"Hey, Good Lookin'" is a 1951 song written and recorded by

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

, and his version was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 2001. In 2003, CMT voted the Hank Williams version No. 19 on ''CMT's 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music''. Since its original 1951 recording it has been covered by a variety of artists.

Background

The Hank Williams song "borrowed heavily" from the 1942 song with the same title written by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

. The lyrics for the Williams version begin as a

come on Come On may refer to: Music * Come On (EP), ''Come On'' (EP), by Elf Power, 1999 * Come On (Billy Lawrence song), "Come On" (Billy Lawrence song), 1997 * Come On (Christine Anu song), "Come On" (Christine Anu song), 1995 * Come On (Chuck Berry son ...

using

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

s related to food preparation ("How's about cookin' somethin' up with me?"). By the third and fourth verses, the singer is promising the object of his affection that they can become an exclusive couple ("How's about keepin' steady company?" and "I'm gonna throw my date book over the fence"). Williams was friendly with musician

Jimmy Dickens James Cecil Dickens (December 19, 1920 – January 2, 2015), better known by his stage name Little Jimmy Dickens, was an American country music singer and songwriter famous for his humorous novelty songs, his small size (4'11" 50 cm, and h ...

. Having told Dickens that Dickens needed a hit record if he was going to become a star, Williams said he would write it, and penned "Hey Good Lookin'" in only 20 minutes while on a plane with Dickens,

Minnie Pearl Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (October 25, 1912 – March 4, 1996), known professionally as her stage character Minnie Pearl, was an American comedian who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) and on the television ...

, and Pearl's husband Henry Cannon. A week later Williams recorded it himself, jokingly telling Dickens, "That song's too good for you!" "Hey, Good Lookin'" was recorded on March 16, 1951, at Castle Studio in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. The same session also produced the single's B-side " My Heart Would Know" as well as another pair of tunes that would be released as singles: "

I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You) "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)" is a song written and originally recorded by Hank Williams on MGM Records. It hit number two on the ''Billboard'' country singles chart in 1951. In his autobiography, George Jones printed the fir ...

" and " Howlin' at the Moon", released on April 27, 1951. The "Hey, Good Lookin'" single would follow on June 22. Williams was backed on the session by members of his

Drifting Cowboys The Drifting Cowboys were the backing group for American country legend and singer-songwriter Hank Williams. The band went through several lineups during Williams' career. The original lineup was formed in 1937, changing musicians from show to s ...

band, including

Jerry Rivers Jerry Rivers (August 25, 1928 – October 4, 1996) was an American fiddle player. Biography Jerry Rivers was born in Miami, Florida. He played fiddle with the Drifting Cowboys, a band who will be forever associated with their "frontman", the leg ...

(fiddle),

Don Helms Donald "Don" Hugh Helms (February 28, 1927 – August 11, 2008) was a steel guitarist best known as the steel guitar player of Hank Williams's Drifting Cowboys group. He was a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame (1984). Biography Helms was ...

(steel guitar), Sammy Pruett (electric guitar), Jack Shook (rhythm guitar), Ernie Newton or "Cedric Rainwater", aka Howard Watts (bass), and either

Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sou ...

or producer Fred Rose on piano. As author

Colin Escott Colin Escott (born August 31, 1949) is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner notes ...

observes, "On one level, it seemed to point toward

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

(

hot rods Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

, dancing sprees, goin' steady, and soda pop), but the rhythm plodded along with a steppity-step piano, and Hank sounded almost dour." Williams performed the song on the ''Kate Smith Evening Hour'' on March 26, 1952; the appearance remains one of the few existing film clips of the singer performing live. He is introduced by

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

and banters with a young

June Carter June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in t ...

. He is wearing his famous white cowboy suit adorned in musical notes. He performed "Hey, Good Lookin'" and joined in with the rest of the cast singing his own " I Saw The Light". The rare clip displays the singer's exuberance on stage while performing an up-tempo number, and he appears at ease in the relatively new broadcast medium of television. The kinescope from this show would provide the footage for the

Hank Williams Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

video "

There's a Tear in My Beer "There's a Tear in My Beer" is a country song written and recorded by Hank Williams, and later re-recorded by his son in 1988. Original version The original version was written and recorded by Hank Williams during one of his Nashville sessions i ...

" some 37 years later.

Notable cover versions

*In 1951,

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

and

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American Singing, singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to hi ...

released a cover of the song as a duet, peaking at No. 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts. *Country music band

the Mavericks The Mavericks are an American country music band from Miami, Florida. The band consists of Raul Malo (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Deakin (drums), Eddie Perez (lead guitar), and Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards). Malo and Deakin founded the band in ...

released a cover version in 1992 from the album '' From Hell to Paradise.'' This rendition peaked at number 74 on the country singles charts. *In 2004,

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

covered the song for his ''

License to Chill ''License to Chill'' is the twenty-fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and was released on July 13, 2004, by Mailboat and RCA Nashville. On this album, Buffett has many duets with noted contemporary country music a ...

'' album.

Clint Black Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is an American country music singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Signed to RCA Nashville in 1989, Black's debut album '' Killin' Time'' produced four straight number one singles on the ...

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Coun ...

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

and

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

were all featured on this rendition, which peaked at No. 8 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

) charts in 2004. It was also the last Top Ten country hit for Black. This rendition was made into a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, directed by

Trey Fanjoy Trey Fanjoy is an American music video director. Fanjoy has directed over 150 major label music videos. Her videos have appeared on CMT, VH1, GAC, The Nashville Network, CMT Canada, and MTV. She is the first woman to win the Country Music A ...

and Stan Kellam.

Chart performance

Hank Williams

The Mavericks

Jimmy Buffett

Year-end charts

References

Sources

* {{authority control 1942 songs 1951 singles 1992 singles 2004 singles Hank Williams songs Jo Stafford songs Frankie Laine songs Ray Charles songs Connie Stevens songs The Mavericks songs Jimmy Buffett songs Clint Black songs Kenny Chesney songs Alan Jackson songs Toby Keith songs George Strait songs Vocal collaborations Songs written by Hank Williams Music videos directed by Trey Fanjoy Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Music videos directed by John Lloyd Miller MGM Records singles MCA Records singles RCA Records Nashville singles