Hank & Muddy

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Unholy Land — Lavie Tidhar 1 month ago. In full support of Williams' musical aspirations was his mother, Lillie. She drove her son and his band to shows throughout southern Alabama. By the early s he'd caught the attention of music executives in Nashville.

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But coupled with Williams' obvious talents as a singer and songwriter was an increasing dependence on alcohol, which he'd started abusing in order to relieve his sometimes excruciating back pain. As a result he was not considered a reliable performer. Williams' personal life took a major turn in when he met Audrey Mae Sheppard, who was the mother of a young daughter and had only recently left a messy marriage. Under Williams' guidance Sheppard started playing bass and began performing in his band.

Williams and Sheppard married in In they had a son together, Hank Williams Jr. Sheppard, it seems, was extremely eager to make a mark in show business and, despite her obviously limited talent, pushed her husband to let her sing.

Hank & Muddy by Stephen Mertz

In addition, her relationship with Hank's mom proved complicated. The two were often rivals for Williams' time and attention. What began with Williams writing material for singer Molly O'Day eventually gave way to a record contract with the recently created MGM label. But along with this early success came increased erratic behavior from Williams, who often showed up at live performances drunk.

For a time his relationship with Fred Rose deteriorated, but the two were able to mend fences, paving the way for Williams to become a regular on the "Louisiana Hayride," a regular Saturday night performance hosted by a radio station in Shreveport. The performances greatly increased Williams' name recognition, but he still lacked a number one hit. That all changed in with the release of "Lovesick Blues," a throwaway rendition of an old show tune he'd pushed to tape at the end of a recording session.

The song resonated with music fans, as well as executives at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, who invited Williams to perform. In ways that must have seemed unimaginable to this poor country boy, Williams' life quickly changed. His stardom put money in his pocket and gave him the kind of creative freedom artists long for. As the titles of some of Williams' songs suggest, heartbreak and turmoil were never that far from his life. As his success deepened, so did Williams' dependence on alcohol and morphine. The Opry eventually fired him, and in he and Sheppard divorced.

His physical appearance diminished, too.