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Hey Good Lookin': BMG Collects Hank Williams' Complete Mother's Best Recordings on New 6-CD Box Set

November 25, 2019 By Joe Marchese 3 Comments

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With such all-time classics as "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," "Hey Good Lookin'," "Your Cheatin' Heart," and "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" in his songbook, Hank Williams remains one of the cornerstones of country music - and indeed, American popular song - 66 years after his untimely death. On February 7, BMG will salute the late singer-songwriter with the release of Pictures from Life's Other Side - The Man and His Music in Rare Photos and Recordings. This lavish 6-CD collection presents all 144 tracks recorded by Williams for his 1951 radio show sponsored by Mother's Best Flour Company.

Williams was headlining for WSM's renowned Grand Ole Opry when he began hosting his own radio program for the same station in 1951. Due to his heavy live concert schedule, however, he couldn't be in Nashville to present each of the 15-minute daily broadcasts live. As a result, a number of the broadcasts were pre-recorded transcription discs which were aired and promptly discarded. Thankfully, these rare discs were saved years later as they were about to be thrown away, and their discovery more than doubled the amount of Williams' known recordings. (He died on January 1, 1953 - less than two years after these vibrant performances were captured - at the age of 29.)

The Mother's Best radio shows have been chronicled on various sets in the past, most notably in comprehensive form by Time-Life on the 16-disc box set The Complete Mother's Best Recordings...Plus! in 2010. Whereas that release presented all of the radio shows in uncut form with guest singers and instrumental tracks, Pictures from Life's Other Side is the first release to collect the entirety of Hank's remarkable performances outside the context of the original radio programs. The box has been produced by Omnivore Recordings' Cheryl Pawelski, with each track painstakingly restored and remastered by Michael Graves. Together, Pawelski and Graves earned the Best Historical Album Grammy Award for Williams' The Garden Spot Programs, 1950 compilation in 2015.

Pictures from Life's Other Side includes such Williams standards as "Lovesick Blues," "A Mansion on the Hill," "Move It on Over," "I Saw the Light," "Cold Cold Heart," "Long Gone Lonesome Blues," "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)," and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," as well as Hank's only known recordings of several other songs.

The six discs will be housed in a slipcase with a deluxe book telling Williams' story in photographs, many of which are rare and previously unpublished. The whopping 272-page volume was assembled by author Colin Escott, a two-time Grammy winner for past Williams releases, who has penned the new liner notes. It was compiled with the assistance of Grammy-nominated historian Scott B. Bomar and Williams photo collector Ken Campanile. Hank's daughter, Jett Williams, has contributed a personal foreword to the book.

This historically significant tribute to the enduring legacy of Hank Williams will arrive in stores from BMG on February 7, 2020. Additionally, a 3-LP highlights version, Only Mother's Best, will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl and released the same date. Both the box set and 3-LP edition are available now directly from King's Road Merchandise. Pre-orders placed before January 17 will receive a free 7-inch vinyl single featuring Hank's first recordings pressed on red vinyl. Amazon links are also available for Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada!

Categories: News Formats: Box Sets, CD Genre: Country Tags: Hank Williams

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Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. Bobby Free says

    November 26, 2019 at 7:03 pm

    Well for one anybody tring to make money off of Hank Sr should also try to get the legend his rightful spot back on the opry everybody wants to be Hank but none are willing to stand up for Him 🎸

    Reply
    • Kent Thompson says

      November 27, 2019 at 8:06 pm

      It really doesn't matter if Hank is reinstated to the Opry today as it is a moot point. You didn't just get fired there for no reason.

      Reply
  2. Kent Thompson says

    November 27, 2019 at 8:00 pm

    Glad that record companies try tk keep Hank's stuff available. I just wish they would do some of this stuff on Carl Smith on of the most overlooked artists and one of the most popular during the 50's and 60's.

    Reply

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