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Hank Williams discography

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Hank Williams discography
Hank Williams in 1951
Studio albums2
Live albums8 (posthumous)
Compilation albums25
Singles41
Posthumous singles30
Posthumous studio albums10
No. 1 singles11

Hank Williams' discography is composed of 41 singles and 2 ten-inch LPs released during his six-year career; as well as posthumous work including: singles, compilation albums and previously unreleased material. During his lifetime, Williams placed 30 songs on Billboard's Top C&W Records, while he had eleven number one hits.[1]

After being signed with the help of Fred Rose to Sterling Records, Williams assisted his debut recording session on December 11, 1946 at Castle Recording Laboratory's studio D in Nashville, Tennessee. The singer cut four songs, returning later on February 13, 1947 to cut four new sides.[2] His first single, "Never Again (Will I Knock on Your Door)" backed with "Calling You" was released in January 1947.[3] Not satisfied with Sterling, and upon learning of the creation of MGM Records by the Loews Corporation, Fred Rose negotiated a deal for Williams.[4] Rose bought the Sterling masters,[5] became Williams' manager and signed him to the label, agreeing to record all of his sessions in Nashville.[4] By June 1947, Williams debuted on the MGM label with "Move it On Over" backed with "(Last Night) I Heard You Crying in Your Sleep". The release quickly became a hit.[6]

On September 23, 1952, Williams cut his final session, recording "Your Cheatin' Heart", "Kaw-Liga", "I Could Never Be Ashamed of You" and "Take These Chains from My Heart". Williams' last single during his lifetime, "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" backed with "I Could Never Be Ashamed of You" was released on November 21, 1952.[7] From 1947 to 1952, MGM Records released 27 singles by Williams, five of which turned into million sellers.[8] "Kaw-Liga", "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "Take These Chains From My Heart" became posthumous number-one singles.[9]

Studio albums

Title Details
Hank Williams Sings
Moanin' the Blues
  • Release date: 1952
  • Label: MGM Records

Posthumously released albums

Studio albums

Title Details Peak positions
US Country
Memorial Album
  • Release date: 1953
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter
  • Release date: 1953
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
Honky Tonkin'
  • Release date: 1954
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
I Saw the Light
  • Release date: 1954
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
Ramblin' Man
  • Release date: 1954
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
Just Me and My Guitar
  • Release date: 1985
  • Label: CMF
 —
The Unreleased Recordings 42
The Unreleased Recordings: Gospel Keepsakes
  • Release date: 2009
  • Label: Time Life
 51
The Unreleased Recordings: Revealed
  • Release date: 2009
  • Label: Time Life
 64
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Live albums

Title Details Peak chart
positions
US Country US
Hank Williams on Stage
  • Release date: 1962
  • Label: MGM Records
 — —
On Stage Volume II
  • Release date: 1963
  • Label: MGM Records
 — —
Hank Williams, Sr. / Live at the Grand Ole Opry
  • Release date: 1976
  • Label: MGM Records
 13 27
Health & Happiness Shows
  • Release date: 1993
  • Label: Mercury
 — —
The Complete Mother's Best Recordings...Plus!
  • Release date: 2010
  • Label: Time Life
 — —
The Lost Concerts
  • Release date: 2012
  • Label: Time Life
 66 —
The Greatest Hits Live: Volume 1
  • Release date: 2012
  • Label: Time Life
 61 —
The Greatest Hits Live: Volume 2
  • Release date: 2012
  • Label: Time Life
 67 —
The Garden Spot Programs, 1950 43 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Compilation albums

