Before meeting his tragic end at the young age of 29, Hank Williams lived a life of poverty followed by glamour before plummeting into the depths of drug addiction and alcoholism.
Regardless of the lifestyle he led, he set the stage for modern country music, singing brutally honest songs about his life and the language of the common man.
Fans of Williams and music historians can now follow a path through Alabama to witness Williams’ life from his childhood to stardom along Alabama’s Hank Williams Trail. The trail takes riders on a road trip between Georgiana and Fort Payne, creating a journey lovers of country music should make at least once in their lifetime. It tells a story of one of Alabama’s most famous sons, from his beginnings as the child of a railroad engineer who was mostly absent from his son’s life to the glamour of stardom and Williams’ tragic demise.
Over the span of his life, Williams recorded more than 165 songs. Though he could not read a note of music, he was a wordsmith when it came to writing hits that have become part of the American songbook.
The trail is a 250-mile trip through history that includes a visit to Williams’ boyhood home and ends at a barbershop where he made one of his last stops before dying in his car in West Virginia on his way to perform at a concert in Ohio. “The Alabama Tourism Department has done an incredible job with the Hank Williams Trail, and it’s a great way to experience some of my dad’s life story,” says his daughter, Jett Williams.
Here are some trail highlights:
Georgiana
Williams lived here from 1931 to 1934. It was in this house at 127 Rose Street that he played his first guitar, having bought it by selling peanuts and shining shoes at the town depot.
This site includes thousands of newspaper clippings, photos of family and friends, record albums and 45s, royalty receipts, clothes, one of Williams’ early guitars, the old wooden bench he stood on to sing at Mount Olive Baptist Church in nearby Greenville, Ala., - there are too many items to list, and it will take a couple of hours to take in the scope of the collection at the Hank Williams Boyhood Home & Museum.
Among the more unusual items in the small house is a stage light used in the Municipal Auditorium for the show “Louisiana Hayride.” The Hank Williams Festival is on the grounds the first Saturday each June. Online: www.hankmuseum.com.
Montgomery
Montgomery is ground zero for Hank Williams. He called it home from 1937 to 1948 and moved back in 1952. He lived there at the time of his death.
Hank Williams Museum
This museum is the tell-all of Williams’ life - both public and private. The collection includes thousands of pieces of not only his, but also of his wife’s, Audrey’s, past - furniture from their house in Nashville and suits, including several handmade Nudie suits. There are guitars, bills and other receipts, and artwork. The collection is massive, but its crowning jewel is the baby blue 1953 Cadillac in which Williams died. It’s on loan from his son, Hank Williams Jr.
Take your time touring the museum, when you’re done, browse the gift shop - ticket and shop sales and private donations fund the museum. Online: hankwilliamsmuseum.net.
Chris’ Hot Dogs
This shotgun-style eatery is the oldest restaurant in the city and was Williams’ favorite place to eat - and drink.
“He’d order two hot dogs all the way - mustard, sauerkraut, onions and Chris’ famous chili sauce - and a Budweiser and a shot of Jack,” a server said when asked about Hank Williams’ favorite dog. Williams’ seat isn’t marked, but it was one of 12 stools along the counter. There are also booths and tables, so it’s not hard to find a seat and eat where the Hillbilly Shakespeare once dined. Online: www.chrishotdogs.com.
D’Road Café
This cafe, the former location of the Elite Cafe, is worth at least a drive-by to see where Williams made his final public performance just four days before he died. The Elite opened in 1911 and was a Montgomery institution before it closed in 1990. Now reopened as the D’Road Cafe, the restaurant allows visitors to sit in the place where Williams last performed. Online: droadcafe.com.
Hank Williams Gravesite
On your way out of town, visit Oakwood Cemetery. It’s here, high atop a hill, where Hank and Audrey Williams are buried. Inscriptions at the base of Hank’s headstone remind visitors of his most well-known songs, such as “Kaw-Liga,” “I Can’t Help It” and “Jambalaya.”
Birmingham
The Redmont Hotel, 2101 Fifth Ave. N., is the place where Hank Williams spent his last night in 1952 and is also the oldest hotel in Alabama still in operation. Remodeling a few years ago reconfigured many of the guest rooms, but Williams’ room was on what is now the third floor, somewhere around what is now room 304.
Step off the elevator on the third floor and you’ll see a wooden plaque with four of Williams’ records. This is the only floor displaying any Hank Williams decor and is a silent tribute to one of the hotel’s most famous guests. Online: www.redmontbirmingham.com.
Fort Payne
On the eve of his death, Hank Williams stopped by Carter’s Barber Shop for a haircut and a shave from barber Howard Simpson. He also had a sip or two or three - maybe more - of moonshine while there. When Simpson died, he left the chair that Williams sat in to local barber Alton Beason, who opened his shop at 1719 Gault Avenue. It’s now on display in a corner of the shop, carefully roped off for all to see but not sit in
Lake Martin | Alexander City
Hank Williams’ Cabin on Lake Martin is a small, white frame affair where Williams and Fred Rose, his friend and a giant in the music publishing business, wrote blockbusters “Kaw-Liga” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart.”
The cabin is now on the property of Children’s Harbor, a camp for sick and disabled children. The two-bedroom building is available for rent. Online: childrensharbor.com.
Kowaliga Restaurant
This restaurant, now serving a menu of cheeseburgers and catfish, sits at the water’s edge of Lake Martin. Inside, a carved statue of the Indian Kowaliga, whose story was the inspiration for Williams’ song “Kaw-Liga” guards the entrance. Online: kowaligarestaurant.com.
by Anne Braly
Regardless of the lifestyle he led, he set the stage for modern country music, singing brutally honest songs about his life and the language of the common man.
