Original Singles Collection...Plus [Box]

Performer: Hank Williams
Producer: Colin Escott (Compilation)
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: This 3-CD/cassette box set contains 63 singles sides (A & B), 4 studio session recordings, and 17 non-session demos, all arranged in chronological order. The set also includes a book featuring many previously unpublished photos, detailed information on the original releases, and a 6000-word essay on Hank's career by Colin Escott. All recordings are from original, undubbed masters. Digitally remastered by Dennis Drake and Scott Hull (Polygram Studios and Masterdisk, New York). During his all-too-brief six-year career, Hank Williams Sr. mastered the art of the single as would few artists before or after. Between March 1949 and June 1953 (six months after his death), Williams held the number one spot on the Billboard country singles chart for a phenomenal 82 weeks. Only three artists in country music history (Eddy Arnold, Webb Pierce, Buck Owens) have matched or bettered this accomplishment. More impressive still is the enduring quality of Williams' songs and recordings. Arnold's and Pierce's records today interest old-timers and hardcore country aficionados only. Williams' records, by contrast, continue to sell briskly, a testament to his powers as both a singer and a songwriter. ORIGINAL SINGLES COLLECTION...PLUS gathers all of Williams' 78s and 45s (plus 16 non-single songs performed solo) on one three-CD set. The result is a thorough chronological overview of Williams' phenomenal career, from its tentative beginnings to his first big hit ("Lovesick Blues," a non-original that held the number one spot for 16 weeks) through what could have been an endless stream of classic honky-tonk had Williams survived his addictions. The accompanying booklet includes many photos and a long essay by country scholar Colin Escott.

The Robert Johnson of country, Hank Williams was a troubled visionary who hung around just long enough to change the face of American music forever. He added electric instruments and touches of Western swing and proto-rockabilly to the post-hillbilly sound of his idol Roy Acuff, writing a wealth of unforgettable tunes along the way. In the late 1940s and early '50s, Williams rose to fame with a series of these chart-topping hits, including "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "Hey, Good Lookin'." Though Williams' hard living caught up with him in 1953, his legacy lives on in his timeless songs and the legions of musicians he inspired.

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