Hank Williams was 29 when he died in 1953, yet his songs and influence have endured. He was inducted into both the Rock and Roll and the Country Music Halls of Fame. Earlier this year, the Pulitzer Prize board honored Williams with a special citation. It praised him “for his craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life.” Though little is known about the man behind the music, a new box set of a Nashville radio show Williams hosted in 1951 aims to change that. These recordings show the musician as humorous, folksy and ambitious. We’ll look at Hank Williams — the man and the legacy.
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