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Georgia On My Mind 2 GP3 Guitar Pro Tab

Georgia On My Mind 2 gp3 Guitar Pro Tab is free to download. Tablature file Georgia On My Mind 2 opens by means of the Guitar PRO program.


Georgia On My Mind [ Ray Charles version]

-6 7 -6 6

-6 7 -8 7 -6 6 -5

-5 6 -6 7 &
nbsp; -8

-4 -6 6 -5 6
-5

-5 6 -6
7 -6 6 -6 6

-6 7 -8 7 -6 6 -5

-5
6 -6 7
-8

-4 -6 6 -5
6 -5

-4 -5 6 -6
-5 -4 -5

-4 -5
6 -6 7 7 -6 -7

-4 -5 6 -6 7
-8 8

-8 8 -6 8 -6 6

-6 -6 -5 6 -5


Georgia On My Mind (hi-lo)

GEORGIA ON MY MIND hi-lo
W: Stuart Gorrell
M: Hoagy Carmichael
Ray Charles
Key: F

-3” 4 -3” 3 -3” -4 -3” 3
-6 7 -6 6 -6 -8 -6 6
Geor-gia, Geor-gia, the whole day through

-2” 3 -3” 4 5
-5 6 -6 7 8
Just an old sweet song

-4 -3 -4 -3” 3 4
-8 -7 -8 -6 6 7
Keeps Geor-gia on my mind

-4 -4 -4 -4 3
-8 -8 -8 -8 6
Talk-in’ ’bout Geor-gia

-3” 4 -3” 3 -3” -4 -3” 3
-6 7 -6 6 -6 -8 -6 6
Geor-gia, Geor-gia A song of you

-2” 3 -3” 4 5
-5 6 -6 7 8
Comes as sweet and clear

-4 -3 -1 -3” -3” -2”
-8 -7 -4 -6 -6 -5
as moon-light through the pines

-1 -2” 3 -3” -2” -1 -2”
-4 -5 6 -6 -5 -4 -5
Oth-er arms reach out to me

-1 -2” 3 -3” 4 -3” -3
-4 -5 6 -6 7 -6 -7
Oth-er eyes smile ten-der-ly

-1 -2” 3 -3” 4 -4 4
-4 -5 6 -6 7 -8 8
Still in peace-ful dreams I see

-4 4 -3” 4 4 -3”3
-8 7 -6 7 7 -66
The road leads back to you

-3” 4 4-3” -3” 3 -3” -4 -3” 3
-6 7 7-6 -6 6 -6 -8 -6 6
Geor-gia, sweet Geor-gia, no peace I find

-2” 3 -3” 4 5
-5 6 -6 7 8
Just an old sweet song

-4 -3 -1 -3”-3” -2”
-8 -7 -4 -6 -6 -5
Keeps Geor-gia on my mind

-1 -2” 3 -3” -2” -1 -2”
-4 -5 6 -6 -5 -4 -5
Oth-er arms reach out to me

-1 -2” 3 -3” 4 -3” -3
-4 -5 6 -6 7 -6 -7
Oth-er eyes smile ten-der-ly

-1 -2” 3 -3” 4 -4 5
-4 -5 6 -6 7 -8 8
Still in peace-ful dreams I see

-4 4 -3” 4 4 -3”3
-8 7 -6 7 7 -66
The road leads back to you

-3” 4 4-3” -3” 3 -3” -4 -3” 3
-6 7 7-6 -6 6 -6 -8 -6 6
Geor-gia, sweet Geor-gia, no peace I find

-2” 3 -3” 4 5
-5 6 -6 7 8
Just an old sweet song

-4 -3 -1 -3”-3” -2”
-8 -7 -4 -6 -6 -5
Keeps Geor-gia on my mind


Georgia On My Mind (easy chrom)

GEORGIA ON MY MIND (easy chrom, hi-lo)
W: Stuart Gorrell
M: Hoagy Carmichael
Ray Charles
Key: C

-3 4 -3 3 -3 -5 -3 3
-7 8 -7 7 -7 -9 -7 7
Geor-gia, Geor-gia, the whole day through

-2 3 -3 4 6
-6 7 -7 8 10
Just an old sweet song

-5 -3* -5 -3 3 4
-9 -7* -9 -7 7 8
Keeps Geor-gia on my mind

-5 -5 -5 -5 3*
-9 -9 -9 -9 7*
Talk-in’ ’bout Geor-gia

-3 4 -3 3 -3 -5 -3 3
-7 8 -7 7 -7 -9 -7 7
Geor-gia, Geor-gia A song of you

-2 3 -3 4 6
-6 7 -7 8 10
Comes as sweet and clear

-5 -3* -1 -3 -3 -2
-9 -7* -5 -7 -7 -6
as moon-light through the pines

-1 -2 3 -3 -2 -1 -2
-5 -6 7 -7 -6 -5 -6
Oth-er arms reach out to me

-1 -2 3 -3 4 -3 -4
-5 -6 7 -7 8 -7 -8
Oth-er eyes smile ten-der-ly

-1 -2 3 -3 4 -5 6
-5 -6 7 -7 8 -9 10
Still in peace-ful dreams I see

-5 4 -3 4 4 -33
-9 8 -7 8 8 -77
The road leads back to you

-3 4 4-3 -3 3 -3 -5 -3 3
-7 8 8-7 -7 7 -7 -9 -7 7
Geor-gia, sweet Geor-gia, no peace I find

-2 3 -3 4 6
-6 7 -7 8 10
Just an old sweet song

-5 -3* -1 -3 -3 -2
-9 -7* -5 -7 -7 -6
Keeps Geor-gia on my mind

-1 -2 3 -3 -2 -1 -2
-5 -6 7 -7 -6 -5 -6
Oth-er arms reach out to me

-1 -2 3 -3 4 -3 -4
-5 -6 7 -7 8 -7 -8
Oth-er eyes smile ten-der-ly

-1 -2 3 -3 4 -5 6
-5 -6 7 -7 8 -9 10
Still in peace-ful dreams I see

-5 4 -3 4 4 -33
-9 8 -7 8 8 -77
The road leads back to you

-3 4 4-3 -3 3 -3 -5 -3 3
-7 8 8-7 -7 7 -7 -9 -7 7
Geor-gia, sweet Geor-gia, no peace I find

-2 3 -3 4 6
-6 7 -7 8 10
Just an old sweet song

-5 -3* -1 -3 -3 -2
-9 -7* -5 -7 -7 -6
Keeps Geor-gia on my mind


Georgia On My Mind (Chromatic C)

3* -4 3* -2* 3* 5* 3* -2*
Geor-gia, Geor-gia, the whole day through
2 -2* 3* -4 -5*
Just an old sweet song
5* -3 5* 3* -2* -4
Keeps Geor-gia on my mind
5* 5* 5* 5* 3
Talk-in’ ’bout Geor-gia
3* -4 3* -2* 3* 5* 3* -2*
Geor-gia, Geor-gia A song of you
2 -2* 3* -4 -5*
Comes as sweet and clear
5* -3 1* 3* 3* 2
as moon-light through the pines

1* 2 -2* 3* 2 1* 2
Oth-er arms reach out to me
1* 2 -2* 3* -4 3* -3*
Oth-er eyes smile ten-der-ly
1* 2 -2* 3* -4 5* -5*
Still in peace-ful dreams I see
5* -4 3* -4 -4 3* -2*
The road leads back to you

3* -4 -4 3* 3* -2* 3* 5* 3* -2*
Geor-gia, sweet Geor-gia, no peace I find
2 -2* 3* -4 -5*
Just an old sweet song
5* -3 1* 3* 3* 5*_______ 3* 3* 2
Keeps Geor-gia on my mind

This song plays with karaoke music run time 2:45.


Georgia On My Mind (Chrom C)

GEORGIA ON MY MIND

GEORG-IA, GEORG-IA THE WHOLE DAY THROUGH

6 7 6 -5 6 -7 6 -5

JUST AN OLD SWEET SONG KEEPS GEORG-IA ON MY MIND

5 -5 6 7 -8 -7 -6 -3 6 -5 7 -7 -7 -7 -7 *-5

I’M SAY GEORG-IA, GEORG-IA A SONG OF YOU

-5 *-5 6 7 6 -5 6 -7 6 -5

COMES AS SWEET AND CLEAR AS MOON-LIGHT THROUGH THE PINES

5 -5 6 7 -8 -7 -6 -3 6 6 5

OTH-ER ARMS REACH OUT TO ME, OTH-ER EYES SMILE TEN-DER-LY

-3 4 -5 6 5 -3 4 -3 4 -5 6 7 6 *-6

STILL IN PEACE-FUL DREAMS I SEE THE ROAD LEADS BACK TO YOU

-3 4 -5 6 7 -7 -8 -7 7 6 7 7 6 *-5 -5

GEORG-IA, GEORG-IA NO PEACE I FIND

6 7 6 -5 6 -7 6 -5

JUST AN OLD SWEET SONG KEEPS GEORG-IA ON MY MIND

5 -5 6 7 -8 -7 -6 -3 6 -5 5

OTH-ER ARMS REACH OUT TO ME, OTH-ER EYES SMILE TEN-DER-LY

-3 4 -5 6 5 -3 4 -3 4 -5 6 7 6 *-6

STILL IN PEACE-FUL DREAMS I SEE THE ROAD LEADS BACK TO YOU

-3 4 -5 6 7 -7 -8 -7 7 6 7 7 6 *-5 -5

GEORG-IA, GEORG-IA NO PEACE I FIND

6 7 6 -5 6 -7 6 -5

JUST THIS OLD SWEET SONG KEEPS GEORG-IA ON MY MIND

5 -5 6 7 -8 -7 -6 -3 6 -5 5

JUST AN OLD SWEET SONG KEEPS GEORG-IA ON M-Y MIND

5 -5 6 7 -8 -7 9 -7 6 7 -7 8


Georgia On My Mind (chromatic)

GEORGIA ON MY MIND
W: Stuart Gorrell
M: Hoagy Carmichael
Ray Charles
Key: F

-3 4 -3 3 -3 -5 -3 3
Geor-gia, Geor-gia, the whole day through
-2 3 -3 5 6
Just an old sweet song
-5 -3* -5 -3 3 4
Keeps Geor-gia on my mind
-5 -5 -5 -5 3*
Talk-in’ ’bout Geor-gia
-3 4 -3 3 -3 -5 -3 3
Geor-gia, Geor-gia A song of you
-2 3 -3 5 6
Comes as sweet and clear
-5 -3* -1 -3 -3 -2
as moon-light through the pines

