On This Day in 1939, a 16-Year-Old Country Giant Made One of His First Ever Stage Appearances in an Alabama High School

For a musical entertainer, performing a first show is a rite of passage. If you never perform this rite of passage, then you are likely more of a songwriter than an entertainer. However, if you are able to muster up the confidence and take the stage, then you undeniably have the soul of an entertainer. Well, on this day, November 17, the most prolific country icon of all time solidified that fact within himself, as Hank Williams made one of his first-ever public appearances at 16 years old.

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Born in 1923, Hank Williams grew up in rural Alabama and started playing guitar around the age of eight. Mentored by a local blues musician named Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne, Hank Williams started to grasp the instrument. However, it wouldn’t be until he was 16 that he decided to take the stage for one of the first times, and that transpired on this day, at the Weoka High School in his home state of Alabama.

The Day Hank Williams Became a Country Music Entertainer

Given that this event was nearly 100 years ago, it’s difficult to track down the details of the event, such as the setlist and the reason for the performance. Nevertheless, what is seemingly more important is not the event itself, but what came after it. Though back to the story in question, on November 17, 1939, Williams traveled from Montgomery, Alabama, to Weoka High School in Elmore County, Alabama, which is roughly a 35-minute drive.

Williams did not attend Weoka High School, as he spent his four years at Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery. Regardless, he played at the high school just outside of Montgomery, and started his trajectory as one of country music’s biggest entertainers. Roughly 10 years after this performance, Hank Williams went on to make his Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 25 years old. Years after that performance, Hank Williams was kicked out of the Grand Ole Opry.

While this fact might be a bit trivial in the grander scheme of country music, it does serve a valuable purpose in terms of tracking the career arc of Hank Williams. Between 1939 and 1953, Hank Williams became arguably the most influential country music singer and entertainer of all time, and while it did not start specifically on this day, this one performance surely gave Williams the momentum to keep pursuing his dream.

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