Hank Williams, the country pioneer who is among the most influential singer- songwriters in music, was given a special Pulitzer Prize citation. The Pulitzer board awarded the late singer for his lifetime achievement, based on a confidential survey of experts in popular music.
“I don't think any country artist cast a longer shadow than he does, both as a songwriter and a performer," Jay Orr, vice president of museum programs at the Country Music Hall of Fame, said Monday. (A Williams family exhibit runs at the Hall of Fame through 2011.)
“His songs are master works. But there's a mystique about his character that still fascinates the people who have come after him. ... He was the romantic ideal of the hillbilly Shakespeare and his cultural legacy continues to grow."
The citation notes Williams' “craftsmanship as a songwriter" and his “pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life." He joins other recent special citation recipients Bob Dylan, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane on a short list of American masters.
“I don't think any country artist cast a longer shadow than he does, both as a songwriter and a performer," Jay Orr, vice president of museum programs at the Country Music Hall of Fame, said Monday. (A Williams family exhibit runs at the Hall of Fame through 2011.)
“His songs are master works. But there's a mystique about his character that still fascinates the people who have come after him. ... He was the romantic ideal of the hillbilly Shakespeare and his cultural legacy continues to grow."
The citation notes Williams' “craftsmanship as a songwriter" and his “pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life." He joins other recent special citation recipients Bob Dylan, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane on a short list of American masters.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
