Jude 2

I didn't know that the Opry had failed to reinstate Hank Williams after he died. There is almost no music in America today that is not influenced by Hank Williams in one manner or another. He is the epitome of American musical art. His grandson, Hank, III, made the case last night at a concert in Birmingham, and a news article covering it has repeated his request and given the website that Hank, III requested for people to sign.

I don't know if some of you Nashville folks here have Opry connections or not. But, if you do, even remotely and way, way down the totem pole, it'd be a good thing if this little story could get repeated to them.

Otherwise, if you care to, visit www.reinstatehank.org and sign the petition to posthumously reinstate Hank Williams as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Gerald Creasy, if you read this, you may already know about it all. I figure if you haven't already, you probably would sign it as I have.

why was he ever kicked out?

I don't know much at all about the Opry and have never been to a live show though it's within 15 minutes of my house but I do know the Opry is a strange critter.

Some artists get inducted nearly immediately in their career, for example Carrie Underwood, while others perform for decades before ever being inducted in if ever at all.

Paully, he was kicked out in 1949 for being such a notorious drunk, to be blunt and short about it. Times have changed and you get awards for the behavior he demonstrated then. But, I think that he paid the ultimate price for that. His contributions to music, and country music particularly, outpace all other Opry members since him combined. Not only ought they reinstate him, they ought to rename it in his honor, but that's probably a bit much to ask.

To underscore the twisted irony of it all, there's the matter of Hank's out-of-wedlock daughter, now known as Jett Williams. To read the best account of it that I have ever seen, read the case of Stone v. Gulf American Fire & Casualty Company, 554 So.2d 346 (Ala. 1989), from the Alabama Supreme Court on the issue of Hank's paternity of his daughter and the combined fraud of Hank, Jr., Roy Acuff, Fred Rose, Wesley Rose, and others to keep the daughter from ever having any share of any part of Hank Williams' estate or royalties from his music. They pretty well succeeded. Now, I'm a Hank, Jr. fan still, but he was a kid when the worst of it happened. The real maneuverings were by Acuff and his corporate lawyers. Roy Acuff was long the face of the Grand Ole Opry while making a fortune off Hank Williams, who was anathema to them. When the Opry moved from the Ryman Auditorium to the new Opry in Opryland, they did a larger than life tribute to Roy Acuff. Nobody was listening to Roy Acuff then or now, but people still listen to and artists cover Hank Williams almost 57 years after he died. Only now, of course, the Opry celebrates Hank, showing his face, footage of him performing, invoking his name. Reminds me of the line, "The ones that called him crazy, still ridin' on his name." (from "The Conversation" by Hank Williams, Jr. and Waylon Jennings.)

Hank was fired from the Opry mostly because of his alcoholism and no shows. He was told to straighten up and could come back. He died from a mixture of drugs and alcohol before that could happen.

It seems silly to re-instate him. No one stays a member of the Opry after they die. That slot is filled by a new member. When you look at the roster of Opry members, only the living ones are listed. There are many former members of the Opry that are living today. They left for one reason or another. Opry members are a group of people, that are alive and still performing country music. It is a working radio show that is on the air to make a profit for their parent company.....not a museum or hall of fame.

Yes, he was probably the greatest of all time, but it seems a waste of time to me to go through with this.

I am a big Opry fan and attend as many times a year as I can. I listen to it on 650-AM radio every weekend. It is also on XM and Sirius.

They could make him a, or even the, member emeritus. Or, they could simply go back and withdraw his removal. Silly? Well, yeah. All entertainment is. But, if it what you do for a living is so important to some people that it merited creating an exclusive group in the time-honored exclusive "the place" to do it, it may not seem as silly. I'm not about to embark on any campaigns or anything, but I do think they ought to do something now to "restore" his name to the good graces of the Opry in an official way.

Also, check out these performances, all in good fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq6c8h6zen8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oqskfFG0R0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pPd4dZrzXU (This is Jr. at Bama's homecoming last year.)

Silly was the wrong word to use. Sorry about that.

But still, the Opry membership list is a group of living individuals that still perform. It is not a museum or retirement center for senior country singers. It is a "for profit" business that tries to offer a show featuring the biggest names in country entertainment. Shoot, even James Brown made an appearance on that stage, ha.