On This Day in 1953, One of Country Music’s Greatest Pioneers Was Laid To Rest in Alabama With Nearly 25,000 in Attendance

The year 1953 was a dark one for fans and loved ones of country icon Hank Williams. The singer-songwriter had passed away on New Year’s Day at the age of only 29. His death was an unfortunate result of a snowball effect, stemming from a hunting trip injury in 1951, which led Williams to use painkillers and alcohol to ease his chronic pain. 

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After months of alcohol dependence, he began to develop heart problems. He got in touch with a fake doctor and was prescribed a cocktail of substances that would lead to his death from a heart attack and/or heart failure. The records aren’t clear, and Williams’ death is still the subject of controversy and conspiracy today.

Regardless, the great hitmaker behind “I Saw The Light” had passed very young. The country music world immediately began to mourn. Just several days after his passing, one of the biggest funerals in Alabama history was held.

Hank Williams’ Funeral Is Believed To Have Been Larger Than Any Other Held for an Alabama Native

On this day in 1953, Hank Williams’ funeral was held in Montgomery, Alabama, at the Montgomery Auditorium. It’s believed that nearly 25,000 people attended the service. The auditorium held just a fraction of those in attendance, around 2,750 mourners. To this day, it is believed that Williams’ funeral was larger than any previously held for an Alabama citizen in history.

Williams’ body was kept in a silver coffin for two days at his mother’s home in Montgomery before it was moved to the auditorium and placed on a flowered stage on January 4. 

During the ceremony, a number of Williams’ contemporaries performed his music. Ernest Tubb sang “Beyond The Sunset”. Roy Acuff sang “I Saw The Light”. Red Foley gave a performance of the Mahalia Jackson gospel song “Peace In The Valley”. It was an incredibly emotional affair, and it was reported that four people fainted and one had to be escorted out of the building after collapsing in front of Williams’ coffin. Williams’ remains were later interred in Montgomery at Oakwood Annex.

Williams’ death was a preventable tragedy, and there’s no way around it. But the sheer volume of people who attended his funeral proved just how important and influential he was to the country music world and those who loved him.

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