-1 -2 3 -3 -2 -1 -2
Oth-er arms reach out to me
-1 -2 3 -3 4 -3 -4
Oth-er eyes smile ten-der-ly
-1 -2 3 -3 4 -5 6
Still in peace-ful dreams I see
-5 4 -3 4 4 -33
The road leads back to you

-3 4 4-3 -3 3 -3 -5 -3 3
Geor-gia, sweet Geor-gia, no peace I find
-2 3 -3 5 6
Just an old sweet song
-5 -3* -1 -3 -3 -2
Keeps Geor-gia on my mind

-1 -2 3 -3 -2 -1 -2
Oth-er arms reach out to me
-1 -2 3 -3 4 -3 -4
Oth-er eyes smile ten-der-ly
-1 -2 3 -3 4 -5 6
Still in peace-ful dreams I see
-5 4 -3 4 4 -33
The road leads back to you

-3 4 4-3 -3 3 -3 -5 -3 3
Geor-gia, sweet Geor-gia, no peace I find
-2 3 -3 5 6
Just an old sweet song
-5 -3* -1 -3 -3 -2
Keeps Geor-gia on my mind


Georgia On My Mind

Georgia On My Mind by Ray Charles

6d 7b 6d 6b 6d 6b
Georgia, Ge or gia,

6d 7b 8d 7b 6d 6b 5d
The whole day through

5d 6b 6d 7b 8d
Just an old sweet song

4d 6d 6b 5d 6b 5d
Keeps Georgia on my mind

5d 6b 6d 7b 6d 6b 6d 6b
I’m say Georgia Georgia

6d 7b 8d 7b 6d 6b 5d
A song of you

5d 6b 6d 7b 8d
Comes as sweet and clear
4d 6d 6b 5d 6b 5d
As moonlight through the pines

4d 5d 6b 6d 5d 4d 5d
Other arms reach out to me
4d 5d 6b 6d 7b 7b 6d 7d
Other eyes smile tenderly

4d 5d 6b 6d 7b 8d 8b
Still in peaceful dreams I see
8d 8b 6d 8b 6d 6b
The road leads back to you
6d 6d 5d 6b 5d

I said Georgia,
Ooh Georgia, no peace I find
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you

Georgia,
Georgia,
No peace, no peace I find
Just this old, sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

I said just an old sweet song,
Keeps Georgia on my mind


Georgia On My Mind 3 GP3 Guitar Pro Tab

Georgia On My Mind 3 gp3 Guitar Pro Tab is free to download. Tablature file Georgia On My Mind 3 opens by means of the Guitar PRO program.


Georgia On My Mind GP3 Guitar Pro Tab

Georgia On My Mind gp3 Guitar Pro Tab is free to download. Tablature file Georgia On My Mind opens by means of the Guitar PRO program.


Columbus Stockade (Columbus Georgia / Leave Me If You Want T)

5-4 4 4 6 6 6 6 5

Way down in Columbus Stockade

6 6 6 -4 -4 5 -4 4

Wanna be back in Tennessee

5-4 4 4 6 6 6 6 5

Way down in Columbus Stockade

6 6 -4 -4 5 -4 4

Where my friends went back on me

6 6 -6 -6 -6 -6 6 -5 6 5

You can go and leave me if you want to

-6 -6 6 6 -6 7 7

Never let me cross your mind

5 -4 4 4 6 6 6 5

In your heart dear you love another

6 6 -4 -4 5 -4 4

Leave me darling I don’t mind


Georgia Bound

GEORGIA BOUND
Blind Blake
Key: C

C F
2 -2 3 -3 -23 2
Pack-ing up my duf-fel,
C
4 4 4 -3 3
Gon-na leave this town
F
4 4 4 -5 4 -3
Pack-ing up my duf-fel,
C
4 4 4 -3 3
Gon-na leave this town
G7 Ab7
-3* -4 -4 -4 3 3 3 4
And I’m gon-na hus-tle to catch
G7 C
3* 3 2 1
That train south-bound

Got the Georgia blues
for the plow and hoe 2X
Walked out my shoes
over this ice and snow

Tune up the fiddle,
tune up the bow 2X
Put on the griddle,
And open up the cabin door.

I thought I was going to
the northland to stay 2X
South is on my mind,
My blues won�t go away

Potatoes in the ashes,
Possum on the stove 2X
You can have the hash,
But leave in on the clove

Chicken on the roof, babe,
Watermelons on the vine 2X
I�ll be glad to get back,
To that Georgia girl of mine.


Georgia

5 6 5 -4 5 -6 5 -4
Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through,

4 -4 5 6 -7 -6 -5 -6
Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia

5 -4 6
on my mind.

5 6 5 -4 5 -6 5 -4
Georgia, Georgia, a song of you,

4 -4 5 6 -7 -6 -5 -3bb
Comes as sweet and clear as moonlight

5 5 4
through the pines.

-3bb 4 -4 5 4 -3bb 4
Oth -er arms reach out to me,

-3bb 4 5 5 6 5 -5
Oth -er eyes smile tender-ly,

-3b 4 -4 5 6 -6 -7
Still in peaceful dreams I see

-6 6 5 6 6 5 -4
The road leads back to you.

5 6 5 -4 5 -6 5 -4
Georgia, Georgia, no peace I find,

4 -4 5 6 -7 -6 -5 -3bb
Just an old sweet song keeps Geor-gia

5 5 4
on my mind.


James Lord Pierpont

James Lord Pierpont (April 25, 1822 – August 5, 1893) was a New England-born songwriter, arranger, organist, Confederate Soldier, and composer, best known for writing and composing “Jingle Bells” in 1857, originally entitled “The One Horse Open Sleigh”. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and died in Winter Haven, Florida. His composition “Jingle Bells” has become synonymous with the Christmas holiday and is one of the most performed and most recognizable songs in the world.

Life and career

James Lord Pierpont was born on April 25, 1822 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father, the Reverend John Pierpont (1785–1866), was a pastor of the Hollis Street Unitarian Church in Boston, an abolitionist and a poet. Robert Fulghum confused James with his father in the book It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It (1989); erroneously attributing the authorship of “Jingle Bells” to the Rev. John Pierpont. James’ mother was Mary Sheldon Lord, the daughter of Lynde Lord, Jr. (1762–1813), and Mary Lyman. James was the uncle of the financier and banker John Pierpont Morgan. John and Mary Pierpont had six children.

In 1832, James was sent to a boarding school in New Hampshire. He wrote a letter to his mother about riding in a sleigh through the December snow. In 1836, James ran away to sea aboard a whaling ship called the Shark. He then served in the US Navy until the age of 21.

By 1845, he returned to New England where his father was the pastor of a Unitarian congregation in Troy, New York. James married Millicent Cowee, the daughter of Farwell Cowee and Abigail Merriam, in the late 1840s, and they settled in Medford, where they had three children. His father, Rev. John Pierpont, a*sumed a position as minister of a Unitarian congregation in Medford, Massachusetts in 1849.

In 1849, James Pierpont left his wife and children with his father in Massachusetts to open a business in San Francisco during the California Gold Rush. He also worked as a photographer. His business failed after his goods burned in a fire.

In 1856, Millicent died, and after James’ brother, the Rev. John Pierpont, Jr. (1819–1879), accepted a post with the Savannah, Georgia, Unitarian congregation, James followed, taking a post as the organist and music director of the church.  To support himself, he also gave organ and singing lessons. The organ is presently in the possession of Florida State University.

On March 27, 1852, James Pierpont published his composition “The Returned Californian”, based on his experiences in San Francisco, published in Boston by E. H. Wade of 197 Washington Street. “The Returned Californian” was originally sung by S. C. Howard, of Ordway’s Aeloians, and was written expressly for Ordway’s Aeolians “by James Pierpont Esq.” and was arranged by John Pond Ordway (1824–1880). The song describes Pierpont’s experiences during the California Gold Rush and the failure of his San Francisco business: “Oh! I’m going far away from my Creditors just now, I ain’t the tin to pay ’em and they’re kicking up a row.” The U.S. Library of Congress possesses a copy of the original sheet music for the song. The lyrics to “The Returned Californian” are as follows:

Oh, I’m going far away from my Creditors just now,
I ain’t the tin to pay ’em and they’re kicking up a row;
I ain’t one of those lucky ones that works for ‘Uncle Sam,’
There’s no chance for speculation and the mines ain’t worth a (‘d–‘) Copper.

There’s my tailor vowing vengeance and he swears he’ll give me Fitts,
And Sheriff’s running after me with pockets full of writs;
And which ever way I turn, I am sure to meet a dun,
So I guess the best thing I can do, is just to cut and run.

Oh! I wish those ‘tarnel critters that wrote home about the gold
Were in the place the Scriptures say ‘is never very cold;’
For they told about the heaps of dust and lumps so mighty big,
But they never said a single word how hard they were to dig.

So I went up to the mines and I helped to turn a stream,
And got trusted on the strength of that delusive golden dream;
But when we got to digging we found ’twas all a sham,
And we who dam’d the rivers by our creditors were damn’d.

Oh! I’m going far away but I don’t know where I’ll go,
I oughter travel homeward but they’ll laugh at me I know;
For I told ’em when I started I was bound to make a pile,
But if they could only see mine now I rather guess they’d smile.

If of these United States I was the President,
No man that owed another should ever pay a cent;
And he who dunn’d another should be banished far away,
And attention to the pretty girls is all a man should pay.

In 1853, Pierpont had published new compositions in Boston, among them “Kitty Crow”, dedicated to W. W. McKim, and “The Colored Coquette”, a minstrel song published by Oliver Ditson. “The Coquette” and an arrangement for guitar entitled “The Coquet” were also published that year. Pierpont also published an arrangement entitled “The Universal Medley”.