Title Details Peak positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
US Country
36 of His Greatest Hits
  • Release date: 1957
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
Sing Me a Blue Song
  • Release date: 1957
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
Hank Williams Sings 36 More of His Great Hits
  • Release date: 1958
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
The Immortal Hank Williams
  • Release date: 1958
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
The Unforgettable Hank Williams
  • Release date: 1959
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
Wait for the Light to Shine
  • Release date: 1960
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
The Lonesome Sound of Hank Williams
  • Release date: 1960
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
The First, Last & Always
  • Release date: 1961
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
I'm Blue Inside
  • Release date: 1961
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
The Very Best of Hank Williams
  • Release date: 1963
  • Label: MGM Records
 —
The Legend Lives Anew
  • Release date: 1966
  • Label: MGM Records
 35
In the Beginning
  • Release date: 1968
  • Label: MGM Records
 37
Hank Williams' Greatest Hits
  • Release date: 1968
  • Label: MGM Records
 42
The Essential Hank Williams
  • Release date: 1969
  • Label: MGM Records
 25
Life to Legend
  • Release date: 1970
  • Label: MGM Records
 34
Insights Into Hank Williams in Song and Story
  • Release date: 1974
  • Label: MGM Records
 37
24 of Hank Williams' Greatest Hits
  • Release date: 1976
  • Label: MGM Records
 16
24 Greatest Hits Vol. 2 49
40 Greatest Hits
  • Release date: 1978
  • Label: Mercury Records
 —
The Hits, Volume 1
  • Release date: 1994
  • Label: Mercury Records
 —
The Complete Hank Williams
  • Release date: September 22, 1998
  • Label: Mercury Records
 —
20 of Hank Williams' Greatest Hits
  • Release date: 1998
  • Label: Mercury Records
 —
20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Hank Williams
  • Release date: 1999
  • Label: Mercury Records - Nashville
 —
Lovesick Blues
  • Release date: 2001
  • Label: ASV, Living Era
 —
The Ultimate Collection
  • Release date: 2002
  • Label: Mercury Records
 32
Hank Williams Gold
  • Release date: 2005
  • Label: Mercury Records
 —
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Hank Williams Vol. 2
  • Release date: 2006
  • Label: Mercury Records - Nashville
 —
Bound for the Promised Land
  • Release date: 2011
  • Label: Time Life
 53
Icon: Hank Williams
  • Release date: 2011
  • Label: Mercury Records
 51
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Collaborations

