“Cold, Cold Heart“ is a country music and pop song recorded by Hank Williams….as a blues ballad is both a classic of honky-tonk….and an entry in the Great American Songbook. The song would become a pop hit for Tony Bennett….which paved the way for country songs to make inroads into the lucrative pop market. In the liner notes to the 1990 Polygram compilation Hank Williams: The Original Single Collection, Fred Rose’s son Wesley states….“Hank earned two major distinctions as a songwriter: he was the first writer on a regular basis to make country music national music; and he was the first country songwriter accepted by pop artists, and pop A&R men.”
In this video herewith…..country music star Faron Young sings his rendition of “Cold Cold Heart” on the televised Tribute To Hank Williams….for Young was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950’s into the mid-1980’s…..as one of its most successful and colorful stars….while having such hits as “If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’)” and “Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young”….which marked him as a honky-tonk singer in sound and personal style….while his chart-topping singles “Hello Walls” and “It’s Four in the Morning” showed his versatility as a vocalist. Known as the Hillbilly Heartthrob, and following a movie role, the Young Sheriff, Young’s singles reliably charted for more than 30 years. Young is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
