Time Life to Release Rare Hank Williams Live Recordings

TIME LIFE TO RELEASE RARE
LIVE CONCERTS ON OCTOBER 2

Live albums are commonplace today, but tape recording was in its infancy during country music legend Hank Williams‘ lifetime. The equipment was cumbersome and tape was expensive, so very little live recording was done back then. Incredibly, two concerts performed by Williams were recorded in the months before his death and will be released for the first time as Hank Williams: The Lost Concerts Limited Collector’s Edition on October 2 (Time Life). The collection includes 19 tracks as well as Hank’s revealing conversations with the audience, introducing songs and telling anecdotes about his life. As a bonus feature, a radio interview Williams did in 1951 has been added to the CD, one of very few in existence.

No live concert recordings of Hank Williams have been released until now. In fact, the two shows on Hank Williams: The Lost Concerts Limited Collector’s Edition were recorded by chance. A radio DJ in Buffalo, New York, taped one of Hank’s local concerts to play back on the air. Just a few weeks later, another performance was recorded by the promoter to play to his wife, who was too sick to attend, this time in Pennsylvania. The two concerts capture Hank Williams as he’s never been heard before: live and unscripted, giving insight into the legend as an engaging, riveting performer. They were recorded just six weeks apart in May and July 1952, and reveal Williams at the peak of his career.

His biggest hits “Hey Good Looking”, “Jambalaya,” “I Saw the Light,” “Lovesick Blues,” “Cold, Cold Heart,” and “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love with You)” are performed with a far more vibrant and intimate feel that the studio recordings, peppered by personal stories about his band members, himself, and his songs. The album also includes the only known live recording of “Are You Walking and A Talking.” In addition, the CD also features an extremely rare radio interview with Williams made in 1951. It was conducted with Mack Sanders for KFBI in Wichita, Kan. on September 14, 1951.

Tracklisting:

Niagara Falls, New York: April 25, 1952.

1. Comedy with Hank and the Drifting Cowboys

2. I Can’t Help It

3. Jerry Rivers and the Drifting Cowboys: Orange Blossom Special

4. Why Don’t You Love Me

5. Are You Walking and A Talking

6. The Funeral

7. Hey Good Looking

8. Cold, Cold Heart

9. Lovesick Blues

Sunset Park, West Grove, PA: July 13, 1952.

10. Introductions

11. Hey Good Looking 12. Comedy with Hank and the Drifting Cowboys

13. Jerry Rivers and the Drifting Cowboys: Fire On The Mountain

14. Lonesome Whistle

15. Jambalaya

16. Long Gone Lonesome Blues

17. Half As Much

18. I Saw The Light

19. Lovesick Blues

20. Interview: Hank interviewed by Mack Sanders, KFBI, Wichita, Kansas, September 14, 1951.

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