Monday, January 03, 2005
Paying homage to Hank
The Free Lance Star
Fifty-two years ago Saturday, country music legend Hank Williams was pronounced dead at the age of 29 in Oak Hill, W.Va.
Officially, a heart problem, "acute right ventricular dilation," took Williams' life as he lay in the back of his white Cadillac en route to a performance in Ohio.
Folk musician Cathy Fink had thought for many years that someone somewhere should play a concert of Williams' music near the anniversary of his death. Eight years ago, she put her money where her mouth was.
She rounded up her musical partner Marcy Marxer and other musician buddies Bill Kirchen and Robin and Linda Williams for an evening of country music that's become an annual tradition at the Birchmere in Alexandria.
"It was so much fun and so successful, the next day there was a call from the Birchmere saying, 'Let's put next year's date on the calendar,'" Fink said in a phone interview.
This year's tribute to Williams will take place Saturday night. The concert comes perilously close to selling out each year, Fink said, so advance tickets are recommended.
The performers begin the show together and then take turns revisiting the Hank Williams catalog, which includes such favorites as "Lovesick Blues," "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "Long Gone Lonesome Blues."
"One of the things that I think is so potent about this repertoire is that it's not disposable," Fink said. "His songs have stood the test of time. He figured out how to squeeze the essence of loneliness into the least possible number of words with these haunting melodies."
Read the article
The Free Lance Star
Fifty-two years ago Saturday, country music legend Hank Williams was pronounced dead at the age of 29 in Oak Hill, W.Va.
Officially, a heart problem, "acute right ventricular dilation," took Williams' life as he lay in the back of his white Cadillac en route to a performance in Ohio.
Folk musician Cathy Fink had thought for many years that someone somewhere should play a concert of Williams' music near the anniversary of his death. Eight years ago, she put her money where her mouth was.
She rounded up her musical partner Marcy Marxer and other musician buddies Bill Kirchen and Robin and Linda Williams for an evening of country music that's become an annual tradition at the Birchmere in Alexandria.
"It was so much fun and so successful, the next day there was a call from the Birchmere saying, 'Let's put next year's date on the calendar,'" Fink said in a phone interview.
This year's tribute to Williams will take place Saturday night. The concert comes perilously close to selling out each year, Fink said, so advance tickets are recommended.
The performers begin the show together and then take turns revisiting the Hank Williams catalog, which includes such favorites as "Lovesick Blues," "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "Long Gone Lonesome Blues."
"One of the things that I think is so potent about this repertoire is that it's not disposable," Fink said. "His songs have stood the test of time. He figured out how to squeeze the essence of loneliness into the least possible number of words with these haunting melodies."
Read the article
The Free Lance Star
# posted by Dave Sichak @ 9:08 PM 
