A Voice From the Past Still Echoes Loudly

Nearly four decades after his death, Hank Williams Sr. still commands a niche in the music world.

A loner during his short life, he is now celebrated as one of the most popular and enduring singers ever.

His compelling, melancholy music still sells at record stores, holding its own against such superstars as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Madonna, New Kids on the Block--and even his son, Hank Williams Jr.

The latest Williams vehicle is “Hank Williams--The Original Singles Collection,” an ambitious, two-year project from PolyGram Records. It contains every single Williams ever recorded: 84 songs.

“If you think about music, this is one of the purest forms of it,” said Paul Lucks, executive producer of the project. “Anyone who appreciates classical American music will like it. All of Hank’s fans will devour it. And collectors, too.”

Williams, who died 38 years ago in the back seat of his car at age 29 of alcohol-induced heart disease, is remembered for such hit records as “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” “Jambalaya,” “Hey Good Lookin’,” “I Saw the Light,” “Lovesick Blues” and “Long Gone Lonesome Blues.”

His “There’s a Tear in My Beer” was brought back recently by his son, who added his own vocals to it. The updated version won a Grammy for both in 1990.

The elder Williams was born in 1923 on an Alabama tenant farm, the son of a railroad engineer. He learned to play the guitar from a street singer named Tee-Tot in Greenville, Ala.

He was tall and slender with a raspy voice, gaunt face and sad look. When not singing, he was known to go on prolonged drinking binges. Less than a year before his death, he was fired by the Grand Ole Opry for being unreliable.

But when he sang, he was masterful.

“The key to Hank Williams is passion,” says Colin Escott, a Canadian music executive who put together the set, which consists of three CDs, albums or tapes.

“The entire range of human emotions is within these recordings: love, hate, envy, joy, guilt, despair, remorse, playfulness, sorrow . . . and more,” Escott writes in a booklet accompanying the set.

Hank Jr. said recently there’s nothing complicated about the appeal of his father’s songs.

“They are very easy for folks to relate to, and get involved and sing along with.”