Editing Hank Williams (section)

==Legacy==

[[File:Hank Williams Walk of Fame Star - cropped.png|thumb|upright=0.8|Hank Williams's star at 6400 Hollywood Boulevard, on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]]]
The [[Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum|Country Music Hall of Fame]] stressed that Williams "set the agenda for contemporary country songcraft" and the "standard by which success is measured in country music".{{sfn|CMHoF|2023c}} ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' considers him "country music's first superstar" and an "immensely talented songwriter and an impassioned vocalist".{{sfn|Wallenfeldt, Jeff|2023}} The [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] praised the "straightforward approach" of Williams's songs, which they deemed "brutally honest" and written in the "language of the everyman".{{sfn|RockHall|2023}} To [[AllMusic]], Williams "established the rules for all the country performers who followed him and, in the process, much of popular music".{{sfn|Erlewine, Stephen Thomas|2013}}

''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''{{'s}} TV critic, Ken Tucker, wrote: "despite being a pop-culture titan and rightly dubbed "father of country music", Hank Williams was possibly the least likable — least warm and sympathetic — figure in modern music. Reeking of self-pity, he wrote and sang some of the greatest woe-is-me music of the century [...] Brimming with an anger that regularly spilled over into misogyny, Williams was also a master of spite".{{sfn|Tucker, Ken|1998}} Hank Williams, Jr. wrote in his autobiography: "To hear the tributes, one would think that the entire city [Nashville] took turns kissing Daddy while he was still alive. [...] While he was alive, he was despised and envied; after he died, he was some kind of saint."{{sfn|Williams|Bane|1979|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=o_Y5AQAAIAAJ&q=%22kissing%20Daddy%22 64]}}

Alabama governor [[Gordon Persons]] officially proclaimed September 21 "Hank Williams Day".{{sfn|Outlook staff|1954|p=1}} The first celebration, in 1954, featured the unveiling of a monument at the [[Cramton Bowl]] that was later placed at the gravesite of Williams. The ceremony featured [[Ferlin Husky]] interpreting "I Saw the Light".{{sfn|Andersen, Fred|1954|pp=1-[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-montgomery-advertiser-montgomery-adv/53590768/ 2]}}{{sfn|Ribowsky, Mark|2016|p=292}} Williams had 11 number one [[Hot Country Songs|country hits]] in his career ("[[Lovesick Blues]]", "[[Long Gone Lonesome Blues]]", "[[Why Don't You Love Me (Hank Williams song)|Why Don't You Love Me]]", "[[Moanin' the Blues]]", "[[Cold, Cold Heart]]", "[[Hey, Good Lookin' (song)|Hey, Good Lookin']]", "[[Jambalaya (On the Bayou)]]", "[[I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive]]", "[[Kaw-Liga (song)|Kaw-Liga]]", "[[Your Cheatin' Heart]]", and "[[Take These Chains from My Heart]]"), as well as many other top 10 hits.{{sfn|George-Warren, Holly|Romanowski, Patricia|Romanowski Bashe, Patricia|Pareles, Jon|p=1066|2001}}

Many artists of the 1950s and 1960s, including [[Elvis Presley]],{{sfn|Guralnick, Peter|1999|p=224}} [[the Beatles]],{{sfn|Schneider, M.|2008|p=30}} [[Bob Dylan]],{{sfn|Dylan, Bob|2004|p=96}} [[George Jones]],{{sfn|Isenhour, Jack|2011|p=134}} [[Tammy Wynette]],{{sfn|McDonough, Jimmy|2010|pp=35-36}} [[Jerry Lee Lewis]],{{sfn|Bragg, Rick|2014|pp=92-93}} [[Merle Haggard]],{{sfn|Haggard, Merle|Carter, Tom|1999|p=74}} [[Gene Vincent]],{{sfn|Hagarty, Britt|1983|p=22}} and [[Ricky Nelson]] and [[Conway Twitty]] were influenced by Williams.{{sfn|Selvin, Joel|1990|p=165}}

