The influence that Hank Williams had on country music is undeniable, even 72 years after his death.
One of country music’s first “superstars,” Hank is recognized as much for his troubled life as he is for his timeless songs like “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” that still influence country artists today.
Hank’s battle with drugs and alcohol was well-documented, with his addiction finally catching up to the country music legend on January 1, 1953 when he passed away in Oak Hill, West Virginia on his way to a show. But it’s that tragic life and untimely death that have led many to believe that Hank never really left country music.
And I’m not just talking about his influence: I’m talking about his ghost.
There have been numerous reports of sightings of the ghost of Hank Williams over the years. From the Ryman Auditorium to the cemetery in his hometown of Montgomery, Alabama where he was laid to rest, it seems that many believe the spirit of the country music legend never really left this world.
And it was an experience with his ghost that inspired David Allan Coe‘s 1983 classic “The Ride.”
First released on Coe’s Castles in the Sand album, the song tells the story of a struggling musician who finds himself catching a mysterious ride from the ghost of Hank Williams while hitchhiking to Nashville from Hank’s hometown of Montgomery, Alabama.
Of course everybody knows the song:
“Then he cried just south of Nashville
And he turned that car around
He said, “This is where you get off, boy
‘Cause I’m goin’ back to Alabam'”
As I stepped out of that Cadillac
I said, “Mister, many thanks”
He said, “You don’t have to call me Mister, Mister
The whole world called me Hank”
He said, “Drifter, can ya make folks cry when you play and sing?
Have you paid your dues, can you moan the blues?
Can you bend them guitar strings?”
He said, “Boy, can you make folks feel what you feel inside?
‘Cause if you’re big star bound let me warn ya, it’s a long, hard ride”
But did you know that the writer of “The Ride” claims that the song was inspired by a conversation he had with none other than the ghost of Hank Williams himself?
As Gary Gentry told The Tennessean back in 2015:
“I was living at Country Place Apartments. I lit candles in the living room, and I wanted Hank to show himself. I wanted to write a masterpiece about Hank… I said, ‘Hank! Why were you so big? Just because you died young? Show yourself! Help me write this song.’
I looked down that long hallway, and Hank was sitting there without a shirt on, on my couch, in the living room. And I said, ‘Hank, we’re gonna take a ride. I wanna write about you. I think you’re the greatest songwriter and entertainer that ever lived.’ Thus, “The Ride,” at 4:00 in the morning.”
Now, Gentry admits that he was drinking pretty heavily at the time, so one could assume that this was just a drunken dream.
But that’s not the only experience the songwriter had with the spirit of the man who inspired his biggest song.
Later, Gentry was performing “The Ride” for a TV show at the Grand Ole Opry House. And when he got to the line in the last verse revealing the character in the song to be the ghost of Hank Williams, all of the lights and power in the Opryland complex went out.
Apparently Hank has a way of making his presence known.
