Country music is one of the oldest, most popular genres of music in history. And Hank Williams, a country music icon, was one of the leading U.S.
singers of the 1940s. On this day in history, Jan. 1, 1953, music legend Williams passed away at just 29 years old. Hank Williams was born Hiram King Williams in Mount Olive, Alabama, to a family of strawberry farmers and log company workers, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In addition to growing up in a family that struggled with poverty, Williams himself was managing a different type of struggle.
Williams was born with a spinal deformity called spina bifida occulta. In this condition, people suffer from a small gap between the bones in the spine as a result of incomplete formation during the mother's pregnancy.
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