When ''Downbeat'' magazine took a poll the year after Williams's death, he was voted the most popular country and Western performer of all time.{{sfn|Williams, Roger M.|1981|p=140}} On February 8, 1960, Williams's star was placed at 6400 Hollywood Boulevard on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]].{{sfn|Walk of Fame staff|2013}} He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961, and into the [[Alabama Music Hall of Fame]] in 1985.{{sfn|CMHoF|2023c}}{{sfn|AlamHof|2003}}

In 1964, the biographical film ''[[Your Cheatin' Heart (film)|Your Cheatin' Heart]]'' starring [[George Hamilton (actor)|George Hamilton]] as Williams was released.{{sfn|Hemphill, Paul|2005|pp=192-193}} The American Truckers Benevolent Association, a national organization of CB truck drivers, voted "Your Cheatin' Heart" as their favorite record of all time in the fourth annual Truck Drivers' Country Music Awards, in 1978.{{sfn|Vanderslice, Paula|1978|p=7A}} In 1987, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame under the category "Early Influence",{{sfn|RockHall|2023}} and he was given the [[Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award]].{{sfn|Oermann, Robert K.|1987|p=5E}} He was ranked second in [[Country Music Television|CMT]]'s 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003, behind only [[Johnny Cash]] who recorded the song "The Night Hank Williams Came To Town". His son, Hank Jr., was ranked on the same list.{{sfn|CMT staff|2004}} Canadian singer [[Sneezy Waters]] performed as Williams in the stage play ''Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave''.{{sfn|McPherson, David|2017|pp=94–95}} A [[Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave|1980 movie adaptation]] also starring Waters was produced for television.{{sfn|Mulholland, Dave|1981|p=4C}}

In 2004, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked him number 74 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.{{sfn|Rolling Stone staff|2014}} In 2005, the [[BBC]] documentary series ''[[Arena (British TV series)|Arena]]'' featured an episode on Williams.{{sfn|BBC staff|2005}}

In 2010, Williams's 1949 MGM number one hit, "Lovesick Blues", was inducted into the Recording Academy Grammy Hall of Fame.{{sfn|Cooper, Peter|2010|p=3A}} The same year, ''Hank Williams: The Complete Mother's Best Recordings&nbsp;...Plus!'' was honored with a Grammy nomination for Best Historical Album.{{sfn|Hughes, Mike|2011|p=5C}} In 1999, Williams was inducted into the [[Native American Music Awards#Hall of Fame inductions|Native American Music Hall of Fame]].{{sfn|Herald-Journal staff|1999|p=A2}} On April 12, 2010, the [[Pulitzer Prize]] Board awarded Williams a posthumous special citation that paid tribute to 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".{{sfn|Keiper, Nicole|2010|p=3A}}

{{multiple image
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   | image1 = Hank williams jr.jpg
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   | caption1  = Hank Williams, Jr.
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   | caption2  = Williams's grandson, Hank Williams III
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Several of Williams's descendants became musicians: son Hank Williams Jr., daughter [[Jett Williams]], grandsons [[Hank Williams III]] and [[Sam Williams (singer)|Sam Williams]], and granddaughters Hilary Williams and [[Holly Williams (musician)|Holly Williams]] are also country musicians.{{sfn|Chiu, David|2010}}{{sfn|AP staff|2008}}{{sfn|Betts, Stephen L.|2018}} In July 2020, his granddaughter Katherine (Hank Jr.'s daughter) died in a car crash at the age of 27.{{sfn|Pasquini, Maria|2020}} His great-grandson Coleman Finchum, son of Hank Williams III, released his debut single credited to IV and the Strange Band in 2021.{{sfn|Harmon, Bryce|2021}} Meanwhile, Lewis Fitzgerald's son Ricky billed himself as Hank Williams IV following his father's claim of being Williams's son.

