PREVIEW
Jason Petty
Hank Williams – The Lonesome Tour
Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m.
Arden Theatre
5 St. Anne Street
Tickets: $55 plus facility fee. Call 780-459-1542 or www.ticketmaster.ca
A star at 24, Hank Williams was dead by the time he reached 29. And like most brilliant singer-songwriters who die young, he became bigger in death than life.
Jason Petty pays tribute to the country icon dubbed the “Hillbilly Shakespeare” for the striking imagery of his songs. He presents Hank Williams – The Lonesome Tour on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at the Arden Theatre.
“I want to keep his legend alive. Everyone in Nashville – Porter Wagoner, Buck Owens, Conway Twitty, George Strait – they’ve recorded his music. I want to keep his music alive – introduce it to a new generation and reintroduce it to the older generation,” said Petty.
Williams wrote about the darkness in people, their anger, misery, sorrow and shame. And when he sang about love, he had a kind of power over listeners.
He combined elements of mountain music, hillbilly music, folk music, gospel and blues to create his brand of country, a sound that resonated deeply with listeners of the day.
Although Williams never learned to read music, he had more than 30 Top 10 country hits, including standards such as Hey, Good Lookin’, Your Cheatin’ Heart, and I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.
The impact of his songs went far beyond Nashville where masters of their craft such as Bob Dylan, Keith Richards and Bruce Springsteen praised the beautiful simplicity of the deep, dark lyrics. Even pop singer Tony Bennett released Cold, Cold, Heart in 1951.
“This music had meat on its bones. People still come in droves. It reminds them of their ancestors. They want to go back to a simpler time,” Petty said.
Millions drew joy from Williams’ work, but in his heart there was only bleak despair. Like many great artists, his creativity was nurtured on an empty stomach. He grew up in terrible poverty during the Great Depression in Alabama.
“He was a tortured genius. He suffered from alcoholism depression and his father, who had just come back from the war, had PTSD. At that time, they called it shell shock and committed him to an asylum,” Petty said.
To compound his tragic life, Williams suffered from spina bifida, an illness where he sought relief from daily pain through alcohol and drugs, two severe addictions that were barely understood and gradually drove him to self-destruct.
Don Helms, steel guitarist for Hank Williams’ Drifting Cowboys, once related to Petty a heart-wrenching anecdote that provided insight into the legendary singer-songwriter.
Helms said, “I was Hank’s best friend and I hardly knew him. He would not open up. I think he was born with a hole in his soul and couldn’t fill it.”
Petty not only plans to sing a wide range of tunes from Williams’ song catalogue. He also wants to enrich the experience by sharing a few confidential and intimate details he dug up through the last 20 years researching and chatting with Williams’ family and friends.
“I want to tell stories. It’s all about the humour. I’m from the south and I have southern sensibilities. It’s a perfect fit. People will walk away feeling as if they’re part of the show.”
