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The Complete Mother's Best Collection
Hank Williams
 
15 CDs plus 1 Full-Length DVD
 
Sealed - Brand New - Sealed
 
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Hank Williams had a breakthrough year in 1951. He had a string of moderate country hits already under his belt, but the release that year of his version of an old jazz age novelty tune called "Lovesick Blues," originally recorded in 1922 by Elsie Clark and given a country arrangement in 1939 by Rex Griffin (the template for Williams' version), suddenly made him a big star. It also meant his touring schedule increased, but he still found time that year to slip into Nashville and prerecord shows for the Mother's Best Flour Company. These good-natured and intimate performances were cut to acetate discs and then played over the air on Nashville's WSM radio station. Brittle, disposable, and made for only a few plays, these acetates were then shelved and forgotten until they were literally rescued from the trash in the '70s by an alert WSM employee. In all, 72 of these shows survived, containing some 143 songs, and all of them are presented in this beautiful, ornate set that comes packaged as an old parlor radio and includes a 108-page hardcover book; 14 CDs of the Mother's Best shows; another disc with his audition for the similar Aunt Jemima radio show; and a DVD that features Williams' daughter, Jett Williams, former WSM engineer Glenn Snoddy, and two members of Williams' band, Don Helms and Big Bill Lister, discussing and remembering the shows and the era. The performances collected here are intimate and relaxed, and Williams tackles an amazingly varied set list, singing old mountain ballads, hymns, and cowboy tunes, and he delivers recitations of parlor poems and other various cautionary tales as well, and even yodels on occasion. What emerges is a full, rounded portrait of Williams at his creative and commercial peak. "Lovesick Blues" is here, along with fine versions of "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)," "A Mansion on the Hill," and the Williams-composed gospel classic "I Saw the Light," among others, including a spirited instrumental romp through the old fiddle tune "Eighth of January," which celebrated the British defeat at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815 (Jimmie Driftwood added lyrics to the tune and had a huge hit with the resulting "The Battle of New Orleans" in 1959). That these long-lost recordings are an absolute treasure simply goes without saying. Hank Williams was country music's first modern superstar, and it's nothing short of a miracle to be given -- all these years later -- several hours of Williams performing in an intimate setting just as he was beginning to break across the nation's radar. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi
 
 

Product Details

Album Features
UPC 610583526523
Artist Hank Williams
Format CD
Release Year 2016
Record Label Time Life
Genre Country, Honkytonk
Number Of Discs 16
 
Details
Playing Time 0 min.
Contributing Artists Jerry Rivers, Audrey Williams, The Drifting Cowboys, Jimmie Skinner, Jack Anglin, Johnnie Wright, Don Helms, Cousin Louie Buck, Sammy Pruett
Producer Colin Escott (Reissue), Mike Jason (Reissue), F. Keith Adkinson (Reissue), Jett Williams (Reissue)
Distributor WEA (Distributor)
SPAR Code n/a
 
