Bluegrass being the parent of country music (along with the blues, possibly), this is a bit short sighted, no?
I realize country’s origins, but country music feels a bit more working class than bluegrass these days.
There’s a certain amount of courage that comes with saying you enjoy George Jones, whereas your standard Latte sipping, Southeast West Asheville dwelling, Go Gordon for council, I love Rachel Maddow yuppie can say they like Ralph Stanley without batting an eyelash.
If not the greatest..certainly in the top 5 of all time great country song writers..here’s my favorite..
Not only did he sing country in a big way.. he was country
His songbook is a backbone of country music, and several of his songs are pop standards as well. He has been covered in a range of pop, gospel, blues and rock styles. His death at the age of 29 helped fuel his legend. His son Hank, Jr., daughter Jett, and grandchildren Hank Williams III, Holly Williams, and Hilary Williams are also professional singers. He was ranked 27th in Rolling Stone’s Greatest Singers of All Time.[1]
He was Big bad.. Big good..he had to change his avatar too..
“Luke the Drifter”
In 1950, Williams began recording as Luke the Drifter, an appellation given to Williams for use in identifying his religion-themed recordings, many of which are recitations rather than his usual crooning. Fearful that disc jockeys and jukebox operators would become hesitant to accept these non-traditional Williams recordings, thereby hurting the marketability of Williams’s name, the name Luke the Drifter was employed to cloak the identity of the artist.
Death
Every night of the week his tunes still haunt the Honkey Tonks and Road Houses through out the world..he’s huge in Japan…” I’m So Lonesone I Could Cry” May be the saddest song ever written.. 29years old..wow ..he lived a full life..quick..
On January 1, 1953, Williams was due to play in Canton, Ohio, but he was unable to fly due to weather problems. He hired a chauffeur and, before leaving the old Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee, injected himself with vitamin B12 and morphine. He then left in a Cadillac, though contrary to popular belief, he did not have a bottle of whiskey with him. The only items found in the back seat of his car were a few cans of beer and the hand-written lyrics to an unrecorded song.
When the 17-year-old chauffeur, Charles Carr pulled over at an all-night service station in Oak Hill, West Virginia, he discovered that Williams was unresponsive and becoming rigid.[8] Upon closer examination, it was discovered that Hank Williams was dead. He was 29. The official cause of death was heart failure, but there’s still some mystery about the circumstances. Controversy has since surrounded Williams’s death, with some claiming Williams was dead before leaving Knoxville.[9]
Williams’s final single was coincidentally titled “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive”. Five days after his death, his daughter by Bobbie Jett (Jett Williams) was born.
