Hank Williams fans, listen up: Singer-songwriter Leslie Tom has assembled a tribute album of sorts to the country icon, and she’s premiering one of its songs, “Hank You Very Much,” with The Boot. Readers can press play below to hear the track.
“Hank You Very Much” — which features Tom’s labelmate, Larry Nix — is a twangy ode to Williams that weaves nods to the legend’s songs into a story about a girl who’s broken up with her beau, John, and is ready to, in Tom’s words, “go back to Texas and hit a honky-tonk and hear good country music.” Tom tells The Boot there are a total of 14 of Williams’ song titles mentioned in the lyrics.
“I’m driving back to Texas / I’m on my lost highway / Got those honky-tonk blues / I want to hear a jukebox play,” Tom sings in the chorus of “Hank You Very Much. “When fiddles and a steel guitar get close enough to touch / I’ll say ‘Hallelujah, Hank you very much!'”
Tom tells The Boot that she and co-writer Linda Koehl wrote “Hank You Very Much” in about two hours. Williams and his music are obvious influences on the song, “but so is every heartbreaker [we] ever suffered.”
“Hank You Very Much” will appear on Tom’s upcoming album, Ain’t It Something, Hank Williams. The 10-track record of both originals and covers reflects Tom’s own life, but intertwines her own stories with those inspired by Williams’ life of love, heartache, addiction and loss. Tom recorded the project at Cinderella Sound Studios in Nashville; it features Lloyd Green on steel guitar, as well as the Infamous Stringdusters‘ Andy Hall on dobro, and was produced by John Macy.
Ain’t It Something, Hank Williams is due out on March 23 via Coastal Blend Music.
Listen to Leslie Tom’s “Hank You Very Much” (Feat. Larry Nix)
Do You Know Hank Williams’ Real Name?
This Article Was Originally Posted at www.TheBoot.com
