The Originals © by Arnold Rypens

COLD COLD HEART

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	(Hank Williams)
(o):	Hank Williams (1951)	label: MGM
	B-side of Dear John. Written after visiting his wife Audrey in hospital , recovering from an auto-performed abortion. The flowers he brought her were thrown back in his face. The melody was a rip-off of T Texas Tyler's You'll Still Be In My Heart ('45). There was a lawsuit still pending when Hank died.
(c):	Tony Bennett (1951) [n°1 US, landing Hank his first tv appearance (in the Perry Como Show)], Fontane Sisters (1951) [top 20 US], Eileen Wilson (1951) [top 20 US], Dinah Washington (1951) [top 3 R&B], Perry Como (1951) , Louis Armstrong (1951) , Eddy Arnold (1954) , Sonny James (1957) , George Hamilton IV (1958) , Barbara Pittman (1958) , Margaret Whiting (1958) , Pat Boone (1958) , Chet Atkins (1959) , Rusty Draper (1960) , Connie Francis (1960) , Bill Haley (1961) , Nat King Cole (1961) , Ronnie Hawkins (1961) , Jerry Lee Lewis (1961) [and in the 70's in duet with Elvis impersonator Orion], Tennessee Ernie Ford (1961) , Ernest Tubb (1961) , Kitty Wells (1961) , Floyd Cramer (1962) , George Jones (1962) , Big Maybelle (1963) , Johnny Cash (1964) , Wanda Jackson (1964) , Hank Locklin (1964) , Ray Price (1964) , Aretha Franklin (1964) , Hank Williams Jr. (1964) , Del Shannon (1965) , Roy Acuff (1966) , Charlie Rich (1967) , Sons Of The Pioneers (1968) , Stonewall Jackson (1969) , Roy Orbison (1970) , James Darren (1971) , Ace Cannon (1972) , Redd Stewart (1974) , Charlie McCoy (1980) , Lucinda Williams (2001) [on Hank Williams tribute], Billy Bob Thornton (2001) [idem], Norah Jones (2002) , Bill Frisell (2002) , Bobby Hebb (2005) , Partchesz (2007) , Patty Loveless (2008) ,

The fact this country song crossed over (with Tony Bennett a.o.) helped country music out of its rural isolation. Meanwhile Patti Page enjoyed a pop hit with Pee Wee King's Tennessee Waltz. Hank Williams and Pee Wee King were the first country artists enjoying national popularity.