Your Cheatin' Heart

"Your Cheatin' Heart"

Single by Hank Williams

A-side

"Kaw-Liga"

Released

January 1953

Recorded

September 23, 1952

Genre

Country, honky-tonk, blues

Length

2:38

Hank Williams singles chronology

"I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" (1952)

"Kaw-Liga" (1953)

"Take These Chains from My Heart" (1953)

Music sample
"Hank Williams -Your Cheatin' Heart"

"Your Cheatin' Heart" is a song written and recorded by country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1952, regarded as one of country's most important standards. Country music historian Colin Escott writes that "the song - for all intents and purposes - defines country music." He was inspired to write the song while driving with his fianceé from Nashville, Tennessee to Shreveport, Louisiana. After describing his first wife Audrey Sheppard as a "Cheatin' Heart", he dictated in minutes the lyrics to Billie Jean Jones. Produced by Fred Rose, Williams recorded the song on his last session at Castle Records in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 23.

"Your Cheatin' Heart" was released in January 1953. Propelled by Williams' recent death during a trip to a New Year's concert in Canton, Ohio, the song became an instant success. It topped Billboard's Country & Western chart for six weeks, while over a million units were sold. The success of the song continued. Joni James' version reached number two on Billboard's Most Played in Jukeboxes the same year, while Ray Charles' 1962 version reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 13 on the UK Singles Chart. The song ranked at 217 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and was ranked number 5 on Country Music Television's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music.

By 1952, Williams was enjoying a successful streak, releasing multiple hits, including "Honky Tonk Blues", "Half as Much", "Settin' the Woods on Fire", "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" and "You Win Again". While his career was soaring, his marriage to Audrey Sheppard became turbulent. He developed serious problems with alcohol, morphine and painkillers prescribed to ease his severe back pain caused by spina bifida. The couple divorced on May 29, and Williams moved in with his mother. Soon after, Williams met Billie Jean Jones backstage at the Ryman Auditorium, a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, "who was, at the time, dating Faron Young. Williams started dating Jones, upon the end of her relationship with Young and soon began to plan their marriage. While driving from Nashville, Tennessee to Shreveport to announce the wedding to her parents, Williams talked to her about his previous marriage and described Audrey Sheppard as a "cheatin' heart", adding that one day she would "have to pay". Inspired by his line, he instructed Jones to take his notebook and write down the lyrics of the song that he quickly dictated to her. The finished composition included the line "You'll walk the floor, the way I do", which evoked Ernest Tubb's hit "Walking the Floor Over You".

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Wikipedia