Gibson Southerner Jumbo Formerly Owned by Hank Williams

Hiram “Hank” Williams (1923-1953), the original King of Country Music, played this 1951 Gibson Southerner Jumbo acoustic guitar extensively during the final two years of his troubled and too-short life. Its deep, strong sound suited Williams’ timeless music perfectly. He wrote many of his greatest songs riding in the back seat of a Cadillac, playing along on a guitar as he traveled between shows. 

Williams’ mother bought him his first Gibson acoustic guitar in 1937 when he was already a seasoned performer at age 14. A year later, a man attacked Williams with a knife after he played a dance in Fort Deposit, Alabama. Using his Gibson to protect himself, he smashed the guitar over the man’s head, knocking him out cold but destroying the guitar. Fortunately, this Southerner Jumbo led a much safer, but no less eventful existence.