How did a boy like me, who grew up in the East Bronx, become a lifelong fan of country and western singer and songwriter Hank Williams?

My first introduction came when I was about 16 years old. The singer of Hank's songs was Tony Bennett. The songs were Cold, Cold Heart and There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight. The tunes did not have a country flavor but they were written by Hank Williams. They went right to the top of the charts and started Tony Bennett's 50-year fabulous career.

Last year I went to a Joni James concert at Westbury Music Fair. She is anything but a country singer. She is urbane and sophisticated and yet she sang five Hank Williams tunes: Your Cheatin Heart, Jambalaya, I Can't Help It If I'm Still in Love With You, Hey, Good Looking and Why Don't You Love Me Like You Used To Do?

Why do these simple songs, written by an ordinary man register so deeply with audiences of varied interests? His songs are powerful and simply written, no three or four syllable words, and yet the meaning is clear and deep.

They have been called "cheatin' songs" and "poor man's music." Emmylou Harris says, "Country music is about birth, death, longing, loss, salvation and joy. There's nothing clever about it. It's just life, laid out on a plate for you."

This ordinary man with extraordinary talent made the most of the gifts he was blessed with. He encountered two powerful forces that ultimately destroyed his career and took his life, women and booze.

In 1948 when they released Lovesick Blues, his first major hit, he was already having trouble staying sober. His wife Audrey was a strong woman who comes through very clearly in Hank's lyrics. In the final years of his meteoric career, Hank was plagued by a failed marriage coupled with alcohol and drug abuse.

Hank was born in Georgiana, AL. Between 1949 - 1953 he had 27 top-10 hits. His songs are still alive today. He performed at the Grand Old Opry at the Ryman Auditorium and was beamed on radio all over the south. The best description of Hank's music and lyrics were written by Rick Bragg in 1999. "I thought he lived in our house," "He washed dishes with my mother," "He drank whiskey with my father" and "He serenaded my grandmother late at night." Over the radio waves he was part of the family!

Hank died in the back of a powder-blue Cadillac in Oak Hill, West Virginia. He was full of alcohol and pills to kill the pain of a spinal disorder or his lovesick blues.

He is country music's true Shakespeare.

Just go out and get a complete record of Hank Williams songs and you will hear a love story, good and bad, in the simplest of language with a powerful meaning.

Six months ago our entire family went to the theater to see The Lost Highway, the life story of Hank Williams. Jason Petty, a Hank look-and-sound-alike, played the role. It was an emotional and artistic depiction of Country and Western's greatest star.

Hank Williams is still alive today 50 years after his death.