Hank Williams’ Steel Player Dies

Hank Williams Sr.

Aug. 12, 2008 — Don Helms, the last member of Hank Williams’ original Drifting Cowboys backing band, died Monday morning from an apparent heart attack, The Tennessean reported.

A sideman whose playing could be heard on records by Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Lefty Frizzell, Don was best remembered for his work on most of Hank’s singles after the band was formed in July 1949. Don played on such classics as "Cold, Cold Heart," "Hey, Good Lookin’," "I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You)" and "Kaw-Liga."

Appropriately, a recording studio was the last place Don ever had a conversation with Hank. The singer-songwriter introduced a new song to Don in September 1952 while recording at the Castle Studio in downtown Nashville, and they worked up an arrangement on the spot.

"I played him an intro, and we sang the song through one time," Don told The INDsider, of Lafayette, La. "Nobody made a mistake bad enough to require us to do it again. We went through it one time, never played it on the stage, just that one time in the studio, and it was 'Your Cheatin' Heart.' After that, I never saw him alive again. The record didn't come out until after Hank had died."

In addition to his work with Hank, Don appeared on such standards as Lefty Frizzell’s "The Long Black Veil," Loretta Lynn’s "Wine Women And Song," Patsy Cline’s "Walkin’ After Midnight" and Ray Price’s "I’ve Got A New Heartache." Don, 81, also played on Brenda Lee’s very first session, which included her version of a song that Don had worked on with Hank: "Jambalaya (On The Bayou)."