Biography
Born on 21 April 1941 in Robards, Kentucky, USA, Owen first encountered Hank Williams in performance at the age of eight, an experience that ignited a lifelong fixation on the singer and his catalog. Once his schooling ended, he took positions as a journalist and golf instructor before relocating to Nashville in 1969 with assistance from Mel Tillis to pursue songwriting. In the years that followed, numerous performers placed his compositions on the charts, among them “Too Lonely Too Long” and “One More Drink” for Mel Tillis, “Little Boy’s Prayer” for Porter Wagoner, “Sweet Baby On My Mind” for June Stearns, “Southern Loving” and “Broad Minded Man” for Jim Ed Brown, “The Telephone” for Jerry Reed, and the widely recognized “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” for Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn.
His fixation on Williams persisted, and his wife’s account of a dream in which Owen appeared at the Grand Ole Opry yet sang in Williams’ voice prompted him to develop a full recreation of his idol. He interviewed acquaintances and colleagues of the late star while mastering the gestures and stagecraft that defined Williams’ appearances. In 1976 Owen hosted the one-hour PBS special Hank, which earned him an Emmy for the year’s outstanding public-television program. He next assembled the 90-minute solo production An Evening With Hank Williams, supported by recordings from the Drifting Cowboys, and toured it widely, regularly attracting thousands of listeners.
Owen also portrayed Williams in the 1980 motion picture Hank Williams: The Man And His Music, receiving an Emmy nomination for the role. His 1978 Epic single “Lovesick Blues,” cut with the Drifting Cowboys, reached the lower reaches of the charts, and he followed with two additional modest successes in the early 1980s, “Ten Anniversary Presents” and “Hell Yes, I Cheated.” In 1985 he wrote and produced a ten-hour radio tribute to Williams that aired across numerous U.S. stations on New Year’s Day. He later performed as Williams in the Legends In Concert series at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas and made repeated Opry appearances, including a 1 January 1993 program marking the fortieth anniversary of Williams’ death that concluded with a standing ovation. Owen maintained an active touring schedule into the 1990s, continued writing songs, and occasionally worked as an auctioneer near his home in Henderson, Tennessee, where he also maintained a notable collection of classic automobiles.
His fixation on Williams persisted, and his wife’s account of a dream in which Owen appeared at the Grand Ole Opry yet sang in Williams’ voice prompted him to develop a full recreation of his idol. He interviewed acquaintances and colleagues of the late star while mastering the gestures and stagecraft that defined Williams’ appearances. In 1976 Owen hosted the one-hour PBS special Hank, which earned him an Emmy for the year’s outstanding public-television program. He next assembled the 90-minute solo production An Evening With Hank Williams, supported by recordings from the Drifting Cowboys, and toured it widely, regularly attracting thousands of listeners.
Owen also portrayed Williams in the 1980 motion picture Hank Williams: The Man And His Music, receiving an Emmy nomination for the role. His 1978 Epic single “Lovesick Blues,” cut with the Drifting Cowboys, reached the lower reaches of the charts, and he followed with two additional modest successes in the early 1980s, “Ten Anniversary Presents” and “Hell Yes, I Cheated.” In 1985 he wrote and produced a ten-hour radio tribute to Williams that aired across numerous U.S. stations on New Year’s Day. He later performed as Williams in the Legends In Concert series at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas and made repeated Opry appearances, including a 1 January 1993 program marking the fortieth anniversary of Williams’ death that concluded with a standing ovation. Owen maintained an active touring schedule into the 1990s, continued writing songs, and occasionally worked as an auctioneer near his home in Henderson, Tennessee, where he also maintained a notable collection of classic automobiles.