Today in Music (1947): Hank Williams Charted for the First Time with "Move It on Over"

Move It on Over Hank Williams

Writer(s): Hank Williams (see lyrics here) First Charted: August 9, 1947 Peak: 4 CW, 6 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 3.9 video, 9.67 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Hank Williams isn’t just one of country music’s most celebrated performers, but one of the most important music makers of any genre of music. He can boast to induction in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Music Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Dave’s Music Database ranks him as the #2 country act of all time. It all started with “Move It on Over,” his first chart entry in 1947 and first of 37 top-ten hits on the country charts. Williams recorded it in his first recording session for MGM at Castle Studio in Nashville on April 21, 1947. WK An article at udiscovermusic.com said that with the song “Hank Williams changes country music forever.” UD The track “seamlessly blended a velvety Western swing with the visceral Deep Sout blues that formed Williams’ musical backbone.” UD It was significant for “instantly transforming the era’s ‘folk’ sound” UD but is also often cited as one of the earliest examples of rock music. It features the same twelve-bar blues arrangement as 1954’s “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley & His Comets, the song most often pointed to as the beginning of the rock era. The song is about a man coming home late at night and, when not allowed in the house by his wife, ends up sleeping in the doghouse. It “typified Williams’ uncanny ability to express in a humorous way the aspects of everyday life that listeners could relate to.” WK While seemingly a novelty song, it was inspired by an actual incident in which Williams’ wife Audrey locked him out of the house. UD Williams’ short life makes his accomplishments even more extraordinary. He was only 29 when alcohol and drug abuse did him in, but he had already charted 33 country hits. Eerily, the song on the charts when he died was “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive.” It would be his eighth #1 country song, topping the chart just a few weeks after his death. Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Hank Williams UM Udiscovermusic.com (6/6/2023). “‘Move It on Over’: Hank Williams Changes Country Music Forever” by Natalie Weiner WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/9/2011; last updated 11/13/2023.