Hiram "Hank" Williams is born on September 17 at home in Mount Olive, Alabama. His father, Lon, and his mother, Lilly, are farmers. Hank was named for King Hiram of Tyre.
Lon's face is slowly becoming paralyzed, probably due to an injury sustained in France during World War I. Lilly takes him to a Veterans Hospital in Pensacola, Florida. He is later transferred to the V.A. hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana. He is hospitalized until 1937, and Hank sees his father just once during that time.
Lilly moves the children to Georgiana, where she rents a house built on stilts, near the railroad tracks.
Moves in with his cousins, the McNeils, in Fountain, Alabama, for one year. He begins drinking.
Returns to Georgiana and begins performing on the streets. He meets Rufus "Tee-Tot" Payne, an African-American musician who leads a street band. Pays Tee-Tot for lessons, and later cites him as one of his biggest influences. Lilly moves to Greenville, Alabama.
Lilly moves her family to Montgomery. She starts a rooming house business. Enters talent contests and tries out at the local radio station, WSFA.
Quits school to work fulltime in music. He forms the first Drifting Cowboys with Braxton Schuffert.
Hank and the Drifting Cowboys play in and around Montgomery and on WSFA and WCOV until Hank goes to Oregon to work in the Kaiser shipyard. He returns home and gets a job at the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co., in Mobile.
Works occasionally in Mobile. Briefly joins a medicine show on a tour of south Alabama and meets Audrey Mae Guy, then aged 21. Married to a serviceman, she is the mother of a two-year old daughter, Lycrecia. Plays Montgomery's City Auditorium with country star Pee Wee King. He sells King a song he has written, "(I'm Praying for the Day That) Peace Will Come."
Quits the shipyards and returns to Montgomery. Audrey joins him. On December 15 Hank and Audrey marry at a filling station near Andalusia, Alabama.
Hank and Audrey go to Nashville to see Fred Rose at Acuff-Rose Publications. Hank begins sending songs to Acuff-Rose. December 11. Hank records his first session for Sterling Records.
Signs a contract with MGM Records. Hank records his first MGM session, including "Move It On Over." It becomes his first hit.
In April after a protracted bout of drinking, Hank is committed to a sanitarium. His band leaves him. April 28, Audrey files for the divorce for the first time. August 7, Hank joins The Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, Louisiana. At some point in the Fall, he begins to feature "Lovesick Blues" in his stage act. December 22, Hank drives to Cincinnati to record "Lovesick Blues."
"Lovesick Blues" becomes Hank's first No.1 country hit. On May 26 Randall Hank (Hank Jr.) is born in Shreveport. In June, Hank moves to Nashville to join The Grand Ole Opry.
January 8-9, Hank records two sessions in Nashville. The second day's session is the first devoted to narrations that will be issued under the pseudonym "Luke the Drifter." December 21, Hank records "Cold, Cold Heart."
"Cold, Cold Heart" reaches No. 1 on the Country charts. Tony Bennett records a pop cover version. Hospitalized for back treatment and detoxification. First LP, Hank Williams Sings, released. Makes first nationwide television appearance on The Perry Como Show. Disbands the Drifting Cowboys.
January 3, At Audrey's request, Hank moves out of the family home on Franklin Road. He later moves in with Ray Price. Spring, Hank has an affair with Bobbie Jett. She becomes pregnant in March. June, Hank meets Billie Jean Jones, who has arrived from Shreveport, and they begin their relationship. July 10, Hank and Audrey are divorced. August 11, Hank is fired from the Grand Ole Opry, and returns to Montgomery. September 13, Hank returns to the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport. September 23. Hank returns to Nashville to record his final session. "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Take These Chains From My Heart," "Kaw-Liga," and "I Could Never Be Ashamed of You" are recorded in three hours. October 15, Hank flies to Montgomery to make financial and custody provisions for Bobbie Jett's child. After the birth, Hank is to pay Bobbie's way to California. Lilly is to assume custody, and Hank will assume custody on the child's third birthday. October 18, Hank secretly marries Billie Jean at a midnight ceremony in Minden, Louisiana. October 19, Hank publicly marries Billie Jean in two ceremonies in New Orleans. December 19, Hank makes his final public appearance at the Skyline Club in Austin, Texas. December 20, Hank moves back to Montgomery.
December 30 of 1952, Hank leaves Montgomery to drive to showdates in Charleston, West Virginia on December 31, and Canton, Ohio on January 1. On December 31, The Charleston show in canceled, and late in the evening, Hank and his driver, Charles Carr, begin driving to Canton. January 1, Hank is pronounced dead in Oak Hill, West Virginia.
