Hank Williams was an early user of general aviation charter. That’s the real Hank Williams, now — Hank, Sr. — the country music star who appeared on the scene in the 1940s and quickly rose like a meteor, writing and singing songs like Jambalaya, Kaw-Liga, Your Cheatin’ Heart, Hey, Good Lookin’, I Saw the Light, and many more. Sadly, this acknowledged creative genius died at age 29 in 1953, but his songs are still sung and copied today.
My former boss, Bob Hudgens of Montgomery Aviation, like many other Alabama old-timers, had many Hank, Sr. stories and told them well. Bob’s stories were unique, however, in that he used to fly Hank all over the South in a Bonanza. I was fortunate enough to hear “Hank, Sr.” stories from him.
Hank was no doubt delighted with Bonanza travel. He could remember the days before fame and fortune when he and his band used to drive from Montgomery to play at clubs along the Gulf Coast. Then, to save hotel money, they drove all the way back the same night. This was long before Eisenhower invented the Interstate Highway System.
During the last few miles of the return trip to Montgomery, the beacon at Maxwell Air Force Base was a guiding light. Early one morning, before sun-up, the bleary-eyed travelers argued about how much farther it was to Montgomery. Hank, half-asleep in the back seat, opened his eyes, saw the beacon light, closed his eyes, and said, “It ain’t far, I done saw the light.”
That line struck the fancy of all, and before the trip was over, Hank had written the great song, I Saw the Light, which came to be heard by generations as a gospel song. You can hear it today.
Bob flew Hank to Louisiana one night and Hank, picking his guitar in the back seat of the Bonanza, said, “I got a brand new song. You wanta hear it before the public does?” Bob did, of course, so Hank sang and played the song. Bob later told me it was one of the worst songs he’d ever heard. The song was, Jambalaya. one of Hank’s biggest hits. The song is now a classic, some 50 years later.
Then there was the all-time classic Hank story: Hank was inclined to request frequent stops, some of which ended up in eateries that, quite incidentally, served beer. One night he and Bob ended up in such a place in Meridian, MS. Hank loaded up the jukebox with nickels (yes, nickels) to play his own songs. The cute little waitress brought Hank’s beer and Hudgens’ coffee. Hank took one swallow, sighed, and asked, “Honey, you like that song?” She smiled sweetly and said, “Oh yes, I love that song.” Hank was on a roll then.
He beamed and informed her, “That’s me singin’ that song.”
Her mouth dropped open; she hopped from one foot to the other, Hank beamed ever more widely as she turned and hollered to the other cute waitress, “Martha Nell, come quick. This here is Hank Snow!”
Hank and Bob didn’t stay long at that place.
