# 2771 - 1993 29c Country Music Legends: Hank Williams

U.S. #2771
1993 Hank Williams – Country & Western
Legends of American Music Series

• Celebrates Hank Williams and his contributions to Country Music as well as music as a whole
• Issued as part of the Country & Western honoring members of the Country Music Hall of Fame
• Part of the Legends of American Music Series

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Country Music Legends
Series:  Legends of American Music
Value:  29¢, First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue:  September 25, 1993
First Day City:  Nashville, Tennessee
Quantity Issued:  100,000,000 (Includes booklet stamps and panes of 4)
Printed by:  Stamp Venturers
Printing Method:  Photogravure (Printed on a Champlain webfed gravure press)
Format:  Pane of 20 (horizontal, 4 across, 5 down)
Perforations:  10.1 x 10.2 (sheetfed stroke perforator)
Tagging:  Prephosphored paper

Why the stamp was issued:  This stamp was issued to honor country music legend, and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Hank Williams.

About the stamp design:  All four Country & Western stamps picture artwork by Richard Waldrep.  The designs were created using Waldrep’s airbrush paintings based on photographs sent to him by USPS researchers.  Both the Hank Williams and Carter Family stamps have orange backgrounds while the Patsy Cline stamp has a blue-violet background and the Bob Wills stamp has a variegated background shifting from mauve to fuchsia.

First Day City:  This stamp, along with the rest of the Country & Western set, was issued on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, the capital of country music.  There could be no better place for the First Day Issue Ceremony of the stamps honoring members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

A solo stamp and a set stamp:  When Elvis got a single stamp in addition to being in the set of Rock ‘n’ Roll stamps (beginning of the Legends of American Music Series), a deal was made to do the same for one stamp in the Country & Western and Broadway sets.  That’s why Hank Williams and Oklahoma! both got single stamps as well as being included in their respective sets.

About the Country & Western set:  The four-stamp set was issued to commemorate a handful of the men and women whose contributions to country and western music made history.  The set pictures Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, the Carter Family, and Bob Wills.  The Hank Williams stamp was the same design used earlier in 1993.  Each person pictured in the Country & Western set has the designation of being listed in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

About the Legends of American Music Series:  The Legends of American Music Series debuted on January 8, 1993, and ran until September 21, 1999.  More than 90 artists are represented from all styles of music:  rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues, country and western, jazz and pop, opera and classical, gospel and folk.  In addition to individual singers and Broadway musicals, subjects include band leaders, classical composers, Hollywood songwriters and composers, conductors, lyricists, and more.  The Legends of American Music Series was a huge advancement for diversity because it honored many Black and female artists.

History the stamp represents:  A good ol’ farm boy from the heart of Alabama, Hank Williams taught himself to play the guitar when he was 8 years old.  In 1936, at the age of 13, he formed his own band, the “Drifting Cowboys.”

In 1947, Williams moved to Nashville – the recording and broadcasting center of country music.  There, he introduced the country music world to a style that would later become known as “rockabilly” – a precursor to rock ‘n’ roll blended with a country flair.  With hits such as “Move It On Over” and “Honky Tonkin’” he gained instant popularity, and his performances on the “Grand Ole Opry” program, broadcast nationally every Saturday night, catapulted him to stardom.

Although Williams’ style changed country and western music forever, his lasting legacy may be his lyrics.  He wrote literally hundreds of hits, offering country music some of his most enduring songs, including “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Jambalaya,” and “Ramblin’ Man.”  “Your Cheatin’ Heart” has been recorded by at least fifty people.

Williams’ son, Hank Williams Jr., was also a country singer and composer, carrying on his father’s legacy.