ANNUAL WREATH-LAYING AND MEMORIAL MARKING 72ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF HANK WILLIAMS TO TAKE PLACE ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1

December 26, 2024 - MONTGOMERY, AL - The annual graveside wreath-laying and memorial service marking the 72nd anniversary of the death of country music legend Hank Williams will take place at Montgomery's Oakwood Cemetery Annex, located at 1304 Upper Wetumpka Road, on Wednesday, January 1, at 10 a.m.

Sponsored and organized by the Hank Williams Museum, the service will feature music performed by the Sheppard Family Band, whose members are cousins of Williams' first wife, Audrey Sheppard Williams. The service concludes each year with all attendees jointly singing the Williams-penned song, "I Saw The Light."

Williams passed away on January 1, 1953 en route to a New Year's Day concert in Canton, Ohio.

"Though he died at just 29 years of age, Hank left a lasting musical legacy that continues to be appreciated by each new generation, and we feel it is important to recognize the passing of one of Alabama's favorite sons and greatest legends," Hank Williams Museum Director Beth Petty said. "Hank's fans from across the nation and even other countries have traveled to Montgomery to participate in the wreath-laying over the years, and we anticipate another healthy turnout for this 72nd anniversary memorial."

Petty said that fans of Williams should look forward to 2028, when the 75th anniversary of the his passing will include a concert event in Montgomery in addition to the traditional graveside memorial.

The first memorial service held at Williams' gravesite took place in September of 1954 to mark his birthday. Five-year-old Hank Williams Jr., his half-sister Lycrecia, and former Louisiana Gov. Jimmie Davis, a country music singer famous for recording the standard "You Are My Sunshine," laid a wreath of red and white carnations and magnolia leaves as 250 participants watched.

A gala concert at Cramton Bowl held in conjunction with the first wreath-laying attracted an audience of 10,000 and included performances by Davis, Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, and others. At the concert's finale, the massive marble monument that currently rests atop Williams' grave was publicly unveiled for the first time.

Additional information about the annual wreath-laying and memorial may be found on the Hank Williams Museum Facebook page or its website, located at http://www.thehankwilliamsmuseum.net.

Williams, one of only 16 people enshrined in both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was born in Mount Olive, Alabama on September 17, 1923.

He recorded 11 number one hits and placed 43 songs on the country music charts during his brief career. Several of the songs he penned also reached the pop charts under other artists.

The Hank Williams Museum, which is located at 118 Commerce Street in Montgomery, Alabama, was founded 25 years ago and houses the largest collection of personally-owned Hank Williams items on display anywhere in the world with the Olympic Blue 1952 Cadillac Series 62 convertible in which he died serving as the centerpiece of the exhibit.