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Few have made such a profound impact on the country music landscape as Hank Williams, whose singular talents, enduring songs, and inimitable vocal style continue to influence scores of up-and-coming talents. In 1949, though, Hank wasn't quite the star he wanted to be, nor the star we remember him as. He'd had some popular songs and scored a headlining gig on The Louisiana Hayride , but it wasn't until he performed on The Health & Happiness radio program that his meteoric rise to fame began in earnest.
On June 14, BMG is set to release The Complete Health & Happiness Recordings, a 49-track set (split between 2 CDs or 3 LPs) that present all eight Health & Happiness episodes in their entirety. Inside is a wealth of priceless content, including versions of "Lovesick Blues," "You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)," "I Saw the Light," "I'm a Long Gone Daddy," and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," and the earliest known recordings of the Nashville-era lineup of The Drifting Cowboys, who backed up Williams, as well as the only known recording of Williams performing "The Tramp on the Street."
The compilation was produced by Cheryl Pawelski, Grammy Award winner for her work on Williams' 2014 The Garden Spot Programs, 1950. Colin Escott provides informative liner notes and Grammy winner Michael Graves helmed the mastering of all the music. The shows were originally recorded at WSM Studios in Nashville directly to acetate then transferred to 16" transcription discs for radio station use. While the material has appeared on CD before, The Complete Health & Happiness Recordings was newly transferred, painstakingly restored, and mastered from those transcription discs. The sonics, according to Escott's notes "equaled, if not surpassed, [Williams'] commercial recordings."
In the years following the iconic radio sessions, Hank Williams would go on to record hits like "Why Don't You Love Me" and "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" before succumbing to heart failure on New Year's Day 1953 at 29 years old. His songs live on, however, and these historic recordings remain a testament to his talent as he charted his ascent to country music stardom.
The Complete Health & Happiness Recordings will arrive from BMG on June 14. In the meantime, whet your appetite with "Lost Highway (Health & Happiness Show 4, October 1949)." Keep scrolling to check out the track listing below and order your copy of the 2-CD or 3-LP sets today!
Hank Williams, The Complete Health & Happiness Recordings (BMG, 2019)
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LP 1 - Side 1:
October 1949 - Health & Happiness Show 1
Happy Rovin' Cowboy (Theme)
Wedding Bells
Lovesick Blues
Old Joe Clark (featuring Jerry Rivers)
Where The Soul Of Man Never Dies (featuring Audrey Williams)
Sally Goodin' (featuring Jerry Rivers)
October 1949 - Health & Happiness Show 2
Happy Rovin' Cowboy (Theme)
You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)
LP 1 - Side 2:
(There's A Bluebird) On Your Windowsill (featuring Audrey Williams)
A Tramp On The Street
Sally Goodin' (featuring Jerry Rivers)
October 1949 - Health & Happiness Show 3
Happy Rovin' Cowboy (Theme)
I'm A Long Gone Daddy
I'm Telling You (featuring Audrey Williams)
Bill Cheatham (featuring Jerry Rivers)
LP 2 - Side 1:
When God Comes And Gathers His Jewels
Sally Goodin - Jerry Rivers
October 1949 - Health & Happiness Show 4
Happy Rovin' Cowboy (Theme)
Lost Highway
I Want To Live And Love (featuring Audrey Williams)
Bile Them Cabbage Down (featuring Jerry Rivers)
I'll Have A New Body (I'll Have A New Life)
LP 2 - Side 2:
Fingers On Fire (featuring Bob McNett)
Sally Goodin' (featuring Jerry Rivers)
October 1949 - Health & Happiness Show 5
Happy Rovin' Cowboy (Theme)
A Mansion On The Hill
There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight
Wagner (featuring Jerry Rivers)
The Prodigal Son
Sally Goodin' (featuring Jerry Rivers)
LP 3 - Side 1:
October 1949 - Health & Happiness Show 6
Happy Rovin' Cowboy (Theme)
Pan American
Lovesick Blues
Arkansas Traveler (featuring Jerry Rivers)
I Saw The Light
Sally Goodin' (featuring Jerry Rivers)
October 1949 - Health & Happiness Show 7
Happy Rovin' Cowboy (Theme)
Mind Your Own Business
LP 3 - Side 2:
Wedding Bells
Cotton Eyed Joe (featuring Jerry Rivers)
I've Just Told Mama Goodbye
Sally Goodin' (featuring Jerry Rivers)
October 1949 - Health & Happiness Show 8
Happy Rovin' Cowboy (Theme)
I Can't Get You Off My Mind
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Fisherman's Hornpipe (featuring Jerry Rivers)
Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine
Sally Goodin' (featuring Jerry Rivers)
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This looks like an extremely fascinating and interesting release. Looking forward to it.
Have all these recordings been previously officially released in any form?
From an article on this by country blog Saving Country Music:
"A collection of these songs was first released in 1993 in a now out-of-print edition, and this new edition was also released in limited form for the 2019 Record Store Stay event. Time Life also had a edition in 2001. Cheryl Pawelski of Omnivore Recordings produced the new collection along with Colin Escott and Grammy-winning engineer Michael Graves."
So I guess not.
The 8 shows were originally released on a double-CD set back in 1993 on Chronicles when it was still part of Polygram. I've been told that for this new collection, the Williams estate approved new transfers from the original sources and, indeed, the samples I've heard sound great!