According to reportage in the Los Angeles Times, on his road trips Williams carried a brown leather briefcase containing notebooks in which he wrote musings, lines and verses of song lyrics, as well as jottings on whatever had been handy. After he died, the cache of sixty-six unpublished songs in four notebooks was stored in a fireproof vault at the Nashville offices of his publishing firm, Acuff-Rose Publications. The vault was moved in 2002 to the offices of Sony ATV Music when it acquired Acuff-Rose.{{sfn|Lewis, Randy|2011}}

After the 2001 tribute album, "Hank Williams: Timeless" won a Grammy Award for country album of the year, there was heightened interest in similar projects. [[A&R]] executive Mary Martin, one of the producers of "Timeless", was consulted about other means of drawing attention to material from the Williams archive. She said that Bob Dylan was given the first opportunity to perform 12 songs for a CD compilation. Dylan approached Williams's granddaughter Holly Williams at a show where he gave her a sheaf of song lyrics he wanted her to read. She later said that although Dylan had said nothing about them at first, she recognized them immediately as her grandfather's work. He then said he had been asked to possibly cut an entire album, or that he might have other artists perform them. She heard nothing more about it for two years until Mary Martin revived the project and she got a phone call from her publishing company saying it was time for her to pick up some samples of the available material.{{sfn|Talbott, Chris|2011}}

Consequently, several other musicians got involved in the project, their main task being to create music that suited the lyrics. Dylan chose a song called "The Love That Faded" and fashioned a "honky-tonk waltz through heartache", while Holly Williams combed through the songs and songs fragments and chose one called "Blue Is My Heart", which had only eight lines. She wrote two more and added a bridge. The completed album, named ''[[The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams]]'', included the contributions of Bob Dylan and Holly Williams, as well as recordings by [[Alan Jackson]], [[Jack White (musician)|Jack White]], [[Jakob Dylan]],{{sfn|Lewis, Randy|2011}} [[Lucinda Williams]], [[Norah Jones]], [[Vince Gill]], [[Rodney Crowell]], [[Patty Loveless]], [[Levon Helm]], [[Sheryl Crow]], and [[Merle Haggard]]. The album was released on October 4, 2011.

Material recorded by Williams, originally intended for radio broadcasts to be played when he was on tour or for its distribution to radio stations nationwide, resurfaced over the years.{{sfn|Koon, George William|2001|pp=153–154}} In 1993, a double-disc set of recordings of Williams for the ''Health & Happiness Show'' was released.{{sfn|Hinckley, David|1993|p=58}} Broadcast in 1949, the shows were recorded for the promotion of Hadacol. The set was re-released on ''Hank Williams: The Legend Begins'' in 2011. The album included the unreleased songs "Fan It" and "[[Alexander's Ragtime Band]]", recorded by Williams at age 15; the homemade recordings of him singing "Freight Train Blues", "[[New San Antonio Rose]]", "[[Saint Louis Blues (song)|St. Louis Blues]]" and "Greenback Dollar" at age 18; and a recording for the 1951 [[March of Dimes]].{{sfn|Flippo, Chet|2011b}}

In May 2014, further radio recordings by Williams were released. These were recordings of ''[[The Garden Spot Programs, 1950]]'', a series of publicity segments for plant nursery Naughton Farms originally aired in 1950. The recordings were found by collector George Gimarc at radio station [[KSIB (AM)|KSIB]] in [[Creston, Iowa]].{{sfn|Mansfield, Brian|2014}} Gimarc contacted Williams's daughter Jett, and [[Colin Escott]], a music historian and biographer of Williams. The material was restored and remastered by [[Michael Graves (audio engineer)|Michael Graves]] and released by [[Omnivore Recordings]].{{sfn|Vigeland, Tess|2014}}{{sfn|Elliot, Gwendolyn|2014}} The release won a [[Grammy Awards|Grammy Award]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Historical Album|Best Historical Album]].{{sfn|Stefano, Angela|2015}}

