Many of us grow up listening to country music, which is also known as country and western, and hillbilly music. It is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern United States in the early 1920s. It takes its roots from genres such as American folk music and blues.
Hiram King "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was a singer-songwriter and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, Williams recorded 35 singles that reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, including 11 that ranked number one.
Williams was discovered dead at a gas station in Oak Hill, WV on New Year's Day. In Williams' Cadillac, the police found some empty beer cans and unfinished handwritten lyrics. He had died from hemorrhages in the heart and neck and pronounced the cause of death as "insufficiency of the right ventricle of the heart".
His body was transported to Montgomery, AL on Friday, January 2, and his funeral took place on Sunday, January 4, at the Montgomery Auditorium. An estimated 15,000 to 25,000 people passed by the silver coffin, and the auditorium was filled with 2,750 mourners. His funeral was said to have been far larger than any ever held for any other citizen of AL and the largest event ever held in Montgomery. Williams' remains are interred at the Oakwood Annex in Montgomery.