In 1854, Pierpont composed the songs “Geraldine” and “Ring the Bell, Fanny” for George Kunkle’s Nightingale Opera Troupe. He also copyrighted the song “To the Loved Ones at Home” in 1854 and “Poor Elsie”, a ballad, written and arranged expressly for Campbell’s Minstrels, who were rivals to Christy’s Minstrels. In 1855, he composed “The Starlight Serenade”, published by Miller and Beacham in Baltimore. Pierpont also composed “I Mourn For My Old Cottage Home”. In 1857, Pierpont had another successful hit song composition with a song written in collaboration with lyricist Marshall S. Pike, “The Little White Cottage” or “Gentle Nettie Moore”, published by Oliver Ditson and Company, and copyrighted on September 16, 1857. The songwriting credit appeared as: “Poetry by Marshall S. Pike, Esq.”, the “Melody by G. S. P.”, and “Chorus and Piano Accompaniment by J. S. [sic] Pierpont”. Pierpont’s name occasionally appeared incorrectly as “J. S. Pierpont”.[

Jamie Keena (musician)[who?], a balladeer and authority on 19th century music, who plays the guitar, banjo, fife, hammered dulcimer, and concertina, has recorded several Pierpont compositions from this period. The Pierpont compositions that were performed by Keena included “Ring the Bell, Fanny” (1854), “Quitman Town March”, and “Wait, Lady, Wait”, as well as three Confederacy songs written in the 1860s, “Our Battle Flag”, “We Conquer or Die” (1861), and “Strike for the South” (1863).

Pierpont published several ballads, polkas, such as “The Know Nothing Polka”, published by E. H. Wade in 1854, and minstrel songs.

In August 1857, James married Eliza Jane Purse, daughter of Savannah’s mayor, Thomas Purse. She soon gave birth to the first of their children, Lillie. Pierpont’s children by his first marriage remained in Massachusetts with their grandfather.

In August 1857, his song “The One Horse Open Sleigh” was published by Oliver Ditson and Company of 277 Washington Street in Boston dedicated to John P. Ordway. The song was copyrighted on September 16, 1857. The song was originally performed in a Sunday school concert on Thanksgiving in Savannah, Georgia, although it has been claimed that Pierpont wrote it in Medford, Massachusetts in 1850. In 1859, it was re-released with the title “Jingle Bells, or The One Horse Open Sleigh”. The song was not a hit as Pierpont had originally published it.

The original lyrics to “The One Horse Open Sleigh” as written by James Lord Pierpont in 1857 are as follows:

Dashing thro’ the snow,
In a one-horse open sleigh,
O’er the hills we go,
Laughing all the way;
Bells on bob tail ring,
Making spirits bright,
Oh what sport to ride and sing
A sleighing song to night.

Jingle bells, Jingle bells,
Jingle all the way;
Oh! what joy it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh.
Jingle bells, Jingle bells,
Jingle all the way;
Oh! what joy it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh.

A day or two ago,
I thought I’d take a ride,
And soon Miss Fannie Bright
Was seated by my side,
The horse was lean and lank;
Misfortune seemed his lot,
He got into a drifted bank,
And we, we got upsot.

A day or two ago,
The story I must tell
I went out on the snow
And on my back I fell;
A gent was riding by
In a one-horse open sleigh,
He laughed as there I sprawling lie,
But quickly drove away.

Now the ground is white
Go it while you’re young,
Take the girls to night
And sing this sleighing song;
Just get a bob tailed bay
Two forty as his speed.
Hitch him to an open sleigh
And crack, you’ll take the lead.

Later arrangements of the song made minor alterations to the lyrics and introduced a new, simpler melody for the chorus. In this modified form, “Jingle Bells” became one of the most popular and most recognizable songs ever written.

In 1859, the Unitarian Church in Savannah had closed because of its abolitionist position, which was unpopular in the South. By 1860, the Rev. John Pierpont, Jr. had returned to the North.

James, however, stayed in Savannah with his second wife Eliza Jane, and at the beginning of the Civil War, joined the Lamar Rangers, which became part of the Fifth Georgia Cavalry of the Confederacy. Records indicate that he served as a company clerk.

He also wrote music for the Confederacy when it seceded from the Union, including “Our Battle Flag”, “Strike for the South” and “We Conquer or Die”. His father also saw military service as a chaplain with the Union Army stationed in Washington, D.C. and later worked for the U.S. Treasury Department. Pierpont and his father were on opposite sides during the Civil War.

After the war, James moved his family to Valdosta, Georgia, where he taught music. According to Savannah author Margaret DeBolt and researcher Milton J. Rahn, Pierpont’s son, Maynard Boardman, was born in Valdosta. The 1870 Lowndes County Census listed: “Pierpont, James 48, Eliza J. 38, Lillie 16, Thomas 8, Josiah 5, and Maynard B. 4.” If Lillie is 16 in 1870, she was born in about 1854.

In 1869, Pierpont moved to Quitman, Georgia. There he was the organist in the Presbyterian Church, gave private piano lessons and taught at the Quitman Academy, retiring as the head of the Musical Department.

In 1880, Pierpont’s son, Dr. Juriah Pierpont, M.D., renewed the copyright on “Jingle Bells” but he never made much money from it. It took considerable effort to keep his father’s name permanently attached to the song after the copyright expired. More information about Dr. Pierpont can be found at Pensacola Medical Heritage on St. John’s Historic Cemetery web page.

Pierpont spent his final days at his son’s home in Winter Haven, Florida, where he died on August 5, 1893. At his request, he was buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah beside his brother-in-law Thomas who had been killed in the First Battle of Bull Run.

Other compositions

James Pierpont’s other compositions include:

  • “The Returned Californian”, 1852
  • “Kitty Crow”, Ballad, 1853
  • “The Coquette, A Comic Song”, 1853, with “Words by Miss C. B.”. “The Coquet” was an arrangement for guitar by Pierpont of “The Coquette”
  • “The Colored Coquette”, a minstrel song, 1853
  • “To the Loved Ones at Home”, 1854
  • “Ring the Bell, Fanny”, 1854
  • “Geraldine”, 1854
  • *Poor Elsie”, Ballad, 1854
  • “The Know Nothing Polka”, 1854
  • “The Starlight Serenade”, 1855
  • “To All I Love, ‘Good Night’”
  • “I Mourn For My Old Cottage Home”
  • “Gentle Nettie Moore” or as “The Little White Cottage”, 1857, Marshall S. Pike, lyrics, “Melody by G. S. P.”, “Chorus and Piano Accompaniment by J. S. [sic] Pierpont”
  • “Wait, Lady, Wait”
  • “Quitman Town March”
  • “Our Battle Flag”
  • “We Conquer or Die”, 1861
  • “Strike for the South”, 1863
  • “Oh! Let Me Not Neglected Die!”

Bob Dylan based his song “Nettie Moore” on the Modern Times (2006) album on “Gentle Nettie Moore”. The structure of the chorus and the first two lines (“Oh, I miss you Nettie Moore / And my happiness is o’er”) of Bob Dylan’s “Nettie Moore” are the same as those of “The Little White Cottage, or Gentle Nettie Moore”, the ballad published in 1857 in Boston, by Marshall S. Pike (poetry), G.S.P. (melody) and James S. Pierpont (chorus and piano accompaniment).

The Sons of the Pioneers with Roy Rogers recorded “Gentle Nettie Moore” in August 1934 for Standard Radio in Los Angeles and released it as a 33 RPM radio disc, EE Master 1720. The recording was reissued on the CD no. 4 of the 5 CD set Songs Of The Prairies: The Standard Transcriptions – Part 1: 1934-1935 on Bear Family Records, BCD 15710 EI, 1998, Germany. The songwriting credit on this collection is listed as: “Gentle Nettie Moore” (Marshall S. Pike/James Pierpont).

Honors

  • From 1890 to 1954, “Jingle Bells” was in the top 25 of the most recorded songs in history, beating out “My Old Kentucky Home”, “The Stars and Stripes Forever”, “Blue Skies”, “I Got Rhythm” and “Georgia on My Mind”.
  • In recognition of the universal success of his composition, Pierpont was elected into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
  • In 1997, a James Lord Pierpont Music Scholarship Fund was established at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia.

In popular culture

  • The Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Jingle All the Way (1996) references “Jingle Bells”.
  • “Jingle Bell Rock” references “Jingle Bells”.
  • “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” by Nat King Cole quotes from “Jingle Bells” at the close of the song.
  • “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” performed live by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band quotes the melody from “Jingle Bells” at the close.
  • In the 1975 movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest starring Jack Nicholson, an instrumental version of “Jingle Bells” is played during the party scene.
  • “White Christmas” recorded by The Drifters in 1954 features a snippet of “Jingle Bells” sung at the close of the song.
  • “Jingle Bells” was the first song performed in space on December 16, 1965, when NASA astronauts Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford, aboard Gemini 6, played it on a harmonica and bells to Mission Control. Both instruments are displayed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.


Don Gibson

Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as “Sweet Dreams” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You“, and enjoyed a string of country hits (“Oh Lonesome Me“) from 1957 into the mid-1970s.

Gibson was nicknamed “The Sad Poet” because he frequently wrote songs that told of loneliness and lost love.

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Early days

Don Gibson was born in Shelby, North Carolina into a poor working-class family. He dropped out of school in the second grade.

Career

His first band was called Sons of the Soil, with whom he made his first recording for Mercury Records in 1949. In 1957, he journeyed to Nashville to work with producer Chet Atkins and record his self-penned songs “Oh Lonesome Me” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You” for RCA Victor. The afternoon session resulted in a double-sided hit on both the country and pop charts. “Oh Lonesome Me” set the pattern for a long series of other RCA hits. “Blue Blue Day”, recorded prior to “Oh, Lonesome Me” was a number 1 hit in 1958. Later singles included “Look Who’s Blue” (1958), “Don’t Tell Me Your Troubles” (1959), “Sea of Heartbreak” (1961); “Lonesome No. 1”, “I Can Mend Your Broken Heart” (1962), and “Woman (Sensuous Woman)”, a number one country hit in 1972.

Gibson recorded a series of successful duets with Dottie West in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the most successful of which were the Number two country hit “Rings of Gold” (1969) and the top 10 hit “There’s a Story Goin’ Round” (1970). West and Gibson released an album together in 1969, titled Dottie and Don. He also recorded several duets with Sue Thompson, among these being the Top 40 hits, “I Think They Call It Love” (1972), “Good Old Fashioned Country Love” (1974) and “Oh, How Love Changes” (1975).

