On This Day in 1951, Hank Williams Was on a Six-Week Run Atop a Chart That No Longer Exists With a Single That Became a Standard

On This Day in 1951, Hank Williams was at the top of the Billboard Country & Western Records Most Played by Folk Disk Jockeys chart with “Hey, Good Lookin’.” While the chart no longer exists, Williams’ six-week run at its summit gives some insight into how popular he and the song were with country fans at the time. Since its release, countless artists have covered the song, helping it transcend from hit single to country standard.

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Today, Billboard has two charts to track country singles: Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay. In 1951, the publication had three charts. The Most-Played Jukebox Country & Western Records chart was discontinued in 1957. One year later, the publication merged the Best-Selling Retail Folk Records and Country & Western Records Most Played by Folk Disk Jockeys charts to create what is now the Hot Country Songs chart, which has seen several name changes since its inception.

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Williams wrote “Hey, Good Lookin’” and released it as a single on June 22, 1951. It topped the country chart on August 11 and stayed there for six consecutive weeks. It would return to the top of the chart for a week in October and again in November, giving it a total of eight weeks at No. 1. Two years later, it appeared on Williams’ first posthumous full-length, Memorial Album.

Hank Williams Turned 20 Minutes of Writing Into an Immortal Hit

“Hey, Good Lookin’” is still a favorite among country fans more than 70 years after its initial release. Over the years, it has inspired more than 100 covers from the likes of Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jimmy Buffett, and George Jones. Surprisingly, Hank Williams wrote it in under half an hour.

He reportedly wrote it and “Howlin’ at the Moon” on the same flight while sitting beside Little Jimmy Dickens and Minnie Pearl. Later, Dickens quoted Williams saying, “If a song can’t be written in 20 minutes, it ain’t worth writing.”

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