Hank Williams died more than 70 years ago but his legacy and influence live on through generations of country artists. Even those who sound nothing like Williams owe their place in the genre to him on some level. Recently, modern country star Riley Green took a moment to pay tribute to the late legend with a hauntingly beautiful cover of “(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle.”
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Recently, Green has been performing more classic country covers during his shows. Yesterday (January 2), he took to social media to share a stripped-down acoustic cover of the classic tune. Those who listen to the “You Look Like You Love Me” singer’s output might think that covering a Hank song would be outside of his comfort zone. However, he seems right at home here. Green even nails the vocal inflection that made Williams stand out from other country crooners of his generation.
Riley Green On Why He Loves Playing Solo Acoustic Songs
Last year, Riley Green spoke to Apple Music to talk about his latest album, Don’t Mind If I Do. During the conversation, he talked about what led him to make the record. During the conversation, he revealed why he enjoys playing solo acoustic versions of songs.
He was reflecting on the music he was surrounded by when he was young. “Then, if you heard a song, you wanted to go watch the music video. Now, for whatever reason, when I hear a song I like, I want to go watch a video of them playing it acoustic,” he said. “I like to see a really broken-down version of it. I feel like fans are that way. They can tell if something is true to the person singing it or not kind of by watching them play it,” he added. “So, I always love playing songs acoustic for that reason.”
The video above shows Green being right at home playing and singing a song that Hank Williams released in 1951. As he pointed out above, seeing him take on a song from the Hillbilly Shakespeare and knock it out of the park speaks volumes to how deeply he is influenced by the genre’s foundational artists.
Featured Image by Derek White/Getty Images for Audacy
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