His song “I Can’t Stop Loving You“, has been recorded by over 700 artists, most notably by Ray Charles in 1962. He also wrote and recorded “Sweet Dreams“, a song that would become a major 1963 crossover hit for Patsy Cline. Roy Orbison was a fan of Gibson’s songwriting, and in 1967, he recorded an album of his songs simply titled Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson. Gibson’s wide appeal was also shown in Neil Young‘s recorded version of “Oh Lonesome Me” on his 1970 album After the Gold Rush, which is one of the few songs Young has recorded that he did not write.

Personal life

Gibson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973. In 2001 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2010.

The Don Gibson Theater

ocated in Cleveland County, North Carolina, The Don Gibson Theater opened on November 2009 in historic uptown Shelby. Originally constructed in 1939, the renovated art deco gem features an exhibit of the life and accomplishments of singer-songwriter Don Gibson, an intimate 400-seat music hall, and adjoining function space that can accommodate up to 275 people. The theater showcases a busy schedule of premier musical performances. Past performers have included Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, Tom Paxton, Ralph Stanley, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, John Oates and Gene Watson.

Discography

Albums

YearAlbumChart PositionsLabel
US CountryUS
1958Songs by Don GibsonLion
Oh Lonesome MeRCA
1959No One Stands Alone
That Gibson Boy
1960Look Who’s Blue
Sweet Dreams
1961Girls, Guitars and Gibson
1962Some Favorites of Mine
1964I Wrote a Song14134
God Walks These Hills
1965A Blue Million Tears
The Best of Don Gibson
Too Much Hurt13
1966Don Gibson with Spanish Guitars4
Great Country Songs14
1967All My Love19
1968The King of Country Soul21
More Country Soul26
1969Dottie and Don (with Dottie West)21
Don Gibson Sings All-Time Country Gold17
1970The Best of Don Gibson 2
Hits, The Don Gibson Way39Hickory
A Perfect Mountain
1971Hank Williams as Sung by Don Gibson
Country Green17
1972Woman (Sensuous Woman)16
The Two of Us Together (with Sue Thompson)
1973Touch the Morning / That’s What I’ll Do26Hickory/MGM
1974Snap Your Fingers21
The Very Best of Don Gibson30
Bring Back Your Love to Me38
1975I’m the Loneliest Man47
Oh, How Love Changes (with Sue Thompson)43
Don’t Stop Loving Me
1977I’m All Wrapped Up in You
If You Ever Get to Houston
1978Starting All Over Again
Look Who’s Blue

Singles

YearSingleChart PositionsAlbum
US CountryUSCAN Country
1956“Sweet Dreams”9single only
1958“Oh Lonesome Me”17Oh Lonesome Me
“I Can’t Stop Lovin’ You”781
“Blue Blue Day”120
“Give Myself a Party”546I Wrote a Song
“Look Who’s Blue”858singles only
1959“Who Cares”343
“A Stranger to Me”27
“Lonesome Old House”1171
“Don’t Tell Me Your Troubles”585I Wrote a Song
“Heartbreak Avenue”Oh, Lonesome Me
“I’m Movin’ On”14single only
1960“Big Hearted Me”29Look Who’s Blue
“Just One Time”229
“Far, Far Away”1172Sweet Dreams
“Sweet Dreams” (re-recording)693
1961“What About Me”22100
“The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise”108
“Sea of Heartbreak”221The Best of Don Gibson
“I Think It’s Best”Girls, Guitars and Gibson
“Lonesome Number One”259I Wrote a Song
“The Same Old Trouble”singles only
1962“I Can Mend Your Broken Heart”5105
“So How Come (No One Loves Me)”22
1963“Head Over Heels in Love with You”12
“It Was Worth It”
“Anything New Gets Old (Except My Love for You)”22I Wrote a Song
1964“Oh Such a Stranger”
“Cause I Believe in You”23singles only
1965“Again”19
“Watch Where You’re Going”10
1966“A Born Loser”12Great Country Songs
“(Yes) I’m Hurting”6
“Funny, Familiar, Forgotten, Feelings”8More Country Soul
1967“A Lost Highway”51Great Country Songs
“All My Love”23All My Love
1968“Ashes of Love”37The King of Country Soul
“Good Morning, Dear”71
“It’s a Long, Long Way to Georgia”1220More Country Soul
“Ever Changing Mind”30The King of Country Soul
1969“Solitary”28The Best of Don Gibson 2
“I Will Always”21singles only
“There’s a Story (Goin’ ‘Round)” (with Dottie West)7
1970“Don’t Take All Your Loving”1731A Perfect Mountain
“A Perfect Mountain”16
“Someway”3731Country Green
1971“Guess Away the Blues”194
“(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle”2929Hank Williams as Sung by Don Gibson
“Country Green”57Country Green
1972“Far, Far Away” (re-recording)126Woman (Sensuous Woman)
“Woman (Sensuous Woman)”11
“Is This the Best I’m Gonna Feel”113
1973“If You’re Goin’ Girl”269Touch the Morning / That’s What I’ll Do
“Touch the Morning”65
“That’s What I’ll Do”3083
“Snap Your Fingers”1223Snap Your Fingers
1974“One Day at a Time”830
“Good Old Fashioned Country Love” (with Sue Thompson)3129single only
“Bring Back Your Love to Me”914Bring Back Your Love to Me
1975“I’ll Sing for You”27
“(There She Goes) I Wish Her Well”2448I’m the Loneliest Man
“Don’t Stop Loving Me”43Don’t Stop Loving Me
“I Don’t Think I’ll Ever (Get Over You)”76
1976“You’ve Got to Stop Hurting Me Darling”79
“Doing My Time”39I’m All Wrapped Up in You
“I’m All Wrapped Up in You”23
1977“Fan the Flame, Feed the Fire”30If You Ever Get to Houston
“If You Ever Get to Houston (Look Me Down)”16
“When Do We Stop Starting Over”67
1978“Starting All Over Again”16Starting All Over Again
“The Fool”22
“Oh, Such a Stranger”61Look Who’s Blue
“I Love You Because”flip
“Any Day Now”2631
1979“Forever One Day at a Time”3733singles only
1980“Sweet Sensuous Sensations”42
“I’d Be Crazy Over You”
“Love Fires”80

Singles from collaboration albums

YearSingleArtistChart PositionsAlbum
US CountryCAN Country
1969“Rings of Gold”Dottie West21Dottie & Don
“Sweet Memories”32
1970“Till I Can’t Take It Anymore”46
1971“The Two of Us Together”Sue Thompson50The Two of Us Together
1972“Did You Ever Think”71
“I Think They Call It Love”37
“Cause I Love You”64
1973“Go with Me”5249
“Warm Love”5352
1975“No One Will Ever Know”Oh, How Love Changes
“Oh, How Love Changes”36
“Maybe Tomorrow”
1976“Get Ready-Here I Come”98
“Let’s Get Together”

 


Hank Williams

HiramHankWilliams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, Williams recorded 35 singles (five released posthumously) that reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, including 11 that ranked number one (three posthumously).

Born in Mount Olive, Butler County, Alabama, Williams relocated to Georgiana with his family, where he met Rufus Payne, an African American blues musician, who gave him guitar lessons in exchange for meals or money. Payne had a major influence on Williams’ later musical style, along with Roy Acuff and Ernest Tubb. Williams would later relocate to Montgomery, where he began his music career in 1937, when producers at radio station WSFA hired him to perform and host a 15-minute program. He formed the Drifting Cowboys backup band, which was managed by his mother, and dropped out of school to devote his time to his career.

When several of his band members were conscripted into military service during World War II, Williams had trouble with their replacements, and WSFA terminated his contract because of his alcohol abuse. Williams eventually married Audrey Sheppard, who was his manager for nearly a decade. After recording “Never Again” and “Honky Tonkin’” with Sterling Records, he signed a contract with MGM Records. In 1947, he released “Move It on Over”, which became a hit, and also joined the Louisiana Hayride radio program.

One year later, he released a cover of “Lovesick Blues” recorded at Herzog Studio in Cincinnati, which carried him into the mainstream of music. After an initial rejection, Williams joined the Grand Ole Opry. He was unable to read or notate music to any significant degree. Among the hits he wrote were “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, “Hey, Good Lookin’”, and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”.

Years of back pain, alcoholism and prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health. In 1952 he divorced Sheppard and was dismissed by the Grand Ole Opry because of his unreliability and alcohol abuse. On New Year’s Day 1953, he died suddenly while traveling to a concert in Canton, Ohio, at the age of 29. Despite his brief life, Williams is one of the most celebrated and influential popular musicians of the 20th century, especially in country music.

Many artists covered songs Williams wrote and recorded. He influenced Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, George Jones, Charley Pride and The Rolling Stones, among others. Williams was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (1961), the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1970), and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987). The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2010 awarded him a posthumous special citation “for his craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life.”

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Early life

Williams was born in Butler County, Alabama. His parents were Jessie Lillybelle “Lillie” (née Skipper) (1898 – 1955) and Elonzo Huble “Lon” Williams (1891 – 1970), who was of Welsh, Irish, Scottish, English, French, Swiss and German ancestry. Elonzo Williams worked as an engineer for the railroads of the W. T. Smith lumber company. He was drafted during World War I, serving from July 1918 until June 1919. He was severely injured after falling from a truck, breaking his collarbone and suffering a severe blow to the head.

After his return, the family’s first child, Ernest Huble Williams (July 5, 1921 – July 7, 1921), died shortly after birth. Their daughter Irene was born on August 8, 1922 (died 1995). Their third child, Hiram, was born on September 17, 1923, in Mount Olive.[ Since Elonzo Williams was a Mason, and his wife was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, the child was named after Hiram I of Tyre (one of the three founders of the Masons, according to Masonic legend). His name was misspelled as “Hiriam” on his birth certificate, which was prepared and signed when Hank was about 10 years old.

