Hank Williams, Sr. With Strings - The Legend Lives Anew

After Hank Williams' untimely death on New Year's Day 1953 at age 29 in the backseat of a car on his way to yet another show, his career took some unexpected turns. When his son Hank Williams Jr. was old enough to warble along with dear ol' dad, the record company released "duets" between father and son. And Sr.'s original recordings were overdubbed with extra guitars, pianos, strings, and backing vocalists, making his lean-and-mean approach more palatable to pop music fans and country music listeners who were being weaned on fancier countrypolitan productions. No one interested in Williams' original legacy should start here; 40 Greatest Hits would be a suitable introduction. However, if one's curious and might enjoy slicker, grander productions where Hank and his Drifting Cowboys are buried underneath the polish, then by all means have at it. Purists will bristle, but these overdubbed versions weren't made with those folks in mind.