Hank Williams wasn’t the first major country music star nor was he the most successful. However, few artists in the history of the genre have been more impactful or influential than him. Today, more than five decades after his death, he continues to inspire and influence new generations of artists. Songs like the infectious and fun “Hey Good Lookin’” were among the timeless classics that make his tragically short career a wellspring of inspiration.
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The clip below comes from an important broadcast for fans of Williams. He and his band appeared on the Kate Smith Evening Hour in April 1952. That night, he performed four songs during what would be his final televised performance. The excited teenage girl featured in the opening moments of the video is June Carter who was then a member of The Carter Family and would later marry Johnny Cash.
Hank Williams Scored a Major Hit with “Hey Good Lookin’”
Hank Williams wrote “Hey Good Lookin’” and released it as a single in June 1951. The song went to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart where it would spend a total of eight weeks.
Williams reportedly wrote both “Hey Good Lookin’” and “Howlin’ at the Moon” on a flight to Wichita Falls in 1951. He was on tour with Little Jimmy Dickens and Minnie Pearl at the time. Dickens later recalled Williams telling him “If a song can’t be written in 20 minutes, it ain’t worth writing.”
With that in mind, “Hey Good Lookin’” gets a little more impressive. For starters, the song is more than seventy years old and is still loved by country fans around the world. Additionally, it has inspired hundreds of artists from a variety of genres to put their spin on the classic hit. At the same time, the song’s seemingly simple lyrics cover a lot of ground and tell a sweet story.
The opening verse sees the song’s narrator asking a lady out on a date. By the time the song ends, less than two minutes later, he’s singing about being in a committed relationship with the woman.
All told that was a very productive 20 minutes.
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