As a child, he was nicknamed “Harm” by his family and “Herky” or “Poots” by his friends.  He was born with spina bifida occulta, a birth defect, centered on the spinal column, which gave him lifelong pain – a factor in his later abuse of alcohol and drugs. Williams’ father was frequently relocated by the lumber company railway for which he worked, and the family lived in many southern Alabama towns. In 1930, when Williams was seven years old, his father began suffering from facial paralysis. At a Veterans Affairs (VA) clinic in Pensacola, Florida, doctors determined that the cause was a brain aneurysm, and Elonzo was sent to the VA Medical Center in Alexandria, Louisiana. He remained hospitalized for eight years, rendering him mostly absent throughout Williams’ childhood. From that time on, Lillie Williams a*sumed responsibility for the family.

In the fall of 1934, the Williams family moved to Greenville, Alabama, where Lillie opened a boarding house next to the Butler County courthouse. In 1935, the family settled in Garland, Alabama and Lillie opened a new boarding house; after a while they moved with his cousin Opal McNeil to Georgiana, Alabama, where Lillie managed to find several side jobs to support her children despite the bleak economic climate of the Great Depression. She worked in a cannery and served as a night-shift nurse in the local hospital.

Their first house burned, and the family lost their possessions. They moved to a new house on the other side of town on Rose Street, which Williams’ mother soon turned into a boarding house. The house had a small garden, on which they grew diverse crops that Williams and his sister Irene sold around Georgiana. At a chance meeting in Georgiana, Hank Williams met U.S. Representative J. Lister Hill while he was campaigning across Alabama. Williams told Hill that his mother was interested to talk with him about his problems and her need to collect Elonzo Williams’s disability pension. With Hill’s help, the family began collecting the money. Despite his medical condition, the family managed fairly well financially throughout the Great Depression.

There are several versions of how Williams got his first guitar. His mother stated that she bought it with money from selling peanuts, but many other prominent residents of the town claimed to have been the one who purchased the guitar for him. While living in Georgiana, Williams met Rufus “Tee-Tot” Payne, a street performer. Payne gave Williams guitar lessons in exchange for meals prepared by Lillie Williams or money. Payne’s base musical style was blues.

He taught Williams chords, chord progressions, bass turns, and the musical style of accompaniment that he would use in most of his future songwriting. Later on, Williams recorded one of the songs that Payne taught him, “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It”. Williams’ musical style contained influences from Payne along with several other country influences, among them “the Singing Brakeman” Jimmie Rodgers, Moon Mullican, and Roy Acuff. In 1937, Williams got into a physical altercation with his physical education coach about exercises the coach wanted him to do. His mother subsequently demanded that the school board terminate the coach; when they refused, the family moved to Montgomery, Alabama. Payne and Williams lost touch, though Payne also moved to Montgomery eventually, where he died in poverty in 1939. Williams later credited him as his only teacher.

Career

Early career

In July 1937, the Williams and McNeil families opened a boarding house on South Perry Street in downtown Montgomery. It was at this time that Williams decided to change his name informally from Hiram to Hank. As Williams told the story about it in his later concerts, the name change was supposedly all because of a cat’s yowling, though, as the authors of Hank Williams: The Biography point out, “Hank” simply sounds more like a hillbilly and western star than “Hiram”. During the same year, he participated in a talent show at the Empire Theater. He won the first prize of $15, singing his first original song “WPA Blues”. Williams wrote the lyrics and used the tune of Riley Puckett’s “Dissatisfied”.

He never learned to read music and, for the rest of his career, based his compositions in storytelling and personal experience. After school and on weekends, Williams sang and played his Silvertone guitar on the sidewalk in front of the WSFA radio studio.[ His recent win at the Empire Theater and the street performances caught the attention of WSFA producers who occasionally invited him to perform on air. So many listeners contacted the radio station asking for more of “the singing kid”, possibly influenced by his mother, that the producers hired him to host his own 15-minute show twice a week for a weekly salary of US$15 (equivalent to US$266.8 in 2020).

In August 1938, Elonzo Williams was temporarily released from the hospital. He showed up unannounced at the family’s home in Montgomery. Lillie was unwilling to let him reclaim his position as the head of the household, so he stayed only long enough to celebrate Hank’s birthday in September before he returned to the medical center in Louisiana. Hank’s mother had claimed that he was dead.

Williams’ successful radio show fueled his entry into a music career. His salary was enough for him to start his own band, which he dubbed the Drifting Cowboys. The original members were guitarist Braxton Schuffert, fiddler Freddie Beach, and comedian Smith “Hezzy” Adair. James E. (Jimmy) Porter was the youngest, being only 13 when he started playing steel guitar for Williams. Arthur Whiting was also a guitarist for the Drifting Cowboys. The band traveled throughout central and southern Alabama performing in clubs and at private gatherings. James Ellis Garner later played fiddle for him. Lillie Williams became the Drifting Cowboys’ manager. Williams dropped out of school in October 1939 so that he and the Drifting Cowboys could work full-time.[ Lillie Williams began booking show dates, negotiating prices and driving them to some of their shows. Now free to travel without Williams’ schooling taking precedence, the band could tour as far away as western Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. The band started playing in theaters before the start of the movies and later in honky-tonks. Williams’ alcohol use started to become a problem during the tours; on occasion he spent a large part of the show revenues on alcohol. Meanwhile, between tour schedules, Williams returned to Montgomery to host his radio show.

1940s

The American entry into World War II in 1941 marked the beginning of hard times for Williams. While he received a 4-F deferment from the military for his back after falling from a bull during a rodeo in Texas, his band members were all drafted to serve. Many of their replacements refused to play in the band due to Williams’ worsening alcoholism. He continued to show up for his radio show intoxicated, so in August 1942 the WSFA radio station fired him for “habitual drunkenness”. During one of his concerts, Williams met his idol, Grand Ole Opry star Roy Acuff backstage, who later warned him of the dangers of alcohol, saying, “You’ve got a million-dollar talent, son, but a ten-cent brain.”

He worked for the rest of the war for a shipbuilding company in Mobile, Alabama, as well as singing in bars for soldiers. In 1943, Williams met Audrey Sheppard at a medicine show in Banks, Alabama. Williams and Sheppard lived and worked together in Mobile. Sheppard later told Williams that she wanted to move to Montgomery with him and start a band together and help him regain his radio show. The couple were married in 1944 at a Texaco Station in Andalusia, Alabama, by a justice of the peace. The marriage was declared illegal, since Sheppard’s divorce from her previous husband did not comply with the legally required 60-day trial reconciliation.

In 1945, when he was back in Montgomery, Williams started to perform again for the WSFA radio station. He wrote songs weekly to perform during the shows. As a result of the new variety of his repertoire, Williams published his first songbook, Original Songs of Hank Williams. The book only listed lyrics, since its main purpose was to attract more audiences, though it is also possible that he did not want to pay for transcribing the notes. It included 10 songs: “Mother Is Gone”, “Won’t You Please Come Back”, “My Darling Baby Girl” (with Audrey Sheppard), “Grandad’s Musket”, “I Just Wish I Could Forget”, “Let’s Turn Back the Years”, “Honkey-Tonkey”, “I Loved No One But You”, “A Tramp on the Street”, and “You’ll Love Me Again”. With Williams beginning to be recognized as a songwriter, Sheppard became his manager and occasionally accompanied him on duets in some of his live concerts.

On September 14, 1946, Williams auditioned for Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, but was rejected. After the failure of his audition, Williams and Audrey Sheppard attempted to interest the recently formed music publishing firm Acuff-Rose Music. Williams and his wife approached Fred Rose, the president of the company, during one of his habitual ping-pong games at WSM radio studios. Audrey Williams asked Rose if her husband could sing a song for him on that moment, Rose agreed, and he liked Williams’ musical style. Rose signed Williams to a six-song contract, and leveraged this deal to sign Williams with Sterling Records. On December 11, 1946, in his first recording session, he recorded “Wealth Won’t Save Your Soul”, “Calling You”, “Never Again (Will I Knock on Your Door)”, and “When God Comes and Gathers His Jewels”, which was misprinted as “When God Comes and Fathers His Jewels”. The recordings “Never Again” and “Honky Tonkin’” became successful, and earned Williams the attention of MGM Records.

Williams signed with MGM Records in 1947 and released “Move It on Over”; considered an early example of rock and roll music, the song became a massive country hit. In 1948, he moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, and he joined the Louisiana Hayride, a radio show broadcast that propelled him into living rooms all over the Southeast appearing on weekend shows. Williams eventually started to host a show on KWKH and started touring across western Louisiana and eastern Texas, always returning on Saturdays for the weekly broadcast of the Hayride. After a few more moderate hits, in 1949 he released his version of the 1922 Cliff Friend and Irving Mills song “Lovesick Blues”,[48] made popular by Rex Griffin. Williams’ version became a huge country hit; the song stayed at number one on the Billboard charts for four consecutive months, crossing over to mainstream audiences and gaining Williams a place in the Grand Ole Opry. On June 11, 1949, Williams made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry, where he became the first performer to receive six encores. He brought together Bob McNett (guitar), Hillous Butrum (bass), Jerry Rivers (fiddle) and Don Helms (steel guitar) to form the most famous version of the Drifting Cowboys, earning an estimated US$1,000 per show (equivalent to US$10,745.5 in 2020). That year Audrey Williams gave birth to Randall Hank Williams (Hank Williams Jr.). During 1949, he joined the first European tour of the Grand Ole Opry, performing in military bases in England, Germany and the Azores. Williams released seven hit songs after “Lovesick Blues”, including “Wedding Bells”, “Mind Your Own Business”, “You’re Gonna Change (Or I’m Gonna Leave)”, and “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It”.

1950s

In 1950, Williams began recording as “Luke the Drifter” for his religious-themed recordings, many of which are recitations rather than singing. Fearful that disc jockeys and jukebox operators would hesitate to accept these unusual recordings, Williams used this alias to avoid hurting the marketability of his name. Although the real identity of Luke the Drifter was supposed to be anonymous, Williams often performed part of the material of the recordings on stage. Most of the material was written by Williams himself, in some cases with the help of Fred Rose and his son Wesley. The songs depicted Luke the Drifter traveling around from place to place, narrating stories of different characters and philosophizing about life. Some of the compositions were accompanied by a pipe organ.

Around this time Williams released more hit songs, such as “My Son Calls Another Man Daddy”, “They’ll Never Take Her Love from Me”, “Why Should We Try Anymore”, “Nobody’s Lonesome for Me”, “Long Gone Lonesome Blues”, “Why Don’t You Love Me”, “Moanin’ the Blues”, and “I Just Don’t Like This Kind of Living”.  In 1951, “Dear John” became a hit, but it was the flip side, “Cold, Cold Heart”, that became one of his most recognized songs. A pop cover version by Tony Bennett released the same year stayed on the charts for 27 weeks, peaking at number one.

