As one of the most iconic country music singers of all time, Hank Williams’ impact on the genre is immeasurable. Despite his untimely death at the age of 29 in 1953, his music has continued to resonate with audiences for generations. However, for his daughter, Jett Williams, the relationship with her father was non-existent for the first 20 years of her life.
Jett was born to Bobbie Jett and Hank Williams in 1953, just five days after her father’s death. Bobbie Jett was a nightclub singer who had a brief affair with Williams, and as a result, Jett was born out of wedlock. She was immediately put up for adoption, and it wasn’t until two decades later that she discovered the truth about her parentage.
Jett grew up in foster homes and was later adopted by a family in Mobile, Alabama. She had a passion for music from a young age and even pursued a career in Nashville. However, it wasn’t until 1985 that she learned the truth about her biological parents.
After a long legal battle, Jett was officially recognized as Hank Williams’ daughter in 1987, and she was granted a portion of his estate. She has since dedicated her life to preserving her father’s legacy, including recording her own music and writing a memoir about her experiences.
Despite the years of separation and the difficult circumstances surrounding her birth, Jett has found solace in her connection to her father’s music. She has said, “My father’s music is my heritage. It’s something that nobody can take away from me, and it’s something that I can cherish forever.”
Hank Williams had a tumultuous personal life. He was married twice, first to Audrey Mae Sheppard, with whom he had a son, Hank Williams Jr. However, their marriage was plagued with infidelity and domestic violence, and they divorced in 1952. Williams then married Billie Jean Jones Eshlimar in 1952, but their marriage was also marked by his alcoholism and infidelity, and they divorced in 1953. Williams had at least one extramarital affair that resulted in a daughter, Jett Williams, who was born after his death.
Hank Williams had two children, a son named Randall Hank Williams (known professionally as Hank Williams Jr.) and a daughter named Jett Williams. Hank Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps and became a successful country music artist, with hits such as “A Country Boy Can Survive” and “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight.”
Jett, on the other hand, did not discover her true identity as Hank Williams’ daughter until she was an adult. She was born five days after her father’s death and was given up for adoption. Her mother, Bobbie Jett, was a college student who had an affair with Hank Williams. Jett was raised by adoptive parents who never told her the truth about her biological parents.
In 1985, Jett hired a private investigator to help her locate her birth mother. Through this search, she learned that she was the daughter of Hank Williams. Jett went on to have a career in country music herself and released an album of previously unreleased recordings of her father’s songs in 1990.
