| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) |
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Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) |
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HankWilliamsAsLukeTheDrifter |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) |
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Hank Williams as Luke The Drifter is a 1955 MGM Records compilation album that posthumously collected most of the recordings that Hank Williams made under his Luke The Drifter alter ego.Recitations backed by music had always been an important part of the Country Music tradition, and toward the end of The '40s several of them had been big hits for other artists. Williams always included some spoken pieces in his live shows, and he'd built up a big repertoire of them, including both originals and material by others (including some poems dating back to the 19th century), with varying themes of religion and moralism (the major themes), sentimentality, reflection, humor and patriotism. Williams, feeling that they marked a major step up for him as an artist, was eager to record them, but his label MGM and his producer Fred Rose were skeptical of their commercial prospects, fearing that they might alienate Hank's audience; as one biographer put it, no bar patrons putting coins in a jukebox would've wanted "to punch up a Hank Williams record and get a sermon." But seeing how committed Williams was to the idea, Rose worked out a compromise with him: he could record and release the songs, but would have to do it under a Stage Name. Williams obliged and chose the evocative "Luke The Drifter", mixing elements of religion and hard realism. He used his usual country backing, but also added a churchy, ethereal electric organ for atmosphere. But neither Williams nor MGM even tried to pretend that Luke wasn't really Hank Williams. Williams proudly performed the Luke songs in live shows and on the radio, introducing Luke as a "close relative", "good friend" or even "my half-brother".Released alongside Hank's regular music, the Luke The Drifter singles didn't sell well enough to make the charts, but were a definite Cult Classic that sold in decent numbers and enhanced Williams' mystique among his hardcore fans. After Williams' death (which underlined the often dark tone of the material), MGM began compiling the singles in various forms, including extended play singles and mini-albums, before finally putting togther this full-length album. A 2001 CD reissue gave it a new title (Beyond The Sunset: Hank Williams as Luke The Drifter), a new cover, and added the two Luke songs that hadn't been included in the 1955 release ("No, No, Joe", "Ramblin' Man") as bonus tracks.The Luke material still remains one of the bedrocks of Williams' reputation, showcasing the serious side of his work and personality, and is sometimes also viewed as the point when Country Music really began to achieve some artistic maturity. Bob Dylan has cited it as one of his early inspirations; Dylan did a faithful (though somewhat tongue-in-cheek) cover of "Be Careful of Stones That You Throw" during the sessions for The Basement Tapes in 1967, and several songs on John Wesley Harding bear an obvious Luke The Drifter influence. Many of the other songs have gotten the Cover Version treatment over the years. |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) |
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| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_14beeefd |
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Darker and Edgier |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_14beeefd |
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Darker and Edgier: This is far more reflective and depressing than Hank's usual material (which itself was already much more personal than most Country Music of its era was to begin with). |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_14beeefd |
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Protest Song |
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Protest Song: "No, No, Joe" gently chides Josef Stalin over his posturing at the start of The Cold War. |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_16d8476f |
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Always Someone Better |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_19d1c1ae |
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Always Someone Better: "I've Been Down That Road Before" |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_19d1c1ae |
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The Stoic |
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The Stoic: Uncle Bill in "Everything's Okay" goes through a looong list of everything that's wrong with him and his family, but he repeatedly concludes that "We're still a-livin', so everything's okay." |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_1c5002bc |
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Generation Xerox |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_25bc8511 |
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Generation Xerox: Hank Williams Jr. did a nod to this part of his father's legacy by recording three albums of spoken word pieces as Luke The Drifter, Jr. between 1968 and 1970. |
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Death of a Child |
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Death of a Child: "The Funeral" takes place at the funeral of a young boy, with the preacher reassuring his parents. |
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Disappeared Dad |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_28cd01ca |
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Disappeared Dad: "Help Me Understand" is centered around a little girl who's despondent after her father abandons her and her mother. |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_28cd01ca |
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| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_2fc395e6 |
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Gambling Ruins Lives |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_2fc395e6 |
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Gambling Ruins Lives: "Pictures from Life's Other Side" mentions a gambler so broke he stakes his dead mother's wedding ring ("his last earthly treasure") in a card game. |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_2fc395e6 |
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Wham Line |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_4e7c4536 |
