Thanks to a well-coordinated effort by Mercury Records, Hank Williams is back among us. A new music video for his “Cold Cold Heart” debuts this week, and a major exhibit, “Marty Stuart Presents: The Legend of Hank Williams,” opens Sept. 24 at the Country Music Hall of Fame. A key attraction in both these projects will be the showing of recently discovered footage of Williams performing on The Kate Smith Show in April, 1952. Prior to this discovery, the only known Williams performance footage was from a March, 1952, guest spot on that show. Cosponsored by Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores and Mercury, the exhibit will also show Williams in some rare silent home movies. “The Legend of Hank Williams” is tentatively set to be in place for the next three years or until the Hall of Fame makes its move downtown.
In August, Mercury released The Legend of Hank Williams: Audio Book With Music, read by Sammy Kershaw, and Low Down Blues, a collection of Williams’ blues-inspired cuts. To promote these titles at retail, Mercury and its distribution company provided record stores with posters and memorabilia for giveaways. Early this summer, the Country Music Association joined the Williams crusade by providing advertising inserts for 55 million Sunday newspapers. The ads offered a sweepstakes with the grand prize of a free trip to Nashville to participate in various Williams-related activities.
Williams’ legacy isn’t just being promoted through the new exhibit and the rerelease of his records. On television, TNN’s Prime Time Country has already devoted two shows to the singer: One featured the cast of Lost Highway, the play about Hank Williams currently running at the Ryman Auditorium, and the second, which airs Sept. 18, will feature Marty Stuart and Hank Williams Jr. In addition, TNN has either broadcast or scheduled two specials, In the Hank Williams Tradition and The Life and Times of Hank Williams.
In the Nashville club scene, Western Beat Entertainment built its Sept. 17 “Birthday Bash Barndance” at the Sutler around Williams’ music. Featured performers at the event, which took place on the anniversary of the Hall of Famer’s birthday, included Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale, Billy Burnette, Becka Bramlett, Neal Coty, Harley Allen, and Mandy Barnett. WNAB’s Mornings show has been spotlighting these artists this week and will continue to do so through Friday.
Although Hank Williams’ endlessly repackaged records have always sold well, Mercury’s adroit invovlement of other sectors should greatly boost these sales—as well as forward an awareness of Williams’ music to a new generation. Equally important, it can serve as a model for the commercial resurrection of other important country acts.Performers such as Webb Pierce, Red Foley, Tex Ritter, Johnnie & Jack, Johnny Horton, and Tennessee Ernie Ford, all have a residual interest among old-timers, a substantial nucleus of hits, and sounds and themes that are still very much worth listening to.
♦ Capitol Nashville’s rerelease of four classic Glen Campbell albums is a needed reminder that this man deserves a seat in the Country Music Hall of Fame. His Arkansas roots are as country as they can be, and Campbell is a master of the country idiom, both vocally and instrumentally. Moreover, with his wildly popular Glen Campbell Good Time Hour (CBS-TV, 1969-71), the singer probably did more than any other artist of his generation to introduce “outsiders” to country music and musicians. Although he hasn’t done much of note in recent years, Campbell remains a towering figure who deserves far more praise than the industry has accorded him.
The rereleases are: The Green River Boys and Glen Campbell, Big Bluegrass Special (from 1962); Gentle on My Mind (1967); By the Time I Get to Phoenix (1967); and Wichita Lineman (1968).
♦ Given all the familiar faces smiling above the trophies, you might have mistaken the Canadian Country Music Awards show, held Sept. 9 in Calgary, for the annual CMA prizefest in Nashville. In fact, every single winner at the show either has or had an American recording contract. The big winner was Shania Twain, who took prizes for entertainer of the year, female vocalist of the year, and video of the year (for “(If You’re Not in It for the Love) I’m Outta Here”). Terri Clark copped the single of the year (“Better Things to Do”), album of the year (Terri Clark), and Vista (rising star) awards. Reprise Records’ Paul Brandt won the song of the year honor for “My Heart Has a History,” which he cowrote with Mark D. Sanders. Charlie Major, who records here for Imprint Records, carried away the male vocalist of the year bauble. Prairie Oyster, formerly signed to RCA in the States, earned the vocal duo or group of the year prize. Finally, Garth Brooks, who spoke to the show via satellite, claimed the top-selling album trophy for Fresh Horses.
♦ More Canadian country-music news: After a rather ignominious exile since January, 1995, CMT is back on the air in Canada. On Saturday, Sept. 14, New Country Network, which had replaced CMT, retired its logo and CMT: Country Music Television-Canada took over. Bi-national star Shania Twain presided over the switch. CMT Canada is 51 percent owned by RAWLCO Communications of Calgary, 29 percent by Rogers Communications of Toronto, and 20 percent by Country Music Television of Nashville. Videos by Canadian acts will make up a minimum of 32 percent of the network’s programming, and that ratio will be raised to 40 percent by the year 2000.
♦ WNAB-Channel 58 has added two local shows of particular interest to the music industry: Tennessee Neighbors, a daily talk show, and Chuck’s Country Lightning. The first show, which began airing noon Sept. 16, is hosted by Kip Kirby, former country music editor for Billboard and former entertainment reporter for Crook & Chase and TNN Country News. Chuck Long, who currently emcees WNAB’s Mornings show, will also oversee Chuck’s Country Lightning. Debuting on Sept. 28, the program will be broadcast 5:30 p.m. every Saturday and will feature news, talk, and performances.
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