There will be a morning graveside ceremony, music at the Hank Williams Museum and an afternoon of concerts at the Davis Theater.
What can you do to celebrate a country and western music icon’s one-of-a-kind centennial? Of course, you should prepare for Hank’s 101st birthday.
This is the one and only singer-songwriter Hank Williams – born Hiram King Williams, who grew up shining shoes, selling peanuts and singing on the streets of Montgomery long before he became a superstar, whose grave is in Montgomery and who now has both a statue and a museum in the middle of downtown.
“It seems like the 100th was just a few weeks ago… A lot of friendships were made. A lot of great memories,” said Hank Williams Museum Director Beth J. Petty, who is organizing the 101st birthday activities on Saturday, Sept. 14.
That’s three days before the actual birthday of the Mount Olive, Alabama native, September 17, 1923.
More: A guide to Montgomery attractions for Hank Williams fans
Last year’s event caught the attention of Hank fans from all over the world, and Petty said people are coming from all over to celebrate this year, too. After all, people around the world still celebrate the music of the “Hillbilly Shakespeare” and Grand Ole Opry star – songs like “Hey, Good Lookin’,” “I Saw The Light,” “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and many, many others that Hank wrote in his surprisingly short life of just 29 years.
Start at Hank’s grave
The ceremony will be held on September 14 and will last one day, beginning at 8:45 to 9 a.m. at the Hank Williams Memorial and Gravesite in Oakwood Cemetery with a wreath-laying ceremony that is free to attend. There will be music by the Sheppard Family Band, who are related to Hank’s first wife, Audrey Williams.
“They’ve probably been coming for this graveside memorial service for 20 years now,” Petty said.
Blue Cadillac concert in the museum
The celebration then moves to the museum at 118 Commerce Street, where music by Larry Darnell and Dalton McSwain will be played in front of Hank’s blue Cadillac from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“It’s just a performance to keep the spirit of this day alive,” Petty said.
Admission to the museum is $15. While you’re there, you can pick up one of the official 101st anniversary t-shirts in the gift shop.
“It will say, ‘If God wills and the creek doesn’t swell, we’ll see you on September 14th,'” Petty said.
She said they also have some Hank’s 100th souvenirs available for purchase.
More: Hank Williams Story: A Look Back at the Life of the Country Western Music Icon
The big afternoon show at the Davis Theatre
The next stop in the celebration is a major concert at Troy University’s Davis Theater for the Performing Arts, 251 Montgomery St. The show begins at 3 p.m. Doors open at 2:15 p.m.
The Davis show begins with a steel guitar show featuring Jeremy Drawbaugh, Jake Penrod, Jesse Personeni and Wyatt Aleman, as well as guest appearances by Becky and Woodie Hill (bass), Mary Battiata, Landon Smith (drums) and Lanny Nichols (guitar).
The show is headlined by The Malpass Brothers, a traditional country duo influenced by greats such as Hank, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Charlie Pride and Lefty Frizzell.
This year’s host is Jay Dean from South Dakota, the inventor of the Country Legends Jukebox.
General admission tickets to the Davis show are $30 and can be purchased by calling 334-262-3600 or online at https://www.thehankwilliamsmuseum.net.
Petty said there are VIP tickets for the concert at the Davis Theater, which cost $45 and include free admission to the Hank Williams Museum that day and reserved seating at the Davis, and are available only by calling 334-262-3600.
“All VIP holders will also receive an armband,” Petty said.
There’s a reason they celebrate Hank at the Davis Theater
Petty said that not only is it a great venue, but there is a connection to Hank that makes it appropriate to hold the concert at the Davis Theater. She would even support renaming that section of Montgomery Street in honor of Hank.
“Hank used to shine shoes and sell peanuts on this street,” Petty said.
Directly across from the Davis Theater, where the Rosa Parks Museum now stands, was once the Empire Theater.
“That’s where Hank won his first talent show in 1937, when he had just moved to Montgomery,” Petty said. “He won the first prize of $15.”
The Jefferson Davis Hotel, which was home to radio station WSFA, used to stand on the corner of this street.
“Hank sang on the radio there on and off for 10 years before he started recording,” Petty said. “He was just known as the radio singer. The singing boy.”
It is also the area where Hank made his last public appearance on Sunday, December 28, 1952, during a musicians’ union meeting at the Elite Café one block from Davis.
Hank died four days later in Oak Hill, West Virginia, while driving to a scheduled concert in Canton, Ohio. The actual cause of death was debated, but the cause of death was given as heart failure.
“The following Sunday was his funeral,” Petty said.
Twelve years later, the connection remained. In 1964, the Hank Williams film “Your Cheatin’ Heart” starring George Hamilton premiered at the Paramount Theater, later renamed the Davis Theater.
Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel covers activities in the River Region. Contact him at [email protected]
