Im So Lonesome I Could Cry

Buck Billo and Maxi sing "Im So Lonesome I Could Cry" by Hank Williams.
The American entrance into World War II in 1941 marked the beginning of hard times for Hank Williams. All his band members were drafted to serve in the military, and many of their replacements refused to continue playing in the band because of Hank's worsening alcoholism. His idol, Grand Ole Opry star Roy Acuff, warned him of the dangers of alcohol, saying "You've got a million-dollar voice, son, but a ten-cent brain."[2] Despite Acuff's advice, Williams continued to show up for his radio show intoxicated, so in August, 1942, WSFA fired him due to "habitual drunkenness."

Williams had eleven number-one hits in his short 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", "Take These Chains From My Heart"—and also had many other top 10 hits.

In 1943, Williams met Audrey Shepard, and the couple was married a year later. Audrey also became his manager as Williams' career was rising and he became a local celebrity. In 1946, Williams recorded two singles for Sterling Records, "Never Again" (1946) and "Honky Tonkin'" (1947), both of which were successful. Williams soon signed with MGM Records, and released "Move It On Over", a massive country hit. In August 1948, Williams joined The Louisiana Hayride, broadcasting from Shreveport, Louisiana, propelling him into living rooms all over the southeast. After a few more moderate hits, Williams released his version of Rex Griffin's "Lovesick Blues" in 1949, which became a huge country hit and crossed over to mainstream audiences. That year, Williams sang the song at the Grand Ole Opry, where he became the first performer to receive six encores. In addition, Hank 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; also that year, Audrey Williams gave birth to Randall Hank Williams (Hank Williams, Jr.). 1949 also saw Williams release seven hit songs after "Lovesick Blues", including "Wedding Bells", "Mind Your Own Business", "You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)" and "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It".

In 1950, Williams began recording as Luke the Drifter, an appellation given to Williams for use in identifying his more moralistic and religious-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—though the source of the recordings was quite evident. Around this time, Williams released more hit songs, such as "My Son Calls Another Man Daddy", "They'll Never Take Her Love from Me", "Why Should We Try Anymore?", "Nobody's Lonesome for Me", "Long Gone Lonesome Blues", "Why Don't You Love Me?", "Moanin' the Blues" and "I Just Don't Like This Kind of Livin'". In 1951, "Dear John" became a hit but the B-side, "Cold, Cold Heart", has endured as one of his most famous songs, aided by the #1 pop version by Tony Bennett in 1951 being the first of many recordings of Williams' songs in a non-country genre. ("Cold, Cold Heart" has subsequently been covered by Guy Mitchell, Casino Steel, Teresa Brewer, Dinah Washington, Lucinda Williams, Cowboy Junkies, Frankie Laine, Jo Stafford, and Norah Jones, among others). That same year, Williams released other hits, including the enduring classic "Crazy Heart".

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Buck
• Billo
• Maxi
• Classic
• Country
• Hank
• Williams

[oldcountrytunes]

Glad to see you're back to Hank. Maybe that's phrased wrong---it should be UP to Hank. Thanks, *****.

[buckandbilloshow]

LOL, thanks Marcus.

[sherrywine1941]

Love this old classic !!! Great job singing.

(5*) Hugs, Sherry

[buckandbilloshow]

Me too. Thanks Sherry.

[ROYS5166]

Wow, great song great singing love the harmony. Keep up these golden oldies. Thanks for an outstqnding rendition of an ole HW song.

[buckandbilloshow]

Thanks Roy, Did you ever meet Hank or see him in person? You were probably 2 when he died but I was wondering. :)

[buckandbilloshow]

I have found that a lot of Hanks song sometimes waits 2 beats then 4 beats then maybe 5 between verses. Drives me crazy if I am trying to do a Karaoke version which usually duplicates the weird timing.

[RickyCountryAtHeart]

great video good job on this

[jc6154]

Great song,I'll never tire of this song. Great job my friends. Jerry *****

[ROYS5166]

I did get to see him in Louisana one time, but I was a tad older than two (thanks for the complement) When he died I was serving our country in North Africa.

[buckandbilloshow]

Me too thanks Colin.