Williams was portrayed by English actor [[Tom Hiddleston]] in the 2016 biopic ''[[I Saw the Light (film)|I Saw the Light]]'', based on Colin Escott's 1994 book ''Hank Williams: The Biography''.{{sfn|Michaels, Sean|2014}} In 2023, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked Williams at No. 30 on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.{{sfn|Rolling Stone staff|2023}} For the 100th anniversary of his birth, the Hank Williams Museum organized a three-day event in Montgomery that consisted of a series of concerts at the Davis Theater at [[Troy University]] and a wreath-laying ceremony at Williams's graveside as the closing event.{{sfn|WSFA|2023}} At the ceremony, September 17, 2023, was proclaimed Hank Williams Day.{{sfn|Avant, Julia|2023}} Meanwhile, in Nashville, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum organized a concert featuring artists including [[Rodney Crowell]] and Williams's grandchildren Holly, Hillary, and Sam among others.{{sfn|Sauter, Danica|2023}} On the anniversary, ''Billboard'' commented that Williams was a "breakthrough songwriter" who "remains a mythological figure".{{sfn|Roland, Tom|2023}}

===Lawsuits over the estate===
Williams died without leaving a will. In May 1953, Audrey Williams filed a lawsuit in Nashville against MGM Records and Acuff-Rose. The suit demanded that both of the publishing companies continue to pay her half of the royalties from Hank Williams's records. Williams had an agreement giving his first wife half of the royalties, but allegedly there was no clarification that the deal was valid after his death. Because Williams left no will, the disposition of the remaining 50 percent was considered uncertain; those involved included Williams's second wife, [[Billie Jean Horton]] and Williams's mother and sister.{{sfn|Billboard staff|1953b|p=15}}

At the time of his death, Williams's estate was estimated to be US$13,329.25 ({{Inflation|US|13329.25|1953|fmt=eq|r=-2|cursign=$}}) between cash, a cashier's check and his possessions.{{sfn|Williams, Roger M.|1981|p=233}} Lilly Williams considered the legality of Billie Jean's marriage to her son doubtful and she filed for the control of the estate.{{sfn|Williams, Roger M.|1981|p=234}} Billie Jean's lawyer argued that although she married Williams ten days before the finalization of her divorce to Harrison Eshlimar, Louisiana law considered the union legal since she married "in good faith".{{sfn|Williams, Roger M.|1981|pp=234-235}}

Doubtful of the legality of the marriage in Tennessee and Alabama, Lilly Williams and her lawyers made several offers to settle out of court with Billie Jean that reached a final of US$30,000.{{sfn|Williams, Roger M.|1981|p=235}} On August 19, 1953, Billie Jean signed an agreement accepting the money. It required that she stopped making appearances billing herself as "Mrs. Hank Williams", to reveal the location of Williams's [[Tennessee Walking Horse]], and the return of a saddle and three suitcases that belonged to him. With the agreement, Lilly became the legal guardian of the estate on behalf of Hank Williams, Jr.{{sfn|Escott, Colin|Merritt, George|MacEwen, William|2009|p=288}}

Soon after giving birth, Bobbie Jett left her and Williams's daughter at Lilly's boardinghouse. Williams's mother expressed to the Montgomery County Department of Public Welfare in January 1953 her intention to adopt the child. While Irene Williams opposed the adoption, Williams's mother was granted the custody over the child she renamed "Cathy".{{sfn|Escott, Colin|Merritt, George|MacEwen, William|2009|pp=285-286}} However, upon Lilly's death in 1955, Irene Williams assumed control of the estate.{{sfn|Williams, Roger M.|1981|p=235}} She became thus the legal guardian of Williams's son, while refusing to adopt Cathy. Irene made an attempt to contact the girl's mother, Bobbie Jett, who was at the time married and lived in California. Jett refused to take the child since her husband did not know of the existence of her daughter with Williams.{{sfn|Escott, Colin|Merritt, George|MacEwen, William|2009|p=289}} Cathy was then put up for adoption and granted money from the estate of Lilly Williams, to be paid at the age of 21.{{sfn|Escott, Colin|Merritt, George|MacEwen, William|2009|p=290}}