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Wham Line: In "Too Many Parties and Too Many Pals", after a judge laments in his courtroom about how the young woman on trial fell into a life of prostitution. |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_4e7c4536 |
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Grow Old with Me |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_5f39656d |
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Grow Old with Me: "Beyond the Sunset" inverts this, with the narrator pondering how he'll react if his wife dies before him. |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_5f39656d |
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Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_5f39656d |
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Heroic Sacrifice |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_6439de78 |
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Heroic Sacrifice: In "Be Careful of Stones That You Throw", the "bad girl who lives down the street" gets killed when she jumps in front of a car to to save her neighbor's daughter. |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_6439de78 |
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Driven to Suicide |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_6d332aea |
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Driven to Suicide: The "outcast woman" who jumps into a river in "Pictures from Life's Other Side". |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_6d332aea |
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Henpecked Husband |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_72852a93 |
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Henpecked Husband: The narrator of "Please Make Up Your Mind" portrays himself as this. |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_72852a93 |
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Farmer's Daughter |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_75a63013 |
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Farmer's Daughter: "Just Waitin' " |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_75a63013 |
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| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_86b21114 |
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Badass Boast |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_86b21114 |
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Badass Boast: On behalf of America in "No, No, Joe" (with a side of America Won World War II). |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_86b21114 |
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Dolled-Up Installment |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_89499ccf |
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Dolled-Up Installment: "Ramblin' Man" was originally released as a Luke single in 1951, but was later reissued as the B-Side to "Take These Chains From My Heart" in 1953, and presumably got left off the 1955 album because it was already well-known from that. |
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Death Is Dramatic |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_a8f3f520 |
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Death Is Dramatic: Mama in "I Dreamed About Mama Last Night" died surrounded by her family. |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_a8f3f520 |
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Wanderlust Song |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_b567a0b1 |
comment |
Wanderlust Song: "Ramblin' Man" |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_b567a0b1 |
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type |
Russian Bear |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_bb33d2e2 |
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Russian Bear: Mentioned in "No, No, Joe" |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_bb33d2e2 |
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Happily Married |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_bec0417c |
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Happily Married: The couple in "Beyond the Sunset". |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_bec0417c |
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Cover Version |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_cff53786 |
comment |
Cover Version: "Pictures from Life's Other Side" and "The Funeral" are both pieces dating back to the 19th century. "Too Many Parties and Too Many Pals" is a 1926 pop song. "Beyond The Sunset" merged the chorus of a 1936 hymn with verses taken from a 1945 poem by sportscaster Albert "Rosey" Rowswell called "Should You Go First". "Be Careful of Stones That You Throw" was written by steel guitarist Bonnie Dodd and was first recorded in 1949 by Little Jimmy Dickens. "I Dreamed About Mama Last Night" and "No, No, Joe" were written by Hank's producer Fred Rose. |
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type |
Two Decades Behind |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_dc26326 |
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Two Decades Behind: The tone of the material, often bouncing between sentimentalism and sober moralism, feels much more like something from before The Great Depression than from The '50s. Williams almost certainly intended the Luke songs to sound anachronistic, which interestingly means that he was doing the same types of throwbacks to the music of his youth that Hank Williams Jr. would later do when he covered his dad's material. |
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type |
Awful Wedded Life |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_deecc9eb |
comment |
Awful Wedded Life: Even accounting that we might be hearing from an Unreliable Narrator in the husband, the couple in "Please Make Up Your Mind" sounds like they have an utterly miserable marriage. |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_deecc9eb |
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Oddball in the Series |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_f068cba |
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Oddball in the Series: "Ramblin' Man" is the only actual song here. Everything else mixes singing and recitation (with some straight recitations as well). |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_f068cba |
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Have a Gay Old Time |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_fa6bfde9 |
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Have a Gay Old Time: "I Dreamed About Mama Last Night" |
| | Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter (Music) / int_fa6bfde9 |
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