The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams
The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams
When country music legend Hank Williams died in the backseat of a cadillac somewhere between Knoxville, Tennesse and Oak Hill, West Virginia on New Year’s Day 1953, police found alongside him an empty bottle of bourbon, a pencil, and a notebook filled with unfinished song lyrics. Now, those lyrics and others that have rested peacefully in tattered notebooks for nearly 60 years, have re-emerged at the hands of Williams disciples.
“The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams” was released today on Columbia Records featuring recordings of these lost lyrics by the likes of Bob Dylan, Norah Jones, Merle Haggard and Jack White, just to name a few.
The original idea was for one songwriter to pen (or rather pencil) 12 songs inspired by the collection. These results would be used to record an album. But after Dylan spun the archive through his creative process to no avail, it became apparent that this was bigger than one man. Dylan instead chose to focus on one sheet of lyrics that became “The Love That Faded”, the album’s second track. An all-star cast, part of which was recruited by Dylan himself, contributed to the compilation that connects one of the forefathers of country music to a new generation.
It’s often said that Hank Williams drank himself to death. Is it possible that he wrote himself to death? Either way, his words have found new life, thanks in large part to power of pencil and paper.
Listen to clips from “The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams”
Artwork by Lew Hartman.
Any idea what kind of pencil it was?
No idea but legend has it that Hank always wrote with pencil stubs. Didn’t like using new pencils, always preferred one warn down to the nub.
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