Hank Williams’ last night spent in Birmingham’s Redmont Hotel 72 years ago

Written by Ben Pierce

Did you know that Birmingham’s Redmont Hotel hosted country music legend Hank Williams on December 30—the night before his untimely death in 1952?

The singer’s final road trip began in Montgomery and took him through Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The influential singer/songwriter would be declared dead in Oak Hill, West Virginia less than 24 hours after leaving Birmingham.

About country music legend Hank Williams

Born and raised in Alabama, Hank Williams was one of the most influential voices in country music in the first half of the 20th century with songs like “Hey, Good Lookin’,” “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and others making it to the top country hits of the day.

However, Williams’ troubles with alcohol and prescription drugs made him reportedly difficult to work with.

Record sales and airplay testified to his popularity, but repeated incidents got him kicked out of the Grand Ole Opry. A tour of smaller venues promised redemption.

Hank Williams’ final tour

Due to snow storms, Hank Williams was unable to fly to a scheduled New Year’s Eve show in Charleston, WV; instead, he hired 18-year-old Auburn student Charles Carr to drive him from Montgomery to the show.

The two would navigate state highways the interstate system would later relegate to back roads in Williams’s 1952 powder-blue Cadillac convertible. They almost made it.

According to “Hank Williams’ Last Drive: Part 1” by Peter Egan for Road & Track, the singer and driver were refused by the first hotel they tried to book a room in because Williams was in a drunken state. 

Instead, the duo spent the night of December 30, 1952 in the Redmont. It would be the last bed the music icon would sleep a night in.

Hank Williams’ final day

After leaving Birmingham and the Redmont Hotel, Hank Williams and Charles Carr continued on the ill-fated trip to West Virginia.

In Bristol, Virginia, Carr—exhausted after driving for 20 hours straight—hired a taxi driver so he could get some rest. In Oak Hill, West Virginia, the trio stopped for fuel and coffee at a gas station, where they discovered that Williams had died.

Hank Williams was only 29 years old.