Track Listing
Disc 1 1. Introduction, 2. Where the Old Red River Flows, 3. Over Moonlit Waters - (featuring Don Helms/The Drifting Cowboys), 4. How Can You Refuse Him Now, 5. Closing, 6. Introduction, 7. Alabama Waltz, 8. Fire on the Mountain - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Jerry Rivers), 9. Build Me a Cabin in Glory Lord
Disc 10 1. Introduction, 2. Where the Old Red River Flows, 3. Blue Steel Blues - (featuring Don Helms/The Drifting Cowboys), 4. Thirty Pieces of Silver, 5. Closing, 6. Introduction, 7. On Top of Old Smoky, 8. Columbus Stockade Blues - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Samuel K. "Sammy" Pruett), 9. The Prodigal Son, 10. Closing, 11. Introduction, 12. Moanin' the Blues, 13. Blue Steel Blues - (featuring Don Helms/The Drifting Cowboys), 14. I Dreamed About Mom Last Night, 15. Closing, 16. Introduction, 17. Where the Old Red River Flows, 18. Orange Blossom Special - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Jerry Rivers), 19. Where He Leads Me, 20. Closing, 21. Introduction, 22. I Hang My Head and Cry, 23. Tennessee Wagner - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Jerry Rivers), 24. At the Cross, 25. Closing
Disc 11 10. Closing, 11. Introduction, 12. Mind Your Own Business, 13. Old Joe Clark - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Jerry Rivers), 14. I Dreamed About Mom Last Night, 15. Closing, 16. Introduction, 17. I Just Don't Like This Kind of Livin', 18. Tennessee Wagner - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Jerry Rivers), 19. The Pale Horse and His Rider, 20. Closing, 21. Introduction, 22. My Sweet Love Ain't Around, 23. Fire on the Mountain - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Jerry Rivers), 24. I Saw the Light, 25. Closing
Disc 12 7. If I Didn't Love You, 8. Panhandle Rag, 9. Wait for the Light to Shine, 10. Closing, 11. Introduction, 12. You Blotted My Happy Schooldays, 13. Orange Blossom Special, 14. Dust Oo the Bible, 15. Closing, 16. Introduction, 17. I've Been Down That Road Before, 18. Gentle Annie, 19. I've Got My One-Way Ticket to the Sky, 20. Closing, 21. Introduction, 22. Good Lookin' Hey, 23. Alabama Jubilee, 24. Searching for a Soldier's Grave, 25. Closing
Disc 13 1. Introduction, 2. California Zephyr, 3. Down Yonder, 4. Softly and Tenderly, 5. Closing, 6. Introduction, 7. Lonesome Whistle, 8. Roadside Rag, 9. I Am Bound for the Promised Land, 10. Closing, 11. Introduction, 12. Have I Told You Lately That I Love You, 13. Sally Goodin, 14. When the Saints Go Marchin' In - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Jerry Rivers), 15. Closing, 16. Introduction, 17. Good Lookin' Hey, 18. Silver Bell - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys), 19. I'm Gonna Sing, 20. Turkeyini the Straw - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Jerry Rivers), 21. Closing, 22. Introduction, 23. I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You), 24. Dance All Night - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Jerry Rivers), 25. Lonely Tombs, 26. Closing, 27. Introduction, 28. Crazy Heart (Incomplete)
Disc 14 1. [Untitled], 2. [Untitled], 3. [Untitled], 4. [Untitled], 5. [Untitled], 6. [Untitled], 7. [Untitled], 8. [Untitled], 9. [Untitled], 10. [Untitled], 11. [Untitled], 12. [Untitled], 13. [Untitled], 14. [Untitled], 15. [Untitled], 16. [Untitled], 17. [Untitled], 18. [Untitled], 19. [Untitled], 20. [Untitled], 21. [Untitled], 22. [Untitled], 23. [Untitled], 24. [Untitled], 25. [Untitled]
Disc 15 1. [Untitled], 2. [Untitled], 3. [Untitled], 4. [Untitled], 5. [Untitled], 6. [Untitled]
Disc 2 1. Introduction, 2. Nobody's Lonesome for Me, 3. My Tight Wad Daddy - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Audrey Williams), 4. I'll Have a New Life, 5. Closing, 6. Introduction, 7. Everything's Okay, 8. Why Should I Cry - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Audrey Williams), 9. I Heard My Mother Praying for Me - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Hank Williams/Audrey Williams), 10. Closing, 11. Introduction, 12. Move It Oo Over, 13. I'm Satisfied With Life, 14. I Saw the Light, 15. Closing, 16. Introduction, 17. Seaman's Blues, 18. Blues in My Mind - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Audrey Williams), 19. Something Got Hold of Me - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Hank Williams/Audrey Williams), 20. Closing, 21. Introduction, 22. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, 23. Bonaparte's Retreat - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Audrey Williams), 24. I've Just Told Mama Goodbye, 25. Closing
Disc 3 1. Introduction, 2. May You Never Be Alone, 3. My Love for You (Has Turned to Hate) - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Audrey Williams), 4. Dear Brother - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Audrey Williams), 5. Closing, 6. Introduction, 7. They'll Never Take Her Love From Me, 8. (Last Night) I Heard You Crying in Your Sleep - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Audrey Williams), 9. Wait for the Light to Shine, 10. Whistling Rufus - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Audrey Williams), 11. Closing, 12. Introduction, 13. Pins and Needles (In My Heart), 14. Four Flusher - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Audrey Williams), 15. I Heard My Mother Praying for Me - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Hank Williams/Audrey Williams), 16. Closing, 17. Introduction, 18. Cool Water, 19. Orange Blossom Special - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Jerry Rivers), 20. Lonely Tombs, 21. Closing, 22. Introduction, 23. I Just Don't Like This Kind of Livin', 24. You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Audrey Williams), 25. Jesus Remembered Me - (featuring The Drifting Cowboys/Hank Williams/Audrey Williams), 26. Closing
Disc 4
(description exceeds maximum possible length)