Hank Williams is one of country music’s most iconic names. Yet the award-winning mastering engineer Hank Williams has worked his magic on many of our favorite hit songs.
Artist projects that Hank mastered include Glen Campbell, Etta James, George Strait, Charlie Daniels, Carrie Underwood, Alabama, Garth Brooks, Lee Ann Womack, Hank Williams, Jr., Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Darryl Worley, Taylor Swift, Darius Rucker, and Michael W. Smith among others, is relatively unknown outside of Nashville’s inner music sanctum.
Southern Americana podcast host Paul Stanley interviews mastering recording engineer Hank Williams in his Florida music room (OneSouthernMan/2020)
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The truth is, this Hank enjoys his low profile lifestyle. After a stellar, 30 plus-year career refining tons of recordings, Williams leads a simple life. He commits a portion of his day aiming a small ball at a flag rising from Florida’s sandy turf. That, and walking his dog Cooper.
When I came down to Florida searching for warmer weather and white sandy beaches, mutual neighbors said I should meet another Volunteer State transplant. His name was Hank Williams. I thought the idea had merit; Paul Stanley meets Hank Williams.
A few days later, I met Hank’s wife, Nancy, while walking Cooper. She also suggested that I meet Hank. She thought Hank might enjoy someone to talk music with. What an excellent idea. Yet, I had no clue about the accomplishments of my new friend. Then I saw his “music room.” Someone with speakers and sound components you’ve never heard of quickly falls into the audiophile category.
The working console of the legendary mastering engineer, Hank Williams
Unless you’re a musician or someone closely associated with the recording industry, chances are you aren’t familiar with what a mastering engineer does. Mastering an audio recording is the final step before a song, EP or album is given to the artist or record label. In short, the mastering engineer takes a complete master audio file and makes final edits and adjustments. Williams wasn’t just good; he established the standards by which future mastering engineers attempt to emulate.
To put my encounter in a perspective that the average music fan can easily comprehend, Hank Williams is to the mastering engineering community what Hank Williams, Sr. is to country music. Both are legends.
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I caught up with this engineering genius one fall morning along Florida’s scenic 30a coast. We discussed how songs are recorded, then perfected, and how making hits in Music City has changed over the years. If you’re curious about the recording process’s internal workings, then don’t miss this Southern Americana episode with one of music’s true masters.