The Garden Spot Programs, 1950

Content

In February 1950, Hank Williams recorded a series of fifteen-minute radio shows, commissioned by Naughton Farms, a plant nursery out of Waxahachie, Texas. Instead of the Drifting Cowboys, Williams was backed by a band assembled for the job. The sixteen-inch transcription discs were sent to radio stations across the United States to be broadcast along with commercials for the nursery.

In 2013, recordings of four of the shows were found by record collector George Gimarc at KSIB-AM in Creston, Iowa. Girmac notified of its existence to Williams biographer Colin Escott. Girmac and Escott contacted Cheryl Pawelski, founder of the reissue label Omnivore Recordings. Escott and Pawelski me with William's daughter, Jett Williams, who cleared the release. For the re-master and restoration of the tracks, Omnivore hired audio engineer Michael Graves.

Release and reception

The 24-track album was released by Omnivore on May 20, 2014, on CD and digital LP. The liner notes of the album were written by Escott, while the packaging included pictures from the author's personal collection. The release won Best Historical Album during the 57th Grammy Awards.

Allmusic rated the release with four stars out of five. The reviewer noted that while the band that backed Williams did not complement him as did his usual band, the singer "sounds strong and inspired". PopMatters rated it with eight points out of ten, qualifying the performances as "more than polished and heartfelt ... downright chilling."