Williams’ career reached a peak in the late summer of 1951 with his Hadacol tour of the U.S. with actor Bob Hope and other luminaries. On the weekend after the tour ended, Williams was photographed backstage at the Grand Ole Opry signing a motion picture deal with MGM. In October, Williams recorded a demo, “There’s a Tear in My Beer” for a friend, “Big Bill Lister”, who recorded it in the studio. The demo was later overdubbed by his son, Hank Williams Jr. On November 14, 1951, Williams flew to New York with his steel guitar player Don Helms where he appeared on television for the first time on The Perry Como Show. There he and Perry Como sang “Hey Good Lookin’”. Photos but no existing footage remain of this appearance.

“Ramblin’ Man” was written in 1951 by Williams. It was released as the B-side to the 1953 #1 hit “Take These Chains from My Heart”, as well as to the 1976 re-release of “Why Don’t You Love Me”. It is also included on 40 Greatest Hits, a staple of his CD re-released material.

In November 1951, Williams suffered a fall during a hunting trip with his fiddler Jerry Rivers in Franklin, Tennessee. The fall reactivated his old back pains. He later started to consume painkillers, including morphine, and alcohol to help ease the pain. On May 21, he had been admitted to North Louisiana Sanitarium for the treatment of his alcoholism, leaving on May 24. On December 13, 1951, he had a spinal fusion at the Vanderbilt University Hospital, being released on December 24. During his recovery, he lived with his mother in Montgomery, and later moved to Nashville with Ray Price.

During the spring of 1952, Williams flew to New York with steel guitarist Don Helms, where he made two appearances with other Grand Ole Opry members on The Kate Smith Show. He sang “Cold, Cold Heart”, “Hey Good Lookin””, “Glory Bound Train” and “I Saw the Light” with other cast members, and a duet, “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love with You)” with Anita Carter. Footage remains of these appearances. That same year, had a brief extramarital affair with dancer Bobbie Jett, with whom he fathered a daughter, Jett Williams (born January 6, 1953, two days after his burial).

In June 1952, he recorded “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)”, “Window Shopping”, “Settin’ the Woods on Fire”, and “I’ll Never Get out of this World Alive”. Audrey Williams divorced him that year; the next day he recorded “You Win Again” and “I Won’t be Home No More”. Around this time, he met Billie Jean Jones, a girlfriend of country singer Faron Young, at the Grand Ole Opry. As a girl, Jones had lived down the street from Williams when he was with the Louisiana Hayride, and now Williams began to visit her frequently in Shreveport, causing him to miss many Grand Ole Opry appearances.

On August 11, 1952, Williams was dismissed from the Grand Ole Opry for habitual drunkenness and missing shows. He returned to Shreveport, Louisiana to perform on KWKH and WBAM shows and in the Louisiana Hayride, for which he toured again. His performances were acclaimed when he was sober, but despite the efforts of his work a*sociates to get him to shows sober, his abuse of alcohol resulted in occasions when he did not appear or his performances were poor. In October 1952 he married Billie Jean Jones.

During his last recording session on September 23, 1952, Williams recorded “Kaw-Liga”, along with “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, “Take These Chains from My Heart”, and “I Could Never be Ashamed of You”. Due to Williams’ excesses, Fred Rose stopped working with him. By the end of 1952, Williams had started to suffer heart problems. He met Horace “Toby” Marshall in Oklahoma City, who said that he was a doctor. Marshall had been previously convicted for forgery, and had been paroled and released from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in 1951. Among other fake titles, he said that he was a Doctor of Science. He purchased the DSC title for $25 from the Chicago School of Applied Science; in the diploma, he requested that the DSC be spelled out as “Doctor of Science and Psychology”. Under the name of Dr. C. W. Lemon he prescribed Williams with amphetamines, Seconal, chloral hydrate, and morphine, which made his heart problems worse. His final concert was held in Austin, Texas at the Skyline Club on December 19.

Personal life

On December 15, 1944, Williams married Audrey Sheppard. It was her second marriage and his first. Their son, Randall Hank Williams, who would achieve fame in his own right as Hank Williams Jr., was born on May 26, 1949. The marriage, always turbulent, rapidly disintegrated, and Williams developed serious problems with alcohol, morphine, and other painkillers prescribed for him to ease the severe back pain caused by his spina bifida. The couple divorced on May 29, 1952.

In June 1952, Williams moved in with his mother, even as he released numerous hit songs, such as “Half as Much” in April, “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” in July, “Settin’ the Woods on Fire”/”You Win Again” in September, and “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive” in November. His substance abuse problems continued to spiral out of control as he moved to Nashville and officially divorced his wife. A relationship with a woman named Bobbie Jett during this period resulted in a daughter, Jett Williams, who was born five days after Williams’ death. His mother adopted Jett, who was made a ward of the state and then adopted by another couple after her grandmother died. Jett Williams did not learn that she was Hank Williams’ daughter until the early 1980s.

On October 18, 1952, Williams and Billie Jean Jones Eshlimar were married in Minden, Louisiana  by a justice of the peace. It was the second marriage for both (each being divorced with children). The next day, two public ceremonies were also held at the New Orleans Civic Auditorium, where 14,000 seats were sold for each. After Williams’ death, a judge ruled that the wedding was not legal because Jones Eshlimar’s divorce had not become final until 11 days after she married Williams. Williams’ first wife, Audrey, and his mother, Lillie Williams, were the driving forces behind having the marriage declared invalid and pursued the matter for years. Williams had also married Audrey Sheppard before her divorce was final, on the 10th day of a required 60-day reconciliation period.

In the 1952 presidential election campaign, Williams was a vocal supporter of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican party nominee. According to singer and recording artist Jo Stafford, Williams sent Eisenhower a birthday telegram on October 14 informing him that he considered it a personal honor to endorse a military figure to lead the nation in its coming future. Eisenhower was sworn in as the 34th president 19 days after Williams’ death.

Death

Williams was scheduled to perform at the Municipal Auditorium in Charleston, West Virginia, on Wednesday December 31, 1952. Advance ticket sales totaled US$3,500. That day, because of an ice storm in the Nashville area, Williams could not fly, so he hired a college student, Charles Carr, to drive him to the concerts. Carr called the Charleston auditorium from Knoxville to say that Williams would not arrive on time owing to the ice storm and was ordered to drive Williams to Canton, Ohio, for the New Year’s Day concert there.

They arrived at the Andrew Johnson Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Carr requested a doctor for Williams, as he was feeling the combination of the chloral hydrate and alcohol he had drunk on the way from Montgomery to Knoxville.[ Dr. P. H. Cardwell injected Williams with two shots of vitamin B12 that also contained a quarter-grain of morphine. Carr and Williams checked out of the hotel; the porters had to carry Williams to the car, as he was coughing and hiccuping.

At around midnight on Thursday, January 1, 1953, when they crossed the Tennessee state line and arrived in Bristol, Virginia, Carr stopped at a small all-night restaurant and asked Williams if he wanted to eat. Williams said he did not, and those are believed to be his last words. Carr later drove on until he stopped for fuel at a gas station in Oak Hill, West Virginia, where he realized that Williams was dead, and rigor mortis had already set in. The filling station’s owner called the chief of the local police. In Williams’ Cadillac, the police found some empty beer cans and unfinished handwritten lyrics.

Dr. Ivan Malinin performed the autopsy at the Tyree Funeral House. Malinin found hemorrhages in the heart and neck and pronounced the cause of death as “insufficiency of the right ventricle of the heart”. That evening, when the announcer at Canton announced Williams’ death to the gathered crowd, they started laughing, thinking that it was just another excuse. After Hawkshaw Hawkins and other performers started singing “I Saw the Light” as a tribute to Williams, the crowd, now realizing that he was indeed dead, sang along. Malinin also wrote that Williams had been severely beaten and kicked in the groin recently. Also, local magistrate Virgil F. Lyons ordered an inquest into Williams’ death concerning the welt that was visible on his head.

His body was transported to Montgomery, Alabama on Friday, January 2, and placed in a silver coffin that was first shown at his mother’s boarding house for two days. His funeral took place on Sunday, January 4, at the Montgomery Auditorium, with his coffin placed on the flower-covered stage.  An estimated 15,000 to 25,000 people passed by the silver coffin, and the auditorium was filled with 2,750 mourners. His funeral was said to have been far larger than any ever held for any other citizen of Alabama and the largest event ever held in Montgomery. Williams’ remains are interred at the Oakwood Annex in Montgomery. The president of MGM told Billboard magazine that the company got only about five requests for pictures of Williams during the weeks before his death, but over three hundred afterwards. The local record shops reportedly sold all their Williams records, and customers were asking for all records ever released by Williams.

His final single, released in November 1952 while he was still alive, was titled “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive”. “Your Cheatin’ Heart” was written and recorded in September 1952 but released in late January 1953 after Williams’ death. The song, backed by “Kaw-Liga”, was number one on the country charts for six weeks. It provided the title for the 1964 biographical film of the same name, which starred George Hamilton. “Take These Chains From My Heart” was released in April 1953 and went to number 1 on the country charts. “I Won’t Be Home No More”, released in July, went to number 3, and an overdubbed demo, “Weary Blues From Waitin’”, written with Ray Price, went to number 7.

Legacy

Williams is widely recognized as “the King of Country Music”,[ a title he shares with fellow artists Roy Acuff, Johnny Cash, and George Strait.

Alabama governor Gordon Persons officially proclaimed September 21 “Hank Williams Day”. The first celebration, in 1954, featured the unveiling of a monument at the Cramton Bowl that was later placed at the gravesite of Williams. The ceremony featured Ferlin Husky interpreting “I Saw the Light”.

Williams had 11 number one country hits in his career (“Lovesick Blues”, “Long Gone Lonesome Blues”, “Why Don’t You Love Me”, “Moanin’ the Blues”, “Cold, Cold Heart”, “Hey, Good Lookin’”, “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)”, “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive”, “Kaw-Liga”, “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, and “Take These Chains from My Heart”), as well as many other top 10 hits.

