Hank Williams built much of his reputation as a songwriter by taking the temperature of his marriage, and one of his signature songs followed a heated confrontation.
In the fall of 1950, his wife, Audrey, was hospitalized with an infection, and the two got into one of their many arguments (yes, even then). While complaining about her, Hank allegedly told an associate that she had a “cold, cold heart,” and he recognized it as a possible song title.
Williams authored “Cold, Cold Heart” in a scant one hour on Thanksgiving Day and recorded it four days before Christmas at the Castle Studio in Downtown Nashville. MGM released it as the b-side of “Dear John” on Groundhog Day, and in the May 12, 1951, issue, it rose to No. 1 on Billboard’s country disc jockeys chart. The magazine featured three country rankings at the time — including a bestsellers list and another representing jukebox play — and “Cold, Cold Heart” became the fifth of 11 Williams singles to top one or more of those charts.
Pop icon Tony Bennett recorded his own version of the song that May, and in November, it began a six-week run on the list of bestselling pop singles, subsequently adding two more weeks atop the pop radio tally.
Bennett’s recording was one of nine “Cold, Cold Heart” covers mentioned in the pages of Billboard during the final quarter of 1951, including takes by Louis Armstrong and Dinah Washington. In recent years, it’s been referenced in the lyrics of Maren Morris’ “My Church” and Sam Hunt’s “Hard to Forget.”
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