puckett’s “Dissatisfied.” Soon after, Williams was asked to host a 15-minute show at the Montgomery radio station WSFA for $15 a week and formed his band The Drifting Cowboys.

Already making his mark on the road, Williams was also getting recognition as a songwriter, publishing his first songbook, Original Songs of Hank Williams and his first hit “Move It on Over.” By 1949, he joined the Grand Ole Opry and was the first performer to receive six encores in the house.

Dying just three years later from a heart attack at the age of 29, within his nearly three decades of life, Williams wrote and left behind a catalog of country classics from “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Ramblin’ Man,” “Hey Good Lookin,’” “My Heart Would Know,” “Move It On Over,” “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Lovesick Blues,” “Honky Tonk Blues,” “There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight,” “Take These Chains From My Heart,” and dozens more.

Refer to more articles:  Who Is The Best Mechanic In The World

Throughout his career, Williams released 31 singles (and recorded as many as 55), 11 of which became No. 1 country hits. On Nov. 21, 1952, Williams released his last single “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive,” co-written with Fred Rose. The song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Country Singles chart following Williams’ death on New Year’s Day, 1953.

He was also posthumously elected a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, and in 2001, his 1951 hit “Hey Good Lookin’” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Throughout his brief career, Williams also wrote a handful of songs that were recorded by other artists.

Here are five of those songs.

1. “Mind Your Own Business,” Jesse Rogers and His ’49ers (1948)Written by Hank Williams

Though Hank Williams and his Drifting Cowboys were the first to release “Mind Your Own Business” in 1949, Jesse Rogers and His ’49ers were technically the first to record the Williams-penned tune a year earlier, releasing it just months after Williams in 1949.

“Mind Your Own Business” has been covered by dozens of artists, including Charley Pride, Ricky Skaggs, Randy Travis, and more, over the past 70 years. In 1986, Hank Williams Jr. also recorded his father’s hit with Tom Petty, Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson, and Reverend Ike, which remained at No. 1 on the country chart for two weeks.

Willie Nelson, who has covered other Williams classics like “Cold Cold Heart” and “I Saw the Light” among others, also released his own version of “Mind Your Own Business” on his 2017 album Willie and the Boys: Willie’s Stash, Vol. 2.

If the wife and I are fussin’, brother that’s our right‘Cause me and that sweet woman’s got a license to fightWhy don’t you mind your own business?(Mind your own business)‘Cause if you mind your business, then you won’t be mindin’ mine

Oh, the woman on our party line’s the nosiest thingShe picks up her receiver when she knows it’s my ringWhy don’t you mind your own business?(Mind your own business)Well, if you mind your business, then you won’t be mindin’ mine

Refer to more articles:  Who Won Last Night Debate

2. “On the Evening Train,” Molly O’Day (1949)Written by Hank Williams and Audrey Williams

Written by Hank Williams and his first wife Audrey, mother of Hank Williams Jr., “On The Evening Train” was first recorded by Molly O’Day and The Cumberland Mountain Folks, the vocal duo of O-Day and Lynn Davis.

Though Williams never recorded the song himself, several artists would cover the song over the decades, including Johnny Cash with his version appearing on the 2006 album American V: A Hundred Highways, which was released three years after his death.

The baby’s eyes are red from weepingIt’s little heart is filled with painAnd Daddy cried they’re taking MamaAway from us on the evening train

I heard the laughter at the depotBut my tears fell like the rainWhen I saw them place that long white casketIn the baggage coach of the evening train

3. “A Teardrop on a Rose,” Braxton Shooford (1950)Written by Hank Williams

Williams made his first radio appearance on Braxton Schuffert’s WSFA radio show. Schuffert would later join Williams Drifting Cowboys in the late 1930s. At one point, Williams had been playing around with a few songs that he wasn’t ready to record. He shared “A Teardrop on a Rose” with Schuffert, who went under the name “Shooford.” When Williams asked him what he thought of the song, Schuffert said “I told him it was one of the most beautiful songs I ever heard, and Hank said I could have it if I wanted.” Schuffert recorded the song and released it in 1950.

“I heard this voice that was just as strong and clear,” said Schuffert, who died at the age of 97 in 2013, of the first time he heard Williams singing. “It was a man’s voice in a boy’s body. Hank was only 15 at the time, but he could sure sing. Even then I knew he had a one-of-a-kind voice.”

The two would also co-write Schuffert’s “Rockin’ Chair Daddy.” Williams only recorded a demo version of the song, which was released on a posthumous compilation of early demos and rarities, Alone with His Guitar.

Refer to more articles:  When Treating A Patient Who Experienced A Pulmonary Blast Injury

While strolling thru a lovely gardenAs day was drawing to a close…My eyes beheld a tragic storyI saw a teardrop on a rose.It should have been a tear of gladnessBut deep inside the sorrow showsA trusting heart had just been brokenI saw a teardrop on a rose.

4. “I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome,” Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys (1951)Written by Hank Williams and Bill Monroe

The only song ever written by Hank Williams and the “father of bluegrass” Bill Monroe (1911-1996), “I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome” became a bluegrass classic and has been covered dozens of times. First recorded in 1950 by Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys, it was one Williams never recorded himself.

In the still of the night in the pale moonlightThe wind, it moans and cryThese lonesome blues I just can’t loseI’m blue, I’m lonesome too

When I hear that whistle blowI want to pack my clothes and goThe lonesome sound of a train going byMakes me want to stop and cry

5. “When the Book of Life is Read,” Jimmy Skinner (1952)Written by Hank Williams

Hank Williams’ own version of “When the Book of Life is Read” was released after his death, but country and bluegrass artist Jimmie Skinner (1909-1979), also known for his mail-order record business in Ohio, first recorded the God-fearing song in 1952. Recording for a number of labels in the 1950s, Skinner got a Top 10 hit with “I Found My Girl in the USA” in 1957, which was later covered by country singer Connie Smith in 1975.

In life’s many battles that you will have to fightJust stay close to Jesus and journey in His lightThen on that judgment morning when all pain has fledYou’ll stand in God’s Kingdom when the Book Of Life is read

When the seals are broken and names are read aloudYou’ll see many loved ones standin’ in the crowdSo brother, keep on prayin’ and follow where you’re leadYou’ll stand in God’s Kingdom when the Book Of Life is read

Related Posts

Who Owns Bleach London

When I was asked by this magazine if I wanted to dye my hair for a story, my husband and I had just finished eating our 331st…

Who Owns Gl Homes

Who Owns Gl Homes

For the past four decades, GL Homes has built thousands of homes in Palm Beach County, from starter houses to luxury communities to homes for people ages…

Who Is Big X The Plug Signed To

It’s 30 minutes before the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers tip-off for a late January showdown at their shared home of Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and rapper…

Who Wrote Angel By Halle

Halle Bailey is officially entering her solo era. On Friday, August 4, the singer dropped “Angel,” her first solo single outside of her R&B sister duo, Chloe…

Who Owns Heyday Boats

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., July 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Heyday Wake Boats, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), today announced the launch of the H22, the newest…

Who Is Jack Panella

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up…