Hank Williams: Sanatoriums, Poison Pills, and Fired from the Grand Ole Opry

DISGRACELAND

Jake Brennan

Society & Culture, Music, True Crime

4.6 • 13.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 January 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hank Williams defined the genre we now call country with a guitar in one hand and a bottle of booze in the other. In between stints in the local drunk tank, he cultivated a knack for blue-collar blues that would spread far beyond the backwoods South Hank called home. His self-proclaimed “hillbilly music” logged him more than 30 hit songs and membership at the Grand Ole Opry, fulfilling Hank’s lifelong dream. But his frequent bouts with the bottle would ultimately strip him of that membership, sending him from the Ryman Auditorium to the sanatorium – and ultimately, an early grave. This episode was originally published on February 22, 2022. For the full list of contributors, visit ⁠disgracelandpod.com⁠ To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at ⁠disgracelandpod.com/membership⁠. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - ⁠GET THE NEWSLETTER⁠ Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠X⁠ (formerly Twitter) ⁠Facebook Fan Group⁠ ⁠TikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Double Elvis.
0:07.7	Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis.
0:15.7	The stories about Hank Williams are insane.
0:21.8	He drunkenly fired rounds into his own home and didn't think twice about where he aimed.
0:27.7	He was repeatedly pummeled to a pulp by police officers, fellow musicians, and anyone else he was foolish enough to pick a fight with.
0:35.9	His benders often lasted the better part of a week as he
0:39.1	drifted in between bars and stints at the sanatorium. His hours spent in the local drunk tank
0:45.6	exceeded his number of hit songs, and Hank Williams logged a lot of hit songs. He established a distinct
0:53.1	line between folk and quote-unquote country and western,
0:57.1	a newfangled genre he helped pioneer with his signature yodel and blue-collar blues. He didn't shape the
1:03.9	face of country. He is the face of country. And it's because Hank Williams made great music,
1:10.8	some of the greatest music ever made.
1:13.4	Unlike that music I played for you at the top of the show, that wasn't great music.
1:18.5	That was a preset loop from my Melotron called Schlock Around the Clock MK1.
1:25.0	I played you that loop because I can't afford the rights to Off Whederson Sweetheart by Vera Lynn.
1:30.3	And why would I play you that specific slice of drowsy Deutschland cheese could I afford it?
1:37.3	Because that was the number one song in America on August 11, 1952, and that was the day Hank Williams was fired from the Grand Ole Opry,
1:47.9	sending him further down a spiral of alcoholism and shattering his greatest dream.
1:53.7	On this episode, week-long benders stints at the sanatorium.
1:58.5	Blue-collar blues, shattered dreams
2:01.4	in the face of country music,
2:03.5	Hank Williams.
	...

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