pain relief abuse due to spina bifida
Death of Hank Williams
Hank Williams Memorial Montgomery Alabama.JPG
Entrance marker of the Oakwood Annex Cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama
Date January 1, 1953; 65 years ago
Location Oak Hill, West Virginia
Cause Insufficiency of the right ventricle of the heart
Burial January 4, 1953 at Oakwood Annex Cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama
Inquest January 1, 1953 in Oak Hill, West Virginia
Coroner Ivan Malinin
Hiram King "Hank" Williams died on January 1, 1953. Williams was an American singer-songwriter and musician regarded as one of the most significant country music artists of all time. Williams was born with a mild undiagnosed case of spina bifida occulta, a disorder of the spinal column, which gave him lifelong pain—a factor in his later abuse of alcohol and drugs. In 1951, Williams fell during a hunting trip in Tennessee, reactivating his old back pains and causing him to be dependent on alcohol and prescription drugs. This addiction eventually led to his divorce from Audrey Williams and his dismissal from the Grand Ole Opry.