On February 8, 1960, Williams’ star was placed at 6400 Hollywood Boulevard on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame[94] in 1961 and into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1985. When Downbeat magazine took a poll the year after Williams’ death, he was voted the most popular country and Western performer of all time—ahead of such giants as Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, Red Foley, and Ernest Tubb.

In 1964, Hank Williams was portrayed by George Hamilton in the film Your Cheatin’ Heart.

In 1977, a national organization of CB truck drivers voted “Your Cheatin’ Heart” as their favorite record of all time. In 1987, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame under the category “Early Influence”. He was ranked second in CMT’s 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003, behind only Johnny Cash who wrote the song “The Night Hank Williams Came To Town”. His son, Hank Jr., was ranked on the same list.

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him number 74 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Many artists of the 1950s and 1960s, including Elvis Presley,[102] Bob Dylan, Tammy Wynette, David Houston, Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard,[103] Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins, Ricky Nelson, and Conway Twitty recorded Williams’ songs during their careers.

In 2011, Williams’ 1949 MGM number one hit, “Lovesick Blues”, was inducted into the Recording Academy Grammy Hall of Fame. The same year, Hank Williams: The Complete Mother’s Best Recordings …Plus! was honored with a Grammy nomination for Best Historical Album.[108] In 1999, Williams was inducted into the Native American Music Hall of Fame. On April 12, 2010, the Pulitzer Prize Board awarded Williams a posthumous special citation that paid tribute to his “craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life”. Keeping his legacy alive, Williams’ son, Hank Williams Jr., daughter Jett Williams, grandson Hank Williams III, and granddaughters Hilary Williams[citation needed] and Holly Williams are also country musicians.

In 2006, a janitor of Sony/ATV Music Publishing found in a dumpster the unfinished lyrics written by Williams that had been found in his car the night he died. The worker claimed that she sold Williams’ notes to a representative of the Honky-Tonk Hall of Fame and the Rock-N-Roll Roadshow. The janitor was accused of theft, but the charges were later dropped when a judge determined that her version of events was true. The unfinished lyrics were later returned to Sony/ATV, which handed them to Bob Dylan in 2008 to complete the songs for a new album. Ultimately, the completion of the album included recordings by Alan Jackson, Norah Jones, Jack White, Lucinda Williams, Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell, Patty Loveless, Levon Helm, Jakob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, and Merle Haggard. The album, named The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams, was released on October 4, 2011.

Material recorded by Williams, originally intended for radio broadcasts to be played when he was on tour or for its distribution to radio stations nationwide, resurfaced throughout time.  In 1993, a double-disc set of recordings of Williams for the Health & Happiness Show was released. Broadcast in 1949, the shows were recorded for the promotion of Hadacol. The set was re-released on Hank Williams: The Legend Begins in 2011. The album included unreleased songs. “Fan It” and “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”, recorded by Williams at age 15; the homemade recordings of him singing “Freight Train Blues”, “New San Antonio Rose”, “St. Louis Blues” and “Greenback Dollar” at age 18; and a recording for the 1951 March of Dimes.[ In May 2014, further radio recordings by Williams were released. The Garden Spot Programs, 1950, a series of publicity segments for plant nursery Naughton Farms originally aired in 1950. The recordings were found by collector George Gimarc at radio station KSIB in Creston, Iowa.[ Gimarc contacted Williams’ daughter Jett, and Colin Escott, writer of a biography book on Williams. The material was restored and remastered by Michael Graves and released by Omnivore Recordings. The release won a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album.

British actor Tom Hiddleston portrayed Williams in the biopic I Saw the Light, based on Colin Escott’s 1994 book Hank Williams: The Biography. Marc Abraham directed the film. The film was released in June 2016.

Lawsuits over the estate

After Williams’ death, Audrey Williams filed a suit in Nashville against MGM Records and Acuff-Rose. The suit demanded that both of the publishing companies continue to pay her half of the royalties from Hank Williams’ records. Williams had an agreement giving his first wife half of the royalties, but allegedly there was no clarification that the deal was valid after his death. Because Williams may have left no will, the disposition of the remaining 50 percent was considered uncertain; those involved included Williams’ second wife, Billie Jean Horton and her daughter, and Hank Williams’ mother and sister. On October 22, 1975, a federal judge in Atlanta, Georgia, ruled Horton’s marriage to Williams was valid and that half of Williams’ future royalties belonged to her.

WSM’s Mother’s Best Flour

In 1951, Williams hosted a 15-minute show for Mother’s Best Flour on WSM radio. Due to Williams’ tour schedules, some of the shows were previously recorded to be played in his absence. The original acetates made their way to the possession of Jett Williams. Prior to that, duplicates were made and intended to be published by a third party. In February 2005, the Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling stating that Williams’ heirs—son, Hank Williams Jr, and daughter, Jett Williams—have the sole rights to sell his recordings made for a Nashville radio station in 1951.

The court rejected claims made by Polygram Records and Legacy Entertainment in releasing recordings Williams made for the Mother’s Best Flour Show. The recordings, which Legacy Entertainment acquired in 1997, include live versions of Williams’ hits and his cover version of other songs. Polygram contended that Williams’ contract with MGM Records, which Polygram now owns, gave them rights to release the radio recordings. A 3-CD selection of the tracks, restored by Joe Palmaccio, was released by Time-Life in October 2008 titled The Unreleased Recordings.


Blood Red And Going Down

By: Curly Putman
Tanya Tucker
Key: D

-6* -6* -6* -6* -6* -6* -6* -6* 7 -6* -6*
That Geor-gia sun was blood red and go-in’ down.
6 -6* -6* -6* -6* 7 6 6 6 -5 -5
That Geor-gia sun was blood red and go-in’ down.

-6*-6* -6* -6* -6* -6*
Dad-dy said: “Now come girl,
-3 -6* -6* -6* -6* -6* -5 -5 6 -6*
we’re head-in’ down the road to Au-gus-ta.”
-3 -6* -6* -6* -6* -6* -6*
And faint-ly through his clenched teeth,
-6* -6* -6* -6* -6* -5 -5 -5 -5 5
he called Ma-ma’s name, and then he cussed her.
7 7 7 7 7 -5
He said: “Girl, you’re young,
7 7 7 7 7 7 7
but some dude has come a-long
7 -7 -7 -7 -6*
and stole your moth-er.”
6 -6* -6* -6* -6* 7 -6* 6 -5
But you can’t steal a will-in’ mind
-5 6 6 6 6 6 5* -3 -3 -4 -5
Cause ma-ma’s al-ways look-in’ for a lov-er.

-6* -6* -6* -6* -6* -6* -6* -6* 7 -6* -6*
That Geor-gia sun was blood red and go-in’ down.
6 -6* -6* -6* -6* 7 6 6 6 -5 -5
That Geor-gia sun was blood red and go-in’ down.

With dusty teardrops in his face, my daddy cried an’ big steps he was
takin’.
An’ halfway runnin’ to keep up, my shorter legs were so tired and
shakin’.
“Where did I go wrong, girl? Why would she leave us both this way?”
At times like these, a child with tears never knows exactly what to
say

That Georgia sun was blood red and goin’ down.
That Georgia sun was blood red and goin’ down.

We searched in every bar room, an’ honky-tonk as well.
An’ finally Daddy found them, but Lord, you know, the rest is hard to
tell.
He sent me out to wait, but scared, I looked back through the door.
An’ Daddy left them both soakin’ up the sawdust on the floor.

That Georgia sun was blood red and goin’ down.
That Georgia sun was blood red and goin’ down.
That Georgia sun was blood red and goin’ down.
That Georgia sun was blood red and goin’ down.


You and me and a dog named Boo

4 -4 5 5 5 6 5
I remember to this day
5 -4 4 4 -4 5
The bright red Georgia clay
5 5 5 5 6 5
How it stuck to the tires
5 -4 4 -4 4 -4
After the summer rain.
4 -4 5 5 5 5 6 5
Will power made that old car go
-4 -4 5 -4 4 4 -4 5
A woman’s mind told me that’s so
5 5 5 5 5 5 -4
Oh, how I wish we were back
-4 -4 -4 4 4
On the road again.

-5 -5 6 6 -5 -5 5 5
Me and you and a dog named Boo
-4 -4 -4 -4 -4 4 -4 5
Travellin’ and livin’ off the land.
-5 -5 6 6 -5 -5 5 5
Me and you and a dog named Boo
5 5 -4 -4 -4 4 -4 4
How I love bein’ a free man.

4 5 5 5 6 5
Now I can still recall
5 -4 4 4 -4 5
The wheat-fields of Saint Paul
4 -4 5 5 5 6 5
And the mornin’ we got caught
5 5 5 -4 4 -4
Robbin’ from an old hen,
4 -4 5 5 5 5 6 5
Old MacDonald, he made us work
5 -4 5 -4 4 4 4 4 -4 5
But then he paid us for what it was worth
4 5 5 5 5 5 -4 -4
Another tank of gas and back
-4 -4 -4 4 4
On the road again.

-5 -5 6 6 -5 -5 5 5
Me and you and a dog named Boo
-4 -4 -4 -4 -4 4 -4 5
Travellin’ and livin’ off the land.
-5 -5 6 6 -5 -5 5 5
Me and you and a dog named Boo
5 5 -4 -4 -4 4 -4 4
How I love bein’ a free man.

4 -4 5 5 5 5 6 5
Now I’ll never forget that day
5 -4 5 -4 4 4 4 4 -4 5
We motored stately into big L. A.
4 5 5 5 5 5 5
The lights of the city put
5 5 5 4 5 -4
Settlin’ down in my brain,
4 4 4 -4 5 5 5 6 5
Though it’s only been a month or so
5 -4 5 -4 4 4 4 -4 5
That old car’s buggin’ us to go
4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 -4
You gotta get away and get back
-4 -4 -4 4 4
On the road again.

-5 -5 6 6 -5 -5 5 5
Me and you and a dog named Boo
-4 -4 -4 -4 -4 4 -4 5
Travellin’ and livin’ off the land.
-5 -5 6 6 -5 -5 5 5
Me and you and a dog named Boo
5 5 -4 -4 -4 4 -4 4
How I love bein’ a free man.

