"The Funeral" is a song credited to

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 ...

with words from Will Carleton. It was released as a single under the pseudonym Luke the Drifter by

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 ...

in 1950.

Background

Although credited to Williams, "The Funeral" had existed for years as a poem written by Will Carleton and recounts a black child's funeral.

T. Texas Tyler David Luke Myrick (June 20, 1916 – January 28, 1972), known professionally as T. Texas Tyler, was an American country music singer and songwriter primarily known for his 1948 hit, "The Deck of Cards". Biography Myrick was born just outside ...

, who had scored a big hit with the recitation "

Deck of Cards A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a fi ...

" in 1948, had recorded a version of the song titled "Colored Child's Funeral" around the same time as Williams recorded it, as did East Coast deejay Buddy Starcher. It is one of the few Hank Williams recordings that has not aged well, as biographer Colin Escott observes: :"By today's standards, 'The Funeral' was an uncomfortably patronizing account of a black child's funeral service. Originally a poem by Will Carleton, it was first published in August 28, 1886 in Harper's Weekly. Unlike Starcher and Tyler, though, Hank delivered 'The Funeral' in his regular voice, and was clearly extending every ounce of compassion within him. His sincerity, though, was undermined by the words..." Williams recorded the song 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 ...

at Castle Studio at the first Luke the Drifter session on January 9, 1950 with Fred Rose producing. He was backed on the session by Don Helms (steel guitar),

Hillous Butrum Hillous Buel "Bew" Butrum (April 21, 1928 – April 27, 2002) was an American country music guitar player and a record and video producer best known as being a member of Hank Williams' Drifting Cowboys. Hillous Butrum was born in Lafayette, ...

(bass), and probably

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 Rose (organ) Guitarist Bob McNett, who attended the session, later recalled that both Williams and Don Helms had tears in their eyes after they had finished recording: "'The Funeral' really touched him. When he did it, he lost himself in it." It was released as a single in 1950 with "Beyond the Sunset as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. It also appeared on the 1953 posthumous LP ''

Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter ''Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter'' is an LP by Hank Williams released by MGM Records in 1953. It features narrations that Williams released under the pseudonym Luke the Drifter. Background Spoken word, moralistic narrations and talking bl ...

''.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Funeral Hank Williams songs 1950 songs Song recordings produced by Fred Rose (songwriter) Songs written by Hank Williams MGM Records singles