Fans of Williams and music historians can now follow a path through Alabama to witness Williams’ life from his childhood to stardom along Alabama’s Hank Williams Trail. The trail takes riders on a road trip between Georgiana and Fort Payne, creating a journey lovers of country music should make at least once in their lifetime. It tells a story of one of Alabama’s most famous sons, from his beginnings as the child of a railroad engineer who was mostly absent from his son’s life to the glamour of stardom and Williams’ tragic demise.
Over the span of his life, Williams recorded more than 165 songs. Though he could not read a note of music, he was a wordsmith when it came to writing hits that have become part of the American songbook.
The trail is a 250-mile trip through history that includes a visit to Williams’ boyhood home and ends at a barbershop where he made one of his last stops before dying in his car in West Virginia on his way to perform at a concert in Ohio. “The Alabama Tourism Department has done an incredible job with the Hank Williams Trail, and it’s a great way to experience some of my dad’s life story,” says his daughter, Jett Williams.
Here are some trail highlights:
Georgiana
Williams lived here from 1931 to 1934. It was in this house at 127 Rose Street that he played his first guitar, having bought it by selling peanuts and shining shoes at the town depot.
This site includes thousands of newspaper clippings, photos of family and friends, record albums and 45s, royalty receipts, clothes, one of Williams’ early guitars, the old wooden bench he stood on to sing at Mount Olive Baptist Church in nearby Greenville, Ala., - there are too many items to list, and it will take a couple of hours to take in the scope of the collection at the Hank Williams Boyhood Home & Museum.
Among the more unusual items in the small house is a stage light used in the Municipal Auditorium for the show “Louisiana Hayride.” The Hank Williams Festival is on the grounds the first Saturday each June. Online: www.hankmuseum.com.
Montgomery
Montgomery is ground zero for Hank Williams. He called it home from 1937 to 1948 and moved back in 1952. He lived there at the time of his death.
Hank Williams Museum
This museum is the tell-all of Williams’ life - both public and private. The collection includes thousands of pieces of not only his, but also of his wife’s, Audrey’s, past - furniture from their house in Nashville and suits, including several handmade Nudie suits. There are guitars, bills and other receipts, and artwork. The collection is massive, but its crowning jewel is the baby blue 1953 Cadillac in which Williams died. It’s on loan from his son, Hank Williams Jr.
Take your time touring the museum, when you’re done, browse the gift shop - ticket and shop sales and private donations fund the museum. Online: hankwilliamsmuseum.net.
Chris’ Hot Dogs
This shotgun-style eatery is the oldest restaurant in the city and was Williams’ favorite place to eat - and drink.
“He’d order two hot dogs all the way - mustard, sauerkraut, onions and Chris’ famous chili sauce - and a Budweiser and a shot of Jack,” a server said when asked about Hank Williams’ favorite dog. Williams’ seat isn’t marked, but it was one of 12 stools along the counter. There are also booths and tables, so it’s not hard to find a seat and eat where the Hillbilly Shakespeare once dined. Online: www.chrishotdogs.com.
D’Road Café
This cafe, the former location of the Elite Cafe, is worth at least a drive-by to see where Williams made his final public performance just four days before he died. The Elite opened in 1911 and was a Montgomery institution before it closed in 1990. Now reopened as the D’Road Cafe, the restaurant allows visitors to sit in the place where Williams last performed. Online: droadcafe.com.
Hank Williams Gravesite
On your way out of town, visit Oakwood Cemetery. It’s here, high atop a hill, where Hank and Audrey Williams are buried. Inscriptions at the base of Hank’s headstone remind visitors of his most well-known songs, such as “Kaw-Liga,” “I Can’t Help It” and “Jambalaya.”
Birmingham
The Redmont Hotel, 2101 Fifth Ave. N., is the place where Hank Williams spent his last night in 1952 and is also the oldest hotel in Alabama still in operation. Remodeling a few years ago reconfigured many of the guest rooms, but Williams’ room was on what is now the third floor, somewhere around what is now room 304.
Step off the elevator on the third floor and you’ll see a wooden plaque with four of Williams’ records. This is the only floor displaying any Hank Williams decor and is a silent tribute to one of the hotel’s most famous guests. Online: www.redmontbirmingham.com.
Fort Payne
On the eve of his death, Hank Williams stopped by Carter’s Barber Shop for a haircut and a shave from barber Howard Simpson. He also had a sip or two or three - maybe more - of moonshine while there. When Simpson died, he left the chair that Williams sat in to local barber Alton Beason, who opened his shop at 1719 Gault Avenue. It’s now on display in a corner of the shop, carefully roped off for all to see but not sit in
Lake Martin | Alexander City
Hank Williams’ Cabin on Lake Martin is a small, white frame affair where Williams and Fred Rose, his friend and a giant in the music publishing business, wrote blockbusters “Kaw-Liga” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart.”
The cabin is now on the property of Children’s Harbor, a camp for sick and disabled children. The two-bedroom building is available for rent. Online: childrensharbor.com.
Kowaliga Restaurant
This restaurant, now serving a menu of cheeseburgers and catfish, sits at the water’s edge of Lake Martin. Inside, a carved statue of the Indian Kowaliga, whose story was the inspiration for Williams’ song “Kaw-Liga” guards the entrance. Online: kowaligarestaurant.com.
by Anne Braly
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