COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME® AND MUSEUM TO BOW FAMILY
TRADITION: THE WILLIAMS FAMILY LEGACY, CO-PRESENTD BY
SUNTRUST AND FORD MOTOR COMPANY ON FRIDAY, MARCH 28,
2008
Hank Williams Jr. to Make Appearance during Grand Opening
Festivities
NASHVILLE, Tenn., February 28, 2008 –The Country Music
Hall of Fame® and Museum will present an intimate, behind-the-
scenes portrait of a great American musical dynasty in Family
Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy, Co-Presented by SunTrust
and Ford Motor Company, a more than 5,000-square-foot
exhibition opening on Friday, March 28, 2008, and closing on
December 31, 2009.
With the stark realism of a Hank Williams song, the exhibit
will depict the relationships that inspired Williams and his
progeny to create songs that stand among the greatest, most
influential country music ever recorded.
“The Williams family story may seem familiar,” said
Museum Director Kyle Young. “However, this exhibit will take the
visitor inside the family to revisit the life and impact of Hank
Williams, examine the struggles and musical successes of his
only son, Randall Hank Williams, and study the direct
descendants, who are now striving within a new generation of
artists, all measuring themselves by the example of Hank
Williams.”
The exhibition has benefited enormously from the blessing
and cooperation of the family, including Randall Hank Williams,
now known as singer-songwriter Hank Williams Jr.; Lycrecia
Williams Hoover, Hank Jr.’s older sister and the only member of
the family with clear personal memories of Hank Williams; and
singer-songwriter Jett Williams, who discovered her Williams
parentage in the 1980s. Lending their own stories and family
mementoes are Hank Jr.’s eldest children, singer-songwriters
Shelton Williams, now Hank III, and Hilary and Holly Williams.
“Independently of each other,” Young said, “they each
agreed to sit for lengthy oral history interviews that have allowed
us to tell a new story in their voices. Now, 55 years after Hank
Williams’ death, Lycrecia Hoover joins her brother, his children
and Jett Williams to help them collectively address their legacy
for the first time. They have opened their hearts and their
archives to facilitate a fascinating story told from their
perspectives and with their personal heirlooms.
“These are ordinary lives made extraordinary by an
alignment of talent and bedrock values, and by the quests for
personal and professional identity that continue to move each
generation through the earthly joy and sorrow of the times they
live in,” he said. “We fully expect that Family Tradition will be
recognized as a story that will preserve country music history
and bring it home to thousands of visitors in search of
community, family entertainment, intellectual diversity and
cultural competence.”
Co-curated by the institution’s Vice President for Museum
Services Carolyn Tate and staff Writer-Editor Michael McCall, the
exhibit includes more than 200 artifacts and a Fort Knox of
audiovisual treasure. An aggressive schedule of accompanying
public programs will enhance a unique and panoramic story that
stands as the most ambitious temporary exhibition in the
institution’s 40-year history. The voices and music of all family
members are heard throughout the exhibit.
Festivities on grand opening weekend will include an
appearance on March 29 by Hank Williams Jr., who will answer
questions about his life and career, his father’s legacy, and his
family’s ongoing dedication to creative endeavor. Moderated by
McCall, and including audiovisuals from the Museum’s archive
and from the family, the program will include Williams’ live
performance of several songs from his from broad repertoire.
On April 12, Jett Williams will take the Ford Theater stage to
share her story. The program, which will include audiovisual
elements and a performance by Williams, will be hosted by
McCall. Other family members will be among those invited to
participate in programs accompanying the exhibit throughout the
run.
EXHIBIT SUMMARY
Family Tradition is prefaced by a glimpse inside the family
home and personal lives of Hank and Audrey Williams and their
children, Lycrecia and Randall Hank, from the late 1940s through
the late 1950s.
The ranch-style home, purchased on the heels of Williams’
1949 rise to stardom, was the epitome of the most ordinary
American dreams and values. From the blond wood of Williams’
liquor cabinet to the family’s black-and-white console television,
from the simple elegance of a hand-tooled saddle to the chichi
fashion of a Chinese figurine lamp, and from classic photos of the
two sweethearts and charming baby pictures to silent home
movies of family birthdays, vacations and times at play together,
we see the promise within a loving family’s happy times before
and after the patriarch’s death, at age 29, on January l, 1953.
In six short years, Hank Williams lodged almost 40 chart
hits, including the country chart toppers “Lovesick Blues,” “Long
Gone Lonesome Blues,” “Why Don’t You Love Me,” “Moanin’ the
Blues,” “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Hey, Good Lookin’,” “Jambalaya” and
“I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive.”
Though his body rests in Alabama, Hank Williams lives on
as country music’s greatest exemplar. His legacy reaches into
every facet of popular and vernacular music. His deceptively
simple songs of truth and home are the gold standard by which
both his creative biological and musical heirs must measure
themselves. With a central focus on Williams’ children and
grandchildren, this is the premise for the Museum’s Family
Tradition story.
