![]() WILLIAMS: Oh, actually, if you listen carefully on some of these, they didn't even filter out. Well, you can hear, these are better than the MGM masters. And I know a lot of people, you know, would say, oh, those are just rare recordings or old recordings, and they're going to sound like that. OK? So it didn't have that middleman or anything in there. WILLIAMS: But the other thing that's fascinating about the Mother's Best is back when my dad was recording under MGM, what they did was they applied compressors and limiters and filters, and that kind of robbed some of that presence that we're hearing in these recordings. WILLIAMS: Nobody hearing that but me and you and the folks are just listening. WILLIAMS: Grand spanking new one, good Louie. Louie Buck (Mother's Best Flour Radio Announcer): It's as sure as it were, Hank. (Soundbite of Mother's Best Flour radio program, 1951) I mean, there's very little of anything of my dad's speaking, and so you actually get to hear about the history about that song. ![]() And Time Life has also included some of his chatter, where he sets up the song. SIMON: This was the first time this song was performed, near as we can tell? WILLIAMS: (Singing) It's hard to know another's lips will kiss you And hold you just the way I used to do I mean, you stop and catch your breath, and you feel as if he's singing that song just to you. WILLIAMS: When I hear my dad sing, to me it sounds like he is singing like his life depends on it. ![]() What is there about your father's voice that just seems to reach inside, reach inside you and tear out your heart? WILLIAMS: (Singing) A picture from the past came slowly stealing As I brushed your arm and walked so close to you Then suddenly I got that old time feeling And I can't help it if I'm still in love with you Let's listen to a little bit of this one. SIMON: Many of these songs just are so familiar to us, for those of us who have treasured your father's work. They were not for commercial exportation. And so therefore we ended up bringing a lawsuit, and then the courts ruled that these recordings belonged to the estate. But in the meantime, unfortunately, this company got a bootleg copy, and they tried to duplicate and commercialize it. SIMON: So they were just there waiting to be discovered. He said that he believed that these belonged to the daughter of Hank Williams. And later, when WSM was moving, they discarded these acetates and a gentleman by the name of Les Leverate actually rescued them, and he kept them until later when he met me in the '80s. And back then, they recorded on what they called an acetate, and these acetates were made for the one-time play. So what they did is he would go in, say, Monday and Tuesday, but then they would put what they called "in the can" Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. WILLIAMS: Back in 1951, my dad was, you know, getting at a zenith, and he was traveling so therefore he could not do a live radio show every morning. SIMON: And how did these recordings go missing all these years? Because I mean, there was - there must have been keen interest over the years to find anything with his voice on it. Thank you so much, and I really do appreciate your interest in this treasure throve of the Mother's Best of my dad, Hank Williams. Williams, thanks so much for being with us. Jett Williams is Hank Williams' only daughter. When Hank Williams died on New Year's Eve 1953 at the age of 29, only 29, he left behind a child who was yet to be born. Time Life has just released the songs in a box set. SIMON: "The Unreleased Recordings of Hank Williams" includes performances from the Mother's Best Flour radio program that Hank Williams hosted in 1951. HANK WILLIAMS: (Singing) Another love before my time made your heart sad and blue And so, my heart is paying now for things I didn't do In anger, unkind words are said that make the teardrops start Why I can't I free your doubtful mind and melt your cold, cold heart. ![]() No matter how much the man's songs have been played, studied, cried over and admired, unless you were listening to WSM Nashville on the morning of February 3, 1951, you haven't heard this Hank before. But on a level above, somewhere in the clouds, that's where you find Hank Williams. At the pinnacle of that performance art you can find names that include Dolly Parton, Ernest Tubb, Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash. Country music is narrative art that is popular around the world. ![]()
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