18 Years Ago Today, Country Music Lost the Last of Hank Williams’ Drifting Cowboys, Who Played Steel Guitar for Dozens of Hall of Famers

On this day (August 11) in 2008, Don Helms died in Nashville, Tennessee, from complications of diabetes and heart surgery. He was a prolific steel guitarist who played with more than 50 members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Notably, he appeared on most of Hank Williams’ hit songs and played the iconic intro on Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight.”

Helms grew up in a musical family. His dad played fiddle for square dances. He and his brother also learned to play fiddle and guitar. So, he had a solid musical foundation when he discovered the steel guitar.

“I had a cousin who had a record player and some records, and of course, I listened to the Grand Ole Opry. I could hear Oswald playing with Roy Acuff, and I liked the way that sounded,” he recalled in an interview with the Southern Music Research Center. “This friend of mine had some Bob Wills records. He’d play that, and Bob Wills would say, ‘Ah, take it away, Leon.’ I didn’t know who Leon was or what he was taking away, but I’d think that’s what I want to do right there,” he added. “That’s what really turned me on to the steel guitar.”

Don Helms Meets Hank Williams

After he got his first steel guitar, Don Helms started playing in a band called the Alabama Rhythm Boys with Sammy Pruitt and some other musicians from southern Alabama. One of his bandmates had traveled to Montgomery on his day off and met Hank Williams, who was looking to put a band together.

He returned and asked the rest of the Rhythm Boys if they would like to work with Williams. “Well, it probably wouldn’t be any worse than this,” Helms told him. Together, they went and met Williams and, after being issued billy clubs for personal protection, they became the Drifting Cowboys.

Helms was with the band for a short time before he was drafted into the Army in 1945, shortly after he turned 18. After he finished his short stint in the armed forces, he returned to Alabama. However, he didn’t stay with the Drifting Cowboys long. Instead, he took a gig that paid better. Williams told Helms he’d let him go, but would call him when he made it to the Grand Ole Opry.

The first night that Williams played as an official member of the Opry, Helms was there. Except for the studio session that yielded “I Just Don’t Like This Kind of Living,” “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It,” and “There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight,” Helms played steel guitar on every concert, recording, and television appearance from then until Williams died in 1953.

Helms Was an In-Demand Session Player

Don Helms didn’t just play steel guitar for Hank Williams. He also appeared on dozens of legendary recordings. For instance, he played the instantly recognizable intro on Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight.” Helms also appeared on Loretta Lynn’s “Blue Kentucky Girl” and Left Frizzell’s original recording of “Long Black Veil.” His steel guitar can be heard on several of Johnny Cash’s early Columbia Records albums as well.

Helms also played with Hank Williams Jr. He wrote and played on “The Ballad of Hank Williams,” which appears on Hank Jr.’s The Pressure Is On. He has also performed with Jett Williams, Hank Sr.’s daughter.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1949, Hank Williams Stepped Into a Nashville Studio and Recorded Three Top 5 Hits]

Don Helms was the last living Drifting Cowboy and proudly carried their legacy, and that of Hank Williams, until his last days.

Featured Image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images