The last day of 2004 marks the 52nd anniversary of the death of Hank
Williams who brought black music for the first time to white
audiences, although with a definite hillbilly twist...what we would
call today "rockabilly". In short popular music crossed the color
bar and became really "popular. It is no accident that the
integration of music occured just before the birth of the modern
civil rights movement. Many of the Hank Williams tunes of the
late 40's and early 50's had a definite backbeat and a rock "feel"--
all of which got Hank in trouble with the regulars on the Opry and
with the fundie preachers who warned whites against the implicit,
if not explicit sex and intensity of the "devil's" "black music",
that is to say blues. It was a certain non-Chicago, southern style
Memphis blues which actually transformed itself into rock music...
first by blacks in the 40's and later by Elvis and a whole genre
of white imitators in the mid-fifties. It was only 6 months after
Hank's death that his guitarist Smitty was recording the superb
guitar lick's on Elvis's "That's All Right Mama". It was Hank's
dues paid that proved that there was a ready market for cross-over
popular music.......and Hank caught a lot of flak that may have
thwarted the spectacular rise of Elvis and the whole 50's class
of white crossover rockers. The rise of rock and modern country
music can be traced to the man who died in the backseat of a
Cadillac in front of a bar....who at the time was seen as a has-
been by Nashville and the music industry.
While the fortunes of Hank had turned drastically south when
he was blackballed by the Opry and the music establishment, his
health was ruined by prescription drugs and his family life had
devolved into a very large lawsuit --he wasn't even allowed
visitation with Hank Jr. At the time of his death he was losing
control of his music rights and royalties as well. In short he
was running on empty. His records were the most popular of the
day in the juke joints and bars, but he was having trouble even
getting gigs. When he entered the little juke joint outside
Bluefield WV on Dec 31 at about 10 am , he was sick and weighed
barely 90 pounds. The waitress, Hazel Schultz swooned
groupie-style but he was largely ignored by the bar-flies through
-out the day. He left to arrange a local 2nd driver named
Danny Surface ( who just happened to be the boyfriend of the
waitress) and some prescription meds from a local doctor who was
well known for pushing prescription meds to those willing to pay
the freight, upfront in cash. Like Rush, Hank had connections in
every venue where he played, but in this coal field town he had to
resort to making the connection at the local taxi stand .
Strangely through-out the day he laid his face on the bar counter
while his music played over and over again. When Hazel the
waitress pointed out to the increasingly drunken regulars that Hank
the guy who made the music was r i g h t t h e r e, a strange
indifference prevailed. Dis-belief mixed with apathy.
In mid-afternoon a regular was dancing, more like fondling
a female regular when she protested. The drunk slapped her and the
90 pound Hank came to the rescue and pushed the drunk away. At this
point both attacked Hank and the intoxicated romeo punched Hank
a hard one in the region of the family jewels. If this wasn't
enough, the bar owner threw Hank out of the bar for "fighting"!!!
Hank retired to the back of his convertible waiting for Surface,
the new driver to get off work at 5pm. He passed out with after
a very sloppy injection in his forearm. When he died at about 4pm
the original driver Carr asked a young boy to go get the bar-owner
and a cup of coffee . The owner Sox White couldn't find a pulse
and ordered Carr off premises. Carr and then later the new driver
Surface cruised the roads for hours before resuming the trip to the
planned gig in Ohio. When they stopped for gas early the next
morning Hank , needless to say was stiff as a board. His death
was reported at the last stop.
Immediately after his death Hank 's reputation returned and
the legend was born. The whole day he spent in Bluefield WV was
investigated by the police and then the real details were covered
up by all concerned, including the local newspaper, The Bluefield
Daily Telegraph. His death was attributed to alcohol rather than
drugs. Most of his personal possessions disapeared from the caddy,
and his white cowboy jacket was last seen on a homeless man shopping
at Dollar General in a nearby West Virginia town in 1989. The now
tattered cowboy jacket had lost all connection with its original
owner and was now in ruin. Like Elvis sitting on the toilet everthing
was closing in like a tsunami. Many stolen artifacts have reappeared
in museums, but what is important is the genius or originality in
fusing together the discordant and suppressed legacies of a multitude
of individual lives deemed worthless and without merit by generations
of gate-keepers.
Perhaps the ultimate founder of rock music is the legendary
bluesman, Robert Johnson. The drums were absent on the recordings
of 36-37 , but reportedly were used by Robert in his travels north
out of the delta just before his death. Although the white gate-
keepers denied that Robert Johnson ever played in a combo, his step-
son Robert Lockwood insists that he did. Nevertheless the content
and even the length of his recorded songs set a standard for rock
recordings that is still operational today. White gate-keepers
are busy at work in Oxford Miss. and the latest attack comes from
a music critic at a Boston newspaper.....denigrating his
contribution. But every blues legend I've ever asked said that they
were intriqued by the Johnson guitar technique. But perhaps they
are missing the point for his lyrics sometimes rose to heights only
occupied by existentialist philosophers in such tunes as "Stones In
The Passway". For myself, when I first heard "Crossroads Blues",
a Cream number somewhat based on the Johson original....I couldn't
find anyone who knew who the writer, Robert Johnson was. Then in
a west coast coffee house in 68 , I asked Taj Mahal who was playing
there who RJ was. He gave me the whole lowdown including the
faustian deal. At that time I was among the few who knew the story
which has since become legendary. Contrary to "blues archivists" RJ
was much more than a pan-handler playing in plantation juke joints
in Mississippi. In fact, crossroad blues was the only number done by
Clapton that I ever liked until very recently when he has made some
excellent covers, including "If I Had Possession Over Judgement
Day". On the day in 1938 when Robert Johnson died, the "queen" of
the blues Bessie Smith died less than a 100 miles away in a
Mississippi highway colision. That the king and the queen of the
blues died on the same day is troubling considering the very powerful
pro-nazimovements which was active at the time. It is said
that the bar owner poisoned RJ due to flirtatious lyrics. But the
little boy who was sent by Hank William's driver to get help inside
that bar in the last day of 1952 is not convinced that the whole
story has ever been told.
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