Title Details Peak chart positions
US Country US CAN Country
Father & Son
(with Hank Williams, Jr.)
  • Release date: 1965
  • Label: MGM Records
 8 139 —
Hank Williams / Hank Williams Jr. Again
(with Hank Williams, Jr.)
  • Release date: 1967
  • Label: MGM Records
 38 — —
The Legend of Hank Williams in Song and Story
(with Hank Williams, Jr.)
  • Release date: 1973
  • Label: MGM Records
 17 — —
The Best of Hank & Hank
(with Hank Williams, Jr.) 		44 179 26
Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts
(with Hank Williams, Jr. and Hank Williams III)
  • Release date: September 17, 1996
  • Label: Curb Records
 29 — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year Single (A-side, B-side)
Both sides from same album except where indicated 		Peak chart
positions 		Album
US Country US
1947 "Never Again (Will I Knock On Your Door)"
b/w "Calling You" (from I Saw The Light) 		— — The Unforgettable Hank Williams
"Wealth Won't Save Your Soul"
b/w "When God Comes and Gathers His Jewels (from I Saw The Light) 		— — In The Beginning
"My Love for You (Has Turned to Hate)"
b/w "I Don't Care (If Tomorrow Never Comes)" 		— — The Unforgettable Hank Williams
"Pan American"
b/w "Honky Tonkin'" (from Honky Tonkin') 		— — The Immortal Hank Williams
"Move It On Over"
b/w "(Last Night) I Heard You Crying in Your Sleep" (from Sing Me A Blue Song) 		4 — Memorial Album
"On The Banks Of The Old Ponchartrain"
b/w "Fly Trouble" (from The Immortal Hank Williams) 		— — The Unforgettable Hank Williams
1948 "My Sweet Love Ain't Around"
b/w "Rootie Tootie" (from Honky-Tonkin') 		— — Moanin' The Blues
"Honky Tonkin'"
b/w "I'll Be a Bachelor 'Til I Die" (from The Unforgettable Hank Williams) 		14 — Honky-Tonkin'
"I'm A Long Gone Daddy"
b/w "The Blues Come Around" 		6 — Moanin' The Blues
"I Saw The Light"
b/w "Six More Miles (To the Graveyard)" (from Sing Me A Blue Song) 		— — I Saw The Light /
"Mansion On The Hill"
b/w "I Can't Get You Off My Mind" (from The Unforgettable Hank Williams) 		12 — Sing Me A Blue Song
1949 "Lovesick Blues" 1 24 Moanin' The Blues
"Never Again (Will I Knock On Your Door)" 6 — The Unforgettable Hank Williams
"Wedding Bells"
b/w "I've Just Told Mama Goodbye" 		2 — Sing Me A Blue Song
"Mind Your Own Business"
b/w "There 'll Be No Teardrops Tonight" (from Ramblin' Man) 		5 — Honky-Tonkin'
"You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)" 4 — Ramblin' Man
"Lost Highway" 12 — Sing Me A Blue Song
"My Bucket's Got A Hole In It" 2 — Honky-Tonkin'
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" 2 — Moanin' The Blues
1950 "I Just Don't Like This Kind Of Living"
b/w "May You Never Be Alone" (from Sing Me A Blue Song) 		5 — Ramblin' Man
"Long Gone Lonesome Blues" 1 — Moanin' The Blues
"My Son Calls Another Man Daddy" 9 — Ramblin' Man
"Why Don't You Love Me"
b/w "A House Without Love" (from Sing Me A Blue Song) 		1 —
"Why Should We Try Anymore" 9 — Sing Me A Blue Song
"They'll Never Take Her Love From Me" 5 —
"Moanin' The Blues" 1 — Moanin' The Blues
"Nobody's Lonesome For Me" 9 — Ramblin' Man
1951 "Dear John" 8 — The Unforgettable Hank Williams
"Cold, Cold Heart" 1 — Memorial Album
"Howlin' At The Moon" 3 — Honky-Tonkin'
"I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" 2 — Ramblin' Man
"Hey Good Lookin'"
b/w "My Heart Would Know" 		1 — Memorial Album
"(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle" 9 — Ramblin' Man
"Crazy Heart" 4 — Memorial Album
"Baby, We're Really In Love"
b/w "I'd Still Want You" (from The Unforgettable Hank Williams) 		4 — Honky-Tonkin'
1952 "Honky Tonk Blues"
b/w "I'm Sorry For You, My Friend" (from Memorial Album) 		2 — Moanin' The Blues
"Half As Much"
b/w "Let's Turn Back The Years" (from The Unforgettable Hank Williams) 		2 — Memorial Album
"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)"
b/w "Window Shopping" (from The Spirit Of Hank Williams) 		1 20 Honky-Tonkin'
"Settin' The Woods On Fire" 2 — Memorial Album
"You Win Again" 10 —
"I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive"
b/w "I Could Never Be Ashamed of You" (from Memorial Album) 		1 — Honky-Tonkin'
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Posthumously released singles

