If there’s anyone who deserves a yearly tribute concert, it’s Hank Williams. No less a musical authority than Lenny Kaye calls him “America’s greatest poet.”
Although Williams was dead by the age of 29, he left behind a whopping batch of songs that summed up the human condition — running the gamut from humor to pathos (sometimes in the same song) in a way that most everyone could relate to with a melodic flair that just stuck those tunes in your head.
Whether you were sober, hungover or still drunk (as one boisterous attendee claimed), the Bowery Electric on the Lower East Side was the place to be for Hank fans on New Year’s Day, the 71st anniversary of his death. Put together for the last 21 years by Heidi Lieb and Steve Strunsky of the Lonesome Prairie Dogs (LPDs), the yearly “Hank-O-Rama” shows no sign of waning in popularity as a full house was there to enjoy some great music by the LPDs and a bunch of fabulous guest vocalists.
“There were so many great performances,” said Lieb gushed. “It’s hard to pick out a favorite.”
It’s fair to say that no one in country music has made such a lasting impression than Williams, who has been immortalized in movies, written about endlessly and inspired more songs than anyone that we can think of in any genre.
In addition to all the tribute albums, from George Jones to Roy Orbison, a (very) partial list includes “Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way” ( Waylon Jennings), “Long White Cadillac” (The Blasters), “Hank Williams Sings the Blues No More” (Jimmie Logsdon), “The Ghost of Hank Williams” (Kentucky Headhunters), “Hank Williams Said It Best” (Guy Clark), “Tribute to Hank Williams” (Tim Hardin), “I Think Hank Woulda Done It This Way” (The Blue Chieftains), “Family Tradition” (Hank Williams, Jr.) and Kris Kristofferson’s classic “If You Don’t Like Hank Williams (Honey, You Can Kiss My Ass).”
Lieb and Strunsky started “Hank-O-Rama” back in 2004 at Arlene’s Grocery. They had been the house band for a Johnny Cash tribute, and they realized that no one was doing one for Hank, so they took it upon themselves to make it happen.
Lieb was pregnant with her daughter Nikko at that first performance, so maybe it was inevitable that their offspring would command the stage eventually.
“She crashed the show when she was five! ” Heidi Lieb recalls. With no plans for her to do so, she made her stage debut singing “Hey, Good Lookin’.” The younger Lieb got her way again this year when Strunsky let her sing “Alone and Forsaken,” a tune he usually handles.
“She’s been requesting it for years,” Heidi Lieb tells us. “And she killed it. It was an incredible moment.”
The band was comprised of Strunsky on guitar, Heidi Lieb on standup bass, Mike Dvorkin on lead guitar, Ellie Goodman on fiddle, Kenny Soule on drums, Jordan Maclean on trumpet, Smoota on trombone,
and the aforementioned Kaye on pedal steel guitar, which is not his usual axe.
“It’s a really good band and I’m just the pedal steel player,” he notes. “The pedal steel is really just a hobby for me. You have to really dive deeply into it. I’m just a friendly amateur.”
Kaye took center stage to play (with his customary guitar) his own Hank tribute, “Luke The Drifter,” which led to a recitation of one of Williams’ morality tales, “Too Many Parties.”
The LPDs started their set after a dramatic reading of the original Hank Williams death announcement by Jeff Ward with a Strunsky original, “Cold, Cold Morning,” before launching into some classic Hank tunes and then sharing the stage with a variety of singers and, later, The Lonesome Horns.
Jack Grace, Li’l Mo, Alan Lee Backer, Sean Kershaw (the only one who has sung at all 21 shows), John S. Hall, Cliff Westfall, Stephanie Marie ( who also MC’ed), Tammy Faye Starlite, Elena Skye and Boo Reiners, Karen Hudson, and Nikko Lieb all had their turn at the mic, as well as Margaret Burke, an audience member whose raffle prize was the chance to front the band for “Hey, Good Lookin’.” Other prizes included t-shirts, posters and a lovely women’s western blouse.
“The songs are a lot of fun,” Strunsky notes. “The words are not nearly as compelling to read as they are to sing.”
The tunes ranged from the very familiar (“Cold, Cold Heart”) to the very obscure ( “Alone and Forsaken”) and included some of the previously mentioned songs written about Hank, notably a rockin’ version of Junior’s “Family Tradition” led by Strunsky.
Starlite, who Heidi Lieb always programs at the end of a set so that no one has to go on after her, followed her very funny profane and politically incorrect banter with a killer two-song set (note to Tammy: we’re still laughing at that joke).
“All the guest stars make this show very special,” opined Kaye. “It’s a family occasion! Everyone had a great time. It’s a great tribute to one of the most important artists of the 20th century.”
“We’re not a Hank cover band, but we have a great love and respect for Hank,” Heidi Lieb tells us. “Nobody is Hank except for Hank.”
When asked if they are going to continue the yearly event, Heidi Lieb says, “People love it and it seems to just keep growing every year. It’s hard to stop now, knowing how loved it is. It’s now a tradition.”
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