I’ve been on a bit of an Americana/Roots kick lately. So when I heard one of the songs off of this album on KCRW recently I had to look it up.
The album comes from lyrics found in four notebooks found in a briefcase with him when he was found dead in his Cadillac on New Year’s Day 1953. They’ve been stored in a vault at his record company (and its successive owners) ever since.
In the mid-70s, his son Hank Williams Jr. recorded some songs based on the lyrics found, however by and large the lyrics had remained in storage. Under the guidance of Bob Dylan, 12 artists have taken these unfinished lyrics and created songs from them.
I’m loving this album (despite its inherent sadness and loneliness).
