Hank Sr. Driver Dies
A man who was part of one of the most storied moments of American music died in Nashville July 1. Charles Carr, 79, a retired investor from Montgomery, Ala., drove the blue Cadillac in which Hank Williams died Jan. 1, 1953.
Carr’s family was friends with Williams, and the teenage freshman from Auburn University was taking Williams from Knoxville, Tenn., to a New Year’s Day concert in Canton, Ohio.
Publity photo
Williams died sometime along the way. Williams originally asked a friend who declined to drive him 1,000 miles from Montgomery to Canton, so Williams called upon Carr, whose parents owned a cab service.
Along the way, they stopped at hotel in Knoxville, but left in the middle of the night after Williams had several calls with his manager.
When Carr stopped for gas near Oak Hill, W.Va., he and a service attendant realized Williams was dead in the back seat.
Carr did not speak often of the event but did an interview for the Hank Williams Museum in 2009.
FREE
Daily Pulse
Subscribe
Daily Pulse
Subscribe