Henry William Thompson was
born on Sept. 3, 1925 on the Brazos River in Waco Texas. He got his nickname
when a radio announcer for the Kiddies Matinee radio show kept referring to
the kid that kept winning as "Hank". That led to a daily radio program for
"Hank The Hired Hand".
After serving in the Navy in World War
II, Hank returned to Waco performing, taking the name Brazos Valley Boys for
his band. Hank made 3 records on the Globe and Bluebonnet labels before Tex
Ritter, who Hank had performed with, took one of Hank's records to Capitol
Records. Hank was then signed to Captiol. "Humpty Dumpty Heart" would spend 38
weeks on the charts in 1948, peaking at No. 2.
In 1951 Thompson moved the band to Oklahoma
City, and started playing a western swing sound, different from
Bob Wills'. That same year, Hank recorded "The Wild Side of Life," with its
line, "I didn't know God made honky tonk angels." The record spent 15 weeks at
No. 1 and inspired Kitty Wells' answer record, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky
Tonk Angels."
Hank's hits like "Waiting in the Lobby of Your Heart" continued to define the
honky-tonk song. Starting in 1953, guitarist Merle Travis was a staple
on Hank's records, which included such classics as "The Blackboard of My
Heart" and "A Six Pack To Go."
Hank was inducted into the Hall of Fame in
1989.