After our glorious evening at the Westin hotel in Huntsville, we headed due south with a destination of Montgomery Alabama. No, we weren’t there to see something about the Bus Boycotts, or any other historical site. We were simply there to see a friend outside of town.
That friend is Hank Williams, who is buried just outside of town.
For those who don’t know, Hank Williams is often times referred to as the godfather of country music. Before him was Jimmy Rodgers, the real question to me is who he passed the torch to exactly. Growing up as I did, one side of my family listened to old school country, where the other was all classic rock & roll.
You’re probably curious about the AstroTurf. The story goes that upon Williams’ death (which is a tale of the trouble with the life of a music star) fans would come to his grave and take blades of grass, to the point where no grass ever grew there.
In-between his parents graves, Hank Williams, Jr. (a country music star of his own right) placed a plaque asking visitors to be respectful.
Alan Jackson forever memorialized this spot in his song “Midnight in Montgomery.”
It’s actually the reason why the title of this post is “A Friend Outside of Town.” This song had a tremendous impact on my views of music that came before me, and when I really dug deep into the genre.
I had to take the opportunity to give personal thanks to a man who directly and indirectly impacted the way music has touched my life. Music that continues to impact people’s lives around the world.
We then continued on our way to New Orleans, where we spent the evening with my friends in their home. They left the next morning.