American singer and guitarist, one of the leading figures in country and western music who was also successful in the popular music market.

Williams began playing the guitar at the age of 8, made his radio debut at 13, and formed his first band, Hank Williams and his Drifting Cowboys, at age 14. His series of recordings in 1947 on the M-G-M label won for him national, then international, fame. His “Lovesick Blues” recording in 1949 was a smash hit, and he joined the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville that year. Among his best-selling recordings were “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Your Cheatin' Heart,” and “Hey, Good Lookin'.” His death of an apparent heart attack may have been the result of drug and alcohol abuse. His son Hank Williams, Jr., sang his songs in a film biography, Your Cheatin' Heart (1964).