In 1963, Wesley Rose contacted Irene regarding the copyright renewals with Acuff-Rose: Rose offered US$25,000 ({{Inflation|US|25000|1963|fmt=eq|r=-2|cursign=$}}),{{sfn|Koon, George William|2001|p=85}} which Irene accepted to prevent Williams's daughter from making a claim in the future.{{sfn|Escott, Colin|Merritt, George|MacEwen, William|2009|p=293}} In 1966, an Alabama judge determined that the guardianship of Williams's estate belonged to Irene Williams, and he confirmed the validity of the copyright renewal deal. Cathy's adoptive parents were contacted by a lawyer, but they refused to contest the ruling of the court.{{sfn|Escott, Colin|Merritt, George|MacEwen, William|2009|p=294}} In 1967, Hank Williams, Jr. was declared the only heir to the estate by a second judge.{{sfn|Koon, George William|2001|p=87}} In 1969, the guardianship of the estate was transferred to lawyer Robert Stewart after Irene was arrested and sentenced to a jail term for possession of cocaine by a Texas court.{{sfn|Williams, Roger M.|1981|p=235}} Hank Williams, Jr. reached legal adulthood in 1970.{{sfn|Escott, Colin|Merritt, George|MacEwen, William|2009|p=293}}

On October 22, 1975, a federal judge in [[Atlanta]], Georgia, ruled that Billie Jean Horton was Williams's common-law wife, and that part of the copyright renewals of the songs belonged to her.{{sfn|Koon, George William|2001|p=87}} At the age of 21, Cathy learned that Hank Williams was her biological father. In 1981, she found her half-siblings in California, and she learned of a 1952 contract between her biological parents that recognized her as Williams's daughter. She also learned that the court decisions of the 1960s ignored her existence. After a decision by the [[Supreme Court of Alabama]] in 1989, she was recognized as an heir of the estate of Williams. She later changed her name to Jett Williams.{{sfn|Koon, George William|2001|pp=89-90}}

====WSM's ''Mother's Best Flour''====
In 1951, Williams hosted a 15-minute show for ''Mother's Best Flour'' on WSM radio. Due to Williams's tour schedules, some of the shows were previously recorded to be played in his absence.{{sfn|Hilbourn, Robert|2008}} During the mid-1960s, WSM staff photographer Les Leverett rescued acetates that were thrown away by the station.{{sfn|Underwood, Ryan|2006|p=2A}} At a later point, the recordings were duplicated.{{sfn|Ragogna, Mike|2010}} In the 1980s, he shared the acetates with Williams's former band member Jerry Rivers. A decade later, Leverett made a deal with former Drifting Cowboy Hillous Brutum, who did not appear on the recordings, for a commercial release of the copies.{{sfn|Underwood, Ryan|2006|p=2A}}

The Legacy Entertainment Group, based in [[Brentwood, Tennessee]], was sued by [[PolyGram]] and the heirs of Williams to block the release in 1997. While the original acetates of the shows made their way to the possession of Jett Williams, the lawyer of Legacy Entertainment Group claimed that they belonged to the label and he made an attempt to prevent the heirs of Williams to work on their own release of the recordings. Leverett then told ''[[The Tennessean]]'' that the original acetates did not belong to Butrum, and that the two of them made a deal to share the profits of the planned Legacy Entertainment Group release.{{sfn|Underwood, Ryan|2006|p=2A}} The [[Universal Music Group]], the parent company of Polygram, then claimed ownership of the shows.{{sfn|Ragogna, Mike|2010}}

In January 2006, the [[Tennessee Court of Appeals]] upheld a lower court ruling stating that Williams's heirs—son, [[Hank Williams Jr]], and daughter, [[Jett Williams]]—have the sole rights to sell his recordings.{{sfn|AP staff|2006}} In 2008, [[Time-Life]] released ''Unreleased Recordings'', a selection of numbers pertaining to the ''Mother's Best Flour'' shows. In 2010, the company released a 15-CD box-set containing all of the recordings remastered by sound engineer Joe Palmaccio entitled ''The Complete Mothers' Best Recordings... Plus!''.{{sfn|Hyperbolium|2010}}

===Tributes===
{{main|List of tributes to Hank Williams}}