WILLIAMS, HANK

These days, live albums are commonplace, but in 1952 the last year of Hank Williams’ short life, they weren’t. Fortunately, two of Hank Williams’ shows from 1952 survive. They capture him at or near his peak. You would never guess from the vibrancy of these performances that he had just a few months to live. He is rivetingly on form, plus they also capture his skilled handling of an audience. It’s easy to sense that, although just 28 years old, he’d been doing this a long time.

These two shows were recorded six weeks apart in May and July 1952, and they feature his biggest hits including Hey Good Looking, Jambalaya, I Saw the Light, Love Sick Blues, Cold, Cold Heart, Are and Fire On the Mountain. It also includes Are You Walkin’ and A Talkin’ for the Lord-the only know recording of this song.

On his radio shows, he was looser than on records, and on his live performances, he’s looser still, telling long stories about his band members, himself, and his songs. Introducing his signature song, “Lovesick Blues,” he says that he has sung it so often he often wakes himself up in the night singing it.

There are a few live recordings of Hank on the Grand Ole Opry, but the Opry was scripted and carefully timed out. In contrast, The Lost Concerts is Hank Williams unscripted from sixty years ago.