Year Single (A-side, B-side)
Both sides from same album except where indicated 		Peak chart
positions 		Album
US Country US
1953 "Kaw-Liga" 1 — Memorial Album
"Your Cheatin' Heart" 1 —
"Take These Chains From My Heart"
b/w "Ramblin' Man" 		1 — Ramblin' Man
"I Won't Be Home No More"
b/w "My Love For You (Has Turned To Hate)" (from The Unforgettable Hank Williams) 		4 — Honky Tonkin'
"Weary Blues from Waitin'"
b/w "I Can't Escape From You" (from Ramblin' Man) 		7 — Moanin' The Blues
"Calling You"
b/w "When God Comes and Gathers His Jewels" 		— — I Saw The Light
1954 "You Better Keep It On Your Mind"
b/w "Low Down Blues" (from Moanin' The Blues) 		— — Honky-Tonkin'
"How Can You Refuse Him Now"
b/w "A House Of Gold" 		— — I Saw The Light
"I'm Satisfied With You"
b/w "I Ain't Got Nothin' But Time" (from Honky-Tonkin') 		— — The Immortal Hank Williams
"(I'm Gonna) Sing, Sing, Sing"
b/w "The Angel Of Death" 		— — I Saw The Light
1955 "Please Don't Let Me Love You"
b/w "Faded Love and Winter Roses" 		9 — The Immortal Hank Williams
"Mother Is Gone"
b/w "Message To Mother" (from I Saw The Light) 		— — The Spirit Of Hank Williams
"A Teardrop On A Rose"
b/w "Alone and Forsaken" (from Moanin' The Blues) 		— —
"The First Fall Of Snow"
b/w "Someday You'll Call My Name" (from Moanin' The Blues) 		— — The Immortal Hank Williams
"Thank God"
b/w "The Battle Of Armageddon" (from Wait For The Light To Shine) 		— — I Saw The Light
1956 "California Zephyr"
b/w "Thy Burders Are Greater Than Mine" (from Wait For The Light To Shine) 		— — The Immortal Hank Williams
"There's No Room In My Heart For The Blues"
b/w "I Wish I Had A Nickel" 		— —
"Singing Waterfall"
b/w "Blue Love (In My Heart)" 		— — Sing Me A Blue Song
1957 "Ready To Go Home"
b/w "We're Getting Closer To The Grave Each Day" (Non-album track) 		— — Wait For The Light To Shine
"Leave Me Alone With The Blues"
b/w "With Tears In My Eyes" (from The Immortal Hank Williams) 		— — The Unforgettable Hank Williams
"The Waltz Of The Wind"
b/w "No One Will Never Know" 		— — The Immortal Hank Williams
1958 "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It"
b/w "We Live In Two Different Worlds" (from The Unforgettable Hank Williams) 		— — Honky Tonkin'
"Just Waitin'"
b/w "Roly Poly" (from The Lonesome Sound Of Hank Williams) 		— — Beyond The Sunset
1965 "Lovesick Blues"
b/w "Your Cheatin' Heart" (from Memorial Album) 		— — Moanin' The Blues
"Cold, Cold Heart"
b/w "The Pale Horse and His Rider" (with Audrey Williams, from Mr. and Mrs. Hank Williams) 		— — Memorial Album
1966 "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"
b/w "You Win Again" 		43 109 Legend Lives Anew with Strings
"Kaw-Liga"
b/w "Let's Turn Back The Years" 		— —
"They'll Never Take Her Love From Me"
b/w "There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight" (from More Hank Williams & Strings) 		— —
1967 "Dear John"
b/w "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" 		— — More Hank Williams & Strings
1968 "(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle"
b/w "Crazy Heart" (from 14 More Of Hank Williams' Greatest Hits Volume II) 		— —
1976 "Why Don't You Love Me"
b/w "Ramblin' Man" 		61 — 24 Of Hank Williams' Greatest Hits
1989 "There's a Tear in My Beer" (with Hank Williams, Jr.)
b/w "You Brought Me Down To Earth" (by Hank Williams Jr., from Wild Streak) 		7 — Hank Williams, Jr.: Greatest Hits, Vol. 3
1996 "Move It On Over" (with Hank Williams, Jr. and Hank Williams III)[15] — — Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
See also: List of songs recorded by Hank Williams

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Huber, Patrick, Goodson, Steve & Anderson, David 2014, p. 5.
  2. ^ Koon, George Williams 1983, p. 119.
  3. ^ Tosches, Nick 2009, p. 46.
  4. ^ a b Masino, Susan 2011, p. 29.
  5. ^ Tosches, Nick 2009, p. 47.
  6. ^ Masino, Susan 2011, p. 30.
  7. ^ Escott, Colin 2009, p. 275.
  8. ^ Caress, Jay 1979, p. 129.
  9. ^ Escott, Colin 2009, p. 291.
  10. ^ "American album certifications – Hank Williams – Very Best of Hank Williams". Recording Industry Association of America.
  11. ^ "American album certifications – Hank Williams – Hank Williams%27 Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America.
  12. ^ "American album certifications – Hank Williams – 24 of Hank Williams%27 Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America.
  13. ^ "American album certifications – Hank Williams – 40 Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America.
  14. ^ "American album certifications – Hank Williams – 20 of Hank Williams%27 Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America.
  15. ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. November 30, 1996.

Bibliography

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