The saga begins with Williams’ birth, looks back at his
death and examines the way the nation mourned, recounts the
life and career of his only son, and ends with the contented and
philosophical voice of Hank Williams Jr. – legatee, father,
megastar, collector, outdoorsman and legator.
Chapter by chapter, the robust epic is layered and made
whole by various elements including:
· Text panels recounting the Williams family’s life passages,
lifestyles, important collaborators, career crossroads and
professional milestones.
· Exhibit cases holding lovingly preserved family heirlooms
ranging from Hank Williams’ fiddle and cinnamon-orange silk
pajamas to Hank Jr.’s toddler-size Nudie suits, teen-idol stage
wear and big-game taxidermy; from Hank and Audrey Williams’
romantic wedding invitation to Audrey’s desk, typewriter, and
jewelry and accessories from her dressing table; from the flower
cards and condolence notes saved from Williams’ funeral to the
communion veil of the young Jett Williams and a photo of
toddlers Hank III, Hilary and Holly Williams in the family bathtub.
· Vintage audio and video clips strategically placed throughout
the exhibit.
o The visitor will see clips of Hank Williams from March and
April 1952 appearances on the Kate Smith Evening Hour, hear
him singing and bantering with the Drifting Cowboys on the
Mother’s Best radio show and get a rare glimpse of him offstage
at a time when his Nashville home was an Arcadian retreat.
o Young equestrienne Lycrecia Williams is seen with her
pony during birthday festivities, Audrey is seen at work and at
play, and the kids are seen with their grandmother, Lillie Stone.
o More audiovisual riches document Hank Jr.’s early life, his
rise from struggling country singer to his late ’80s arrival as one
of the most successful country singers of his generation, and his
current iconic status as musical spokesman for new generations
of factory workers, war veterans, nurses, teachers, cowboys,
carpenters, the unemployed, outdoor sportsmen and football
fans, among others.
· Touch screen interactives that allow visitors to page through
private family scrapbooks. Icons on selected pages facilitate
closer looks at the content.
· Monitors throughout the exhibit which allow visitors to see
members of the Williams family speaking their truths about the
public and private lives of their ancestors and addressing their
own voyages of identity and creative discovery.
FAMILY TRADITION PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Throughout its 21-month run, Family Tradition: The William
Family Legacy, Co-Presented by SunTrust and Ford Motor
Company will be accompanied by related public programs
including live performances, films, panel discussions and
opportunities to converse with individuals important to the lives
and careers of the Williams family. The schedule will be regularly
updated at www.countrymusichalloffame.com.
With the purchase of a Museum membership ($25/adults
and $10/youth), visitors can attend most public programs free of
charge for one year, including all programming related to Family
Tradition. Museum memberships also include one year of
unlimited admission to the Museum, discounts in the Museum
Store, SoBro Grill and Hatch Show Print, and more.
Upcoming Family Tradition Programs
Saturday, March 29 2:00 p.m.
Interview and Performance: Hank Williams Jr.
To mark the opening of the museum's major new exhibit, Family
Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy, Co-Presented by SunTrust
and Ford Motor Company, Hank Williams Jr. will be on hand to
answer questions about his life and career, his father's legacy,
and his family's ongoing dedication to creative endeavor. As part
of the program, Hank Jr. will perform songs from his broad
repertoire. Exhibit co-curator Michael McCall will conduct the
interview. Reservations required in advance beginning Tuesday,
March 25th (9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.) by calling (615) 416-2001.
Limited seating is available. Maximum of two tickets per sale.
Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.
Sunday, March 30 2:00 p.m.
Film Screening: In the Hank Williams Tradition (1990)
“A country singer’s role is as an interpreter. [The songs are]
stories that people can relate to because the songs are about
their lives. Hank Williams was one of the first to do it—and he did
it the best,” explains Randy Travis in In the Hank Williams
Tradition. In this 1990 documentary, Travis and fellow artists Roy
Acuff, Chet Atkins, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Kris
Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, members of the
Drifting Cowboys and more discuss the lasting influence of Hank
Williams. Hank Williams Jr. also shares memories from his
childhood. Free.
Saturday, April 12 2:00 p.m.
Interview and Performance: Jett Williams
Jett Williams, daughter of Hank Williams and Bobbie Jett, left the
Williams family fold at age two, after the death of her adoptive
parent, Lillian Stone, Hank's mother. Jett rediscovered her
heritage in the 1980s and wrote about it in a book, Ain't Nothin' as
Sweet as My Baby: The Story of Hank Williams' Lost Daughter.
She has since emerged as a performer in her own right. In this
program, Jett shares her astonishing life story with Family
Tradition exhibit co-curator Michael McCall and performs songs
from her father's repertoire. Jett will do a signing immediately
following in the Museum Store. Limited seating. Included with
Museum admission. Free to Museum members.
Additional promotional support is being provided by the Museum’
s official Family Tradition media partners: Great American
Country Television Network, Cumulus Broadcasting and The
Tennessean.
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