[dcab-l] Songs from the South: (I Hear That) Lonesome Whistle

Music Lovers:

 

Here is another live cut from Rattlesnake Hill, at the Appalachian Jubilee a cover of the great Hank Williams, an American icon.

 

Hiram King Williams (Hank) was born September 17^th, 1923 in Georgiana, Ala., a small farming community about 70 miles south of Montgomery.  He died January 1, 1953 (age 29) in Oak Hill, W. Va. in the back of a blue Cadillac.

 

Williams seemed to live his life conscious that he might not be around for long. Though he died young, he left behind an impressive body of work: a dizzying catalog of masterful country music standards.  Williams placed thirty-one songs on Billboard's Top C&W Records, while he had seven #1 hits.

 

Unbelievable!

 

This song was written in 1951, one of seven of his singles to go Top Ten in that year. Only 3 songs from that July 25 session were deemed issuable by Fred Rose (manager and publisher).  Of these, the most unusual was "Lonesome Whistle".  Interestingly, the title was truncated from "(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle Blow" to fit on jukebox cards.

 

Though first released as a single, the song is available on a myriad of Williams collections. In 1951, it went to #9 on US Country Charts.

 

As for song credits, a fellow named Tillman Franks says that Governor Jimmy Davis told him that he (Davis) had supplied Williams the title: "Lonesome Whistle". Then, Hank wrote the words after riding on a train with a convict under armed guard.  And so, writer's credits to this prison song go to both Hank and Governor Jimmie Davis. (Jimmie Davis was a huge country legend, and also served 2 terms as the Governor of Louisiana).

 

But Hank didn't ride trains anymore…

 

The original steel guitar was played by Don Helm, with fiddle by Jerry Rivers, providing a mournful backing. 

 

For this live performance at the Appalachian Jubilee theater, instead of bringing my own band, I used the house band, with Lenny Zinn on pedal steel.  Lenny was the Musical Director of the Appalachian Jubilee and is a member of the  Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.

 

To listen, just click:

 

http://rattlesnakehill.org/Web_Music/edsmusic.html

 

Enjoy!

 

Ed