On This Day in 2020, We Lost the Hank Williams Impersonator Who Gave Us One of the Best Country Music Duets of All Time

Jim Owen turned a childhood fascination with country music legend Hank Williams Sr. into a living. Following in the Singing Kid’s footsteps, the Robards, Kentucky native went on to write hits for multiple country artists. His best-known work was the Conway Twitty-Loretta Lynn collaboration “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man”. He also resurrected his idol in an Emmy Award-winning TV special and, later, a 10-hour tribute radio show.

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Jim Owen died on this day (March 7) in 2020 at age 78. On the sixth anniversary of his passing, we remember the man Charlie Daniels once deemed “country music’s least known country superstar.”

Jim Owen’s Musical Catalog

Jim Owen’s fixation with Hank Williams began when he was just 8 years old and saw the “Your Cheatin’ Heart” singer perform. After stints as a journalist and golf coach, Owen headed to Nashville in 1969 with the help of singer-songwriter Mel Tillis.

While he didn’t record his own music, Owen scored several hits for other artists. Along with Becki Bluefield, he penned “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man.”

Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty—arguably country music’s hottest duo at the time, and maybe ever—released the song in May 1973. It marked the lead single from their collaborative album of the same name.

Peaking atop the country songs chart, “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” remains a timeless country music classic even today.

Owen’s other songwriting successes included “Too Lonely Too Long” and “One More Drink” (both Mel Tillis), “Little Boy’s Prayer” (Porter Wagoner), “Sweet Baby On My Mind” (June Stearns), “Southern Loving” and “Broad Minded Man” (both Jim Ed Brown), and “The Telephone” (Jerry Reed).

[RELATED: On This Day in 1973, Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty Were at No. 1 With Their Most Iconic Song] 

Bringing Hank Williams to Life

Notably, that boyhood obsession with Hank Williams never faded for Jim Owen. In fact, it was only intensified when his wife dreamed she saw Owen on the Grand Ole Opry stage, but that it was Williams’ voice coming from him.

From there, Owen devoted himself to interviewing people who had worked with Williams, perfecting his mannerisms. In 1976, he put together the one-hour PBS special Hank. The program won an Emmy Award for the year’s best public television show.

Next came the 90-minute one-man live stage show, An Evening With Hank Williams, featuring backing tracks provided by Williams’ band, the Drifting Cowboys.

Jim Owen would channel Hank Williams many more times throughout his extensive career. Those endeavors included a 10-hour tribute radio show in 1985 and a standing-ovation appearance at the Grand Ole Opry on New Year’s Day 1993, the 40th anniversary of Williams’ untimely death.

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