Hank Williams Essentials

Hank Williams was one of country's first superstars, a singer who could touch anyone who had ever experienced heartbreak or loss. He was also one of country's first cautionary tales, and it's hard not to hear premonitions of his early end in his wrenching songs of weakness and defeat. Born in 1923, Williams died of alcoholic excess at age 29, just a few years after making his name. He's now legendary as one of country music's premier poets of loss and regret, and it's true that his songs of loneliness and desperation can devastate even those who claim they don't like country music. But while his best songs feel as close to the blues as they do to country, there was a lot more to Williams' music than pain. His uptempo numbers, pure honky tonk barn-burners, are beautiful evidence of a man who loved a good time, even if he understood its cost better than most.