-5 -5 6 6 -5 -5 5 5
Me and you and a dog named Boo
-4 -4 -4 -4 -4 4 -4 5
Travellin’ and livin’ off the land.
-5 -5 6 6 -5 -5 5 5
Me and you and a dog named Boo
5 5 -4 -4 -4 4 -4 4
How I love bein’ a free man.

-5 -5 6 6 -5 -5 5 5
Me and you and a dog named Boo
-4 -4 -4 -4 -4 4 -4 5
Travellin’ and livin’ off the land.
-5 -5 6 6 -5 -5 5 5
Me and you and a dog named Boo
5 5 -4 -4 -4 4 -4 4
How I love bein’ a free man.


Dance With Me Henry (The Wallflower)

DANCE WITH ME HENRY (The Wallflower)
By: Hank Ballard, Etta James, Johnny Otis
Georgia Gibbs
Key: F

-6 -6 -6 4 4 -3* 3* 3 -2-1*
(Hey ba-by, what do I have to do
-5* -5* -5 5 -5-5* -55
to make you love me too?)

1 -1 1 -2 -2 -1 -2 -3
You got-ta roll with me Hen ry
-5 5 -3 -2
(all right ba-by)
-2 -2 -1 -2 -3
Roll with me Hen-ry
-5 -5 -5 5
(don’t mean may-be)
-1 -2 -2 3 3
Roll with me Hen-ry
-5 5 -5 5 3*
(an-y old time)
-2 -2 -2 -2 -2
Roll with me Hen-ry
-5 -5 5 -33-2
(won’t change my mind)
1 3 3 3 -33
Roll with me Hen-ry
-3 3-2
(all right)
-2 -2 -2 -3 -2 -2 -3 -3 -3 -2
You bet-ter roll while the rol-lin is on
-2 2 -2 -2 2 -2 -2 2 -2
Roll on, roll on, roll on

-1 -2 3 -2 -2 -2
While the cats are ball-in’
-3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2
You bet-ter stop your stall-in’
-2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -2 -2 3 3*
It’s in-ter-mis-sion in a min-ute
3* 3* -2 -1 -2 -2 -2
So you bet-ter get with it
1 3 3 3 -33
Roll with me Hen-ry
-2 -2 -2 -3 -2 -2 -3 -3 -3 -2
You bet-ter roll while the rol-lin is on
-2 2 -2 -2 2 -2 -2 2 -2
Roll on, roll on, roll on

1 -2-1 1 -2-1 -23*3 -2
Ah-ooh, ah-ooh, ooh wee
-1 -2 3 -2 3* 3 -2
Hen-ry, you ain’t mov-in’ me
-2 -1 1 -2-1 -2-1 3* 3 -2
You bet-ter feel that boog-ie beat
-2 -2 3 3 3* 3 -2
Get the lead out of your feet
-2 -2 -1 -2 -3
Roll with me Hen-ry
-2 -2 -1 -2 -3
Roll with me Hen-ry
-1 -2 -2 3 3*
Roll with me Hen-ry
-2 -2 -1 -2 -2
Roll with me Hen-ry
1 3 3 3 -3 3
Roll with me Hen-ry
-1 -2 -2 -3 -2 -2 -3 -3 -3 -2
You bet-ter roll while the roll-in is on

-2 2 -2 -2 2 -2 -2 2 -2
Roll on, roll on, roll on
1 -1 3 -2 -2 -2
Well, I ain�t teas-in�
-5 5 -3 -5
(Talk to me babe)
-3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2
You bet-ter stop your freez-in�
-5 5 -3 -2
(al-right ma-ma)
-2 -2 -1 -1 -2 3 3*
If you wan-na ro-man-cin�
-5-5 -5 6
(O K sug-ar)
3* 3* 3* -2 -2 -2 -2
You bet-ter learn some danc-in
1 3 3 3 -3 3
Roll with me Hen-ry
-2 -2 -2 -3 -3 -2 -2 -3 -3 -3 -2
You bet-ter roll it while the roll-in is on
-2 2 -2 -2 2 -2 -2 2 -2
Roll on roll on roll on

1 -1 1 -2 -2 -1 -2 -3
You got-ta roll with me Hen ry
-5 5 -3 -2
(all right ba-by)
-2 -2 -1 -2 -3
Roll with me Hen-ry
-5 -5 -5 5
(don’t mean may-be)
-1 -2 -2 3 3
Roll with me Hen-ry
-5 5 -5 5 3*
(an-y old time)
-2 -2 -2 -2 -2
Roll with me Hen-ry
-5 -5 5 -33-2
(won’t change my mind)
1 3 3 3 -33
Roll with me Hen-ry
-3 3-2
(all right)
-2 -2 -2 -3 -2 -2 -3 -3 -3 -2
You bet-ter roll while the rol-lin is on
-2 2 -2 -2 2 -2 -2 2 -2
Roll on, roll on, roll on

-1 -2 3 -2 -2 -2
While the cats are ball-in’
-3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2
You bet-ter stop your stall-in’
-2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -2 -2 3 3*
It’s in-ter-mis-sion in a min-ute
3* 3* -2 -1 -2 -2 -2
So you bet-ter get with it
1 3 3 3 -33
Roll with me Hen-ry
-2 -2 -2 -3 -2 -2 -3 -3 -3 -2
You bet-ter roll while the rol-lin is on
-2 2 -2 -2 2 -2 -2 2 -2
Roll on, roll on, roll on

1 -2-1 1 -2-1 -23*3 -2
Ah-ooh, ah-ooh, ooh wee
-1 -2 3 -2 3* 3 -2
Hen-ry, you ain’t mov-in’ me
-2 -1 1 -2-1 -2-1 3* 3 -2
You bet-ter feel that boog-ie beat
-2 -2 3 3 3* 3 -2
Get the lead out of your feet
-2 -2 -1 -2 -3
Roll with me Hen-ry
-2 -2 -1 -2 -3
Roll with me Hen-ry
-1 -2 -2 3 3*
Roll with me Hen-ry
-2 -2 -1 -2 -2
Roll with me Hen-ry
1 3 3 3 -3 3
Roll with me Hen-ry
-1 -2 -2 -3 -2 -2 -3 -3 -3 -2
You bet-ter roll while the roll-in is on

-2 2 -2 -2 2 -2 -2 2 -2
Roll on, roll on, roll on
1 -1 3 -2 -2 -2
Well, I ain�t teas-in�
-5 5 -3 -5
(Talk to me babe)
-3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2
You bet-ter stop your freez-in�
-5 5 -3 -2
(al-right ma-ma)
-2 -2 -1 -1 -2 3 3*
If you wan-na ro-man-cin�
-5-5 -5 6
(O K sug-ar)
3* 3* 3* -2 -2 -2 -2
You bet-ter learn some danc-in
1 3 3 3 -3 3
Roll with me Hen-ry
-2 -2 -2 -3 -3 -2 -2 -3 -3 -3 -2
You bet-ter roll it while the roll-in is on
-2 2 -2 -2 2 -2 -2 2 -2
Roll on roll on roll on


Back In The U.S.S.R.

-5 <5 -5 <5 -5 <5 -5 5 -5 -5 -5
Flew in from Miami— Beach B. O. A. C.
5 5 -5 6 -3 -3 -3
Didn’t get to bed last night
-5 5 -5 5 -5 5 -5 5 -5 -5 -5
On the way the paper bag was on my knee
5 5 -5 6 -3 -3 -3
Man I had a dreadful flight
-5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 <5
I’m back in the U. S. S. R.
5 -5 5 -5 -5 5 -5 5 -3
You don’t know how lucky you are boy
-5 -3 -3 -5 -5 -5 5
Back in the U. S. S. R.

-5 <5 -5 <5 -5 <5 -5 5 -5 -5 -5
Been away so long I hardly knew the place
5 5 -5 6 -3 -3 -3
Gee it’s good to be back home
-5 5 -5 5 -5 5 -5 5 -5 -5 -5
Leave it till tomorrow to unpack my case
5 5 -5 6 -3 -3 -3
Honey disconnect the phone
-5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 <5
I’m back in the U. S. S. R.
5 -5 5 -5 -5 5 -5 5 -3
You don’t know how lucky you are boy
-5 -3 -3 -5 -5
Back in the U. S.
-5 -3 -3 -5 -5
Back in the U. S.
-5 -3 -3 -5 -5 -5 -5 <5
Back in the U. S. S. R—.

1 1 -1 <-2 -3 -4 -3 5 -4 -3
Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out
<-2 2 <-2 2 -3 <-2 2
They leave the– West behind
2 -1 <-2 -3 -4 -3 5 -4 -4
And Moscow girls make me sing and shout
-5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5
That Georgia’s always on
-4 -4 -4 5 5 5 5 5 5 -3 -4 -3
my my my my my my my my my mind—-

-5 <5 -5 <5 -5 <5 -5 5 -5 -5 -5
Show me ’round your snow-peaked mountains way down south
5 5 -5 6 -3 -3 -3
Take me to your daddy’s farm
-5 5 -5 5 -5 5 -5 5 -5 -5 -5
Let me hear your balalaika’s ringing out
5 5 -5 6 -3 -3 -3
Come and keep your comrade warm
-5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 <5
I’m back in the U. S. S. R.
5 -5 5 -5 -5 5 -5 5 -3
You don’t know how lucky you are boy
-5 -3 -3 -5 -5 -5 5
Back in the U. S. S. R.

1 1 -1 <-2 -3 -4 -3 5 -4 -3
Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out
<-2 2 <-2 2 -3 <-2 2
They leave the– West behind
2 -1 <-2 -3 -4 -3 5 -4 -4
And Moscow girls make me sing and shout
-5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5
That Georgia’s always on
-4 -4 -4 5 5 5 5 5 5 -3 -4 -3
my my my my my my my my my mind—-

-5 -3 -3 -5 -5 -5 <5
Back in the U. S. S. R.
-5 -3 -3 -5 -5 -5 <5
Back in the U. S. S. R.
-5 -3 -3 -5 -5 -5 <5
Back in the U. S. S. R.
-5 -3 -3 -5 -5 -5 <5
Back in the U. S. S. R.
-5 -3 -3 -5 -5 -5 <5
Back in the U. S. S. R.
-5 -3 -3 -5 -5 -5 <5
Back in the U. S. S. R.