Hank Williams
Apr 19, 2010
Country legend Hank Williams has earned a posthumous Special Citation from the Pulitzer Prize. The Special Citation was announced on April 12th, and Williams was named for his lifetime achievement as an artist. The award is given based on a confidential survey of experts in popular music.
The citation notes Hank's "craftsmanship as a songwriter" and his "pivotal role in transforming Country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life." He joins recent special citation recipients Bob Dylan, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane on the list of American winners.
"I don't think any country artist cast a longer shadow than he does, both as a songwriter and a performer," Jay Orr, Vice President of Museum Programs at the Country Music Hall Of Fame in Nashville said. "His songs are master works. But there's a mystique about his character that still fascinates the people who have come after him. He was the romantic ideal of the hillbilly Shakespeare and his cultural legacy continues to grow."
Williams passed away in 1953 at the age of 29. His hits include "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Hey Good Lookin'," "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" "Cold Cold Heart" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry."
"He really helped to legitimize that confessional mode with songs like, 'Cold Cold Heart' - 'Why can't I free your doubtful mind/and melt your cold cold heart?'" said Orr. "That's something we've all wondered about a woman at one time or another."
For more on Hank Williams, see www.losthighwayrecords.com/hankwilliams. For more about the Pulitzer Prize, visit www.pulitzer.org.
By Karen Goodner