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Song Stories

“Your Cheatin' Heart”

Hank Williams | 1953

Legend has it that this song came to Hank Williams when he was thinking about his first wife while driving around with his second; Wife No. 2 wrote down the lyrics for him in the passenger seat. After polishing it with co-writer Fred Rose, Williams recorded “Your Cheatin' Heart” during the last sessions he ever did, on September 23rd, 1952. He told a friend, “It's the best heart song I ever wrote.” He never got to hear it become one of the greatest country standards of all time, having died in the backseat of his car on New Year’s Day 1953 at age 29, weeks before its release.

Find out who won the battle over Hank Williams’ lost tapes.
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“November Rain”
Guns N' Roses | 1991
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“Weird”
Hanson | 1997

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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