Hank Sr. songs see light of day
Egyptian Records, Dylan's label imprint, in partnership with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's CMF Records and Columbia Records, will release the 12-song disc on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
The second title ever to be released on Egyptian (the first was 1997's "The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers - A Tribute Album"), "The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams" marks the first time the songs are being recorded.
The release of the CD provides an audio companion to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy, a 5,000-square-foot exhibition presenting an intimate, behind-the-scenes portrait of a great American musical dynasty. Family Tradition, which opened in March 2008, is the largest and most popular temporary exhibition in the institution's history. The exhibit, which includes Hank Williams' notebooks and other memorabilia, will close on Dec. 31.
The project began with the idea of finding a well-known artist, one who felt Williams' inspiration and influence, to record an album's worth of the unheard songs. After veteran music industry manager/A&R executive Mary Martin approached Dylan, a natural first choice for the endeavor, the project evolved into a multi-artist tribute providing a variety of sympathetic approaches to the material.
Songs are:
1. You've Been Lonesome, Too - Alan Jackson
2. The Love That Faded - Bob Dylan
3. How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart? - Norah Jones
4. You Know That I Know - Jack White
5. I'm So Happy I Found You - Lucinda Williams
6. I Hope You Shed a Million Tears - Vince Gill and Rodney Crowell
7. You're Through Fooling Me - Patty Loveless
8. You'll Never Again Be Mine - Levon Helm
9. Blue Is My Heart - Holly Williams
10. Oh, Mama, Come Home - Jakob Dylan
11. Angel Mine - Sheryl Crow
12. The Sermon on the Mount - Merle Haggard
Michael McCall from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, wrote the liner notes. "The history of Hank's notebooks is as complex as the legend himself. Yet, in the end, what matters most are the songs, and these new works rise from the ether with ghostly relevance. As with his many standards, these new recordings tap straight into the soul of man. This is songwriting at its most artful and most powerful."
More news for Hank Williams
- 11/25/19: Hank radio recordings, book coming
- 06/08/12: Hank Williams film, discussion panel comes to New York
- 07/27/11: More Hank recordings coming
- 02/13/11: Beatles take Grammy over Hank Williams
- 12/07/10: Hank, Willie, Wills receive Grammy hall honors
- 11/03/10: Williams' Family Tradition continues
- 04/12/10: Hank Williams receives Pulitzer Prize
- 04/01/10: Hank Williams, Robbins, Carters movies available
CD reviews for Hank Williams
In a career that spanned a mere six years - a minuscule amount of time compared to those who are today celebrating anniversaries of 40, 50 or even 60 years of more - Hank Williams established himself as an abiding influence on all those who followed, a man whose music is as relevant and revered today as it was when it was originally recorded. Indeed, what Williams accomplished in that scant amount of time still resonates nearly 70 years later.
There's been an abundance of compilations, ...
"The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams" is a great story before you even start playing the music. Williams, according to the story, used to write down his lyric ideas in notebooks. When he died, there were four notebooks of unreleased or unperformed songs. Over the years, the notebooks remained in the possession of Williams' publishers Acuff-Rose and few knew of them. One who did, however, was longtime Nashville executive Mary Martin, who shepherded this project to its eventual light-of-day. ...
After his death in 1953, Hank Williams, became less a performer than a post-mortem brand name wherein his basic personality as an artist was increasingly downplayed and diminished. This remarkably enjoyable three-CD set, drawn from warmly remastered acetates - featuring occasional surface noise - of the old Mother's Best radio show, showcases much of that nearly lost essence.
Supported by his regular collaborators the Drifting Cowboys, Williams brings surprising drive to live renditions his ...
©Country Standard Time • Jeffrey B. Remz, editor & publisher • countrystandardtime@gmail.com
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