"I'm Sorry for You, My Friend" is a 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 ...

. It was released as the flipside to his single "

Honky Tonk Blues "Honky Tonk Blues" was a hit country and western song written and performed by Hank Williams. The original 1952 recording was a major hit, and it later became a hit for later-day superstar Charley Pride. Hank Williams version "Honky Tonk Blues" ...

" in 1952 on

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

Background

According to country music historian Colin Escott, Hank Williams' friend and rival Lefty Frizzell always claimed that Hank wrote "I'm Sorry for You, My Friend" about him, quoting the Texan as saying, "All Hank thought about was writing. He recorded a number he wrote because I was having trouble with my better half called 'I'm Sorry for You, My Friend.' We'd swap songs we'd written." Frizzell had emerged as Williams' biggest competition in the early fifties; as the 2001 documentary series ''Lost Highway: The History of American Country'' put it, "He was the one honky tonk singer who could match Hank's jukebox appeal nickel for nickel, tear for tear." Like Williams, Frizzell was a gifted writer and, also like Williams, had a reckless personal life dogged with marital strife and alcoholism. The pair actually toured together in April 1951 in what writer

Dan Cooper Dan Cooper (born April 28, 1946) is a media entrepreneur, author and founder of 4 LLC, a New York media content development company. He was a key figure in creating the original operational plan for the Fox News Channel and was a senior member o ...

called, "honky tonk's apex, the instant that symbolized the genre's zenith." Williams recorded the song at a session 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 ...

on August 10, 1951. He was backed by

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 lege ...

(fiddle), Don Helms (steel guitar), Sammy Pruett (lead guitar), Howard Watts (bass), probably Jack Shook (rhythm guitar), 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 Fred Rose on piano.

Cover versions

* Ivory Joe Hunter recorded it for MGM in 1952. * Joni James covered the song for MGM. * Don Gibson recorded the song for RCA in 1962. * Hank Williams, Jr. cut the song in 1974. * Moe Bandy recorded a version for

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

in 1977, which was a #9 Billboard country hit.

References

Bibliography

* {{authority control 1951 songs Songs written by Hank Williams Hank Williams songs Song recordings produced by Fred Rose (songwriter)