For years when going north through Georgiana, Alabama saw signs pointing to the Hank Williams Museum, or home of Hank Williams. Now pretty sure that most all people know who Hank Williams is even if you don’t care for country music, right? This was a great excuse to get in a decent ride, beautiful day and no rain in sight. LOL The ride round trip was approximately 120-130 miles and felt soooo good! My phone died so lost the “My Ride” app info that is usually recorded on my trips.
This museum/home is packed with memorabilia from Hank’s short life, not really sure it could be classed as a museum but the lady in charge sure knows everything and then some about Hank Williams and his life. The address is 127 Rose Avenue, Georgiana, Alabama. When there you are allowed to take photos, videos, and ask any questions you want to know. Super nice lady. Yes I got some photos to share with you down below, as well as some videos of the ride itself. Also understand there is another Hank Williams museum in Montgomery, Alabama but haven’t been there yet, might just do that one someday too. š Actually his first name was Hiram but at some point he started calling himself Hank!
Hiram “Hank” Williams was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he recorded 35 singles that reached the top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, including 11 that reached No. 1.
Widely considered country music’s first superstar, Hiram “Hank” Williams was born September 17, 1923, in Mount Olive, Alabama. Cut from rural stock, Williams, the third child of Lon and Lillie Williams, grew up in a household that never had much money. His father worked as a logger before entering the Veterans Administration hospital when young Hank was just six. Father and son rarely saw each other over the next decade, with Williams’ mother, who ran rooming houses, moving the family to Greenville and later Montgomery, Alabama. His childhood was also shaped by his spinal condition, spina bifida, which set him apart from other kids his age.
He seemed to identify most with the musical sounds out of the radio and those from church choirs. Hank learned how to play folk, country and, thanks to an African-American street musician named Rufus Payne, the blues. By the time he’d moved with his mother to Montgomery in 1937, Hank’s music career was already in motion. Picking up the guitar for the first time at the age of eight, Williams was thirteen when he made his radio debut. A year later he was entering talent shows and had his own band, Hank Williams and his Drifting Cowboys.
In the early 1940s, he’d caught the attention of music executives in Nashville. Coupled with Hank’s obvious talents as a singer/songwriter was an increasing dependence on alcohol, which he’d started abusing in order to relieve his sometimes excruciating back pain. As a result, he was not considered a reliable performer. Along with this early success came increased erratic behavior and often showed up at live performances drunk.
As the titles of some of Williams’ songs suggest, heartbreak and turmoil were never that far from his life. As his success deepened, so did his dependence on alcohol and morphine. The Opry eventually fired him, and in 1952 his wife, the mother of Hank Williams Jr. divorced. On December 30, 1952, Williams, newly married to a younger woman named Billie Jean, left for Charlestown, West Virginia. Liquored up and abusing morphine, he collapsed in a hotel room in Knoxville, Tennessee. A doctor was called to examine him. Despite his physical failings, Williams was cleared for more travel.
On New Year’s Day 1953, in the back seat of his 1952 Cadillac he and his driver were headed to do a concert in Canton, Ohio, his health took a turn for the worse. After not hearing from Hank for two hours, driver pulled the car over in Oak Hill, West Virginia, at 5:30 in the morning. Hank was pronounced dead a short while later.
Hank Williams remains a beloved, yet tragic figure in country music and his work continues to influence musicians to this day. Some of the above information was gathered from AuthorBiography.com Editors.
See the complete article at this url: https://www.biography.com/musician/hank-williams
Below is a few of the photos taken while visiting the museum.
This first video was taken as I was getting off the main highway in Georgiana and heading up to the museum. Problem was it for some reason got cut short just before I stopped at the museum.
Since the last video was cut short, decided to do a turn around and drive by as I was leaving to go home. Short ride around the block and then back out to the main highway headed home. š
This next video is me taking a short cut while headed home from the Hank Williams museum. Let’s RIDE time. š
And finally, this last video is not one of mine. Found this online, was recorded back in November of 2019 by a gentleman by the name of Greg Warren. He did a very good job of video taping his whole experience at the Hank Williams museum in Georgiana, including the nice lady I was talking about at the beginning of this post. Was funny she was saying some of the exact same words to me when I first walked in. FYI, the cost to visit is only $5 for each adult and you can walk around and see everything, stay as long as you want, no rush. š Enjoy his video, maybe someday I’ll get the right equipment to compete with something like this… LOL
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RAM X-Grip Phone Mount for Motorcycle
Ad Tec Harness Straps Grain Leather Motorcycle Riding Boots
Black Leather Motorcycle Lever Covers for Motorcycles 16 inch Fringe
Flag mounts and flags for motorcycles, made in the USA
Battery charger/maintainer for Motorcycles, Suuwer Store
Camp Accessories Equipment Pots and Pans Set
Coleman Camping Cot, Air Mattress, and Pump Combo
Clymer Motorcycle Repair Manuals
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Tags: #georgina, #hankwilliams, #motorcycle, #motorcyclerides, #motorcyclevideo, #raysmotoring, #suzukimotorcycle
Ray's Motorcycle Experience 
August 26, 2021 at 8:46 am |
Well done Ray keep it coming!!! Shame that Hank left us so young….