Hank Williams is among the most impactful artists in country music history. His singing, songwriting, and stage presence have influenced and inspired generations of country stars. One could argue that without him, the genre wouldn’t be what it is today. However, his influence isn’t the only thing that’s still here. Stories of his ghost showing up around the Ryman Auditorium still float around Nashville. It also appears in some great country songs.
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Today is Halloween, so it’s the perfect time to look at how Williams’ ghost still appears in songs and the story of how his ghost co-wrote a classic tune.
[RELATED: Watch Hank Williams Perform “Cold, Cold Heart” During His Final Television Appearance]
“Midnight in Montgomery”—Alan Jackson’s Story About the Ghost of Hank Williams
As a student of classic country music, Alan Jackson is a fan of Hank Williams. He showed his respect for the late legend in the song “Midnight in Montgomery.” On its face, the song is a ghost story about a singer who encounters Williams’ spirit while paying his respects to the icon at a cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama.
A deeper look shows several references to Williams’ songs, life, and death. For instance, Williams died on New Year’s Day in 1953 while on his way to a concert. The song’s narrator encounters the spirit on his way to a “big New Year’s Eve show.” Also, Montgomery was Williams’ hometown and he is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery Annex there.
Jackson co-wrote the song with Don Sampson and released it as the second single from his sophomore album Don’t Rock the Jukebox in 1992. The song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
“The Ride” David Allan Coe Thumbs a Ride with Hank
David Allan Coe released “The Ride” in 1983 as the lead single from his album Castles in the Sand. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The song tells the story of a young musician hitchhiking to Nashville to try his luck. He gets picked up by a man in an antique Cadillac who takes him up the highway and gives him some advice. In the end, he learns that he has been riding with the ghost of Hank Williams.
Officially, Gary Gentry shares songwriting credit with J.B. Detterline, Jr. However, he tells a different story about the song’s origin.
How the Ghost of Hank Williams Helped Gary Gentry Write “The Ride”
Gary Gentry and J.B. Detterline wrote a song paying tribute to Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell. However, Gentry wasn’t satisfied. So, later that night, sitting alone in his Country Place Apartments home, Gentry lit some candles and started trying to summon Williams’ ghost. According to him, it worked.
“That night, I was drunk and on c-caine and I looked down that hallway and I had a séance going on,” Gentry recalled. “I said, ‘Hank, show yourself! And I started cussing and I said, ‘Hank, why are you big? Because you died young?’ I looked down that long, dim hallway and Hank Williams was sitting on my couch,” he said.
“He had on a fedora and no shirt and he was a filterless cigarette,” Gentry recalled. Seeing the ghost of the country icon changed Genry’s tune. “I said, ‘Mr. Williams’ we’ve got to write a song. He was there and I felt his presence. His image only stayed visible for maybe a minute, minute and a half. Then, he disappeared visually but was with me,” Gentry recalled. “It was his idea to do ‘The Ride.’ We were riding back up to Franklin to his old house but he cried just south of Nashville. I don’t blame him. I turned that car around,” the songwriter said.
Williams’ ghost then told him “This is where I get off, boy. I’m going back to Alabama.” Gentry added. “I remembered Miss Audrey’s line, ‘You don’t have to call him Mister, honey. The whole world calls him Hank.’”
After Coe released the song, Gentry performed it on the Grand Ole Opry. As he reached the big reveal at the end, the electricity went out in the entire Opryland complex.
Featured Image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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