Hiram King "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923–January 1, 1953) was an American country music performer. Though unable to read or write music to any significant degree, he came to be regarded as among the greatest country music stars of all time. Williams died at age 29; his death is widely believed to have resulted from a mixture of alcohol and drugs. He charted numerous number one hits in the country music world, and his songs have been recorded by hundreds of other artists, many of whom have also had hits with the tunes.

Williams has been covered in a range of pop (pop music), gospel (gospel music), blues and rock (rock music) styles. His son Hank Williams, Jr., daughter Jett Williams, and grandchildren Hank Williams III, Holly Williams, and Hilary Williams are also professional singers. His music was widely influential, and has been covered by performers including Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen , Beck Hansen, Johnny Cash, Tony Bennett, Patsy Cline, Ray Charles and Louis Armstrong.