40 Greatest Hits (Hank Williams album)


40 Greatest Hits is a two-record greatest hits compilation by American singer-songwriter Hank Williams. It was released in 1978 by Mercury Records — who under PolyGram became responsible for the MGM tape vault — on the 25th anniversary of Williams' death. Significantly, it was the first anthology in quite some time that did not subject Williams' recordings to either rechanneled stereo, posthumous overdubs, artificial duets with family members, or most or all of the above. Because of both this, and the value-for-money attraction of having a deeper song selection than single-disc compilations issued previously by MGM Records, many reviewers consider this anthology to be the perfect starting point for newcomers to Williams' recorded legacy. The album remains, to this day, the best-selling record of Williams' career.

Critical reception

The album was included in Robert Christgau's "basic record library", published in . In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at number 94 on a list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list.

Track listing

Except where otherwise indicated, all tracks composed by Hank Williams.

Disc one

  1. "Move It on Over" - 2:43
  2. "A Mansion on the Hill" - 2:33
  3. "Lovesick Blues" - 2:42
  4. "Wedding Bells" sold to Claude Boone - 2:53
  5. "Mind Your Own Business" - 2:53
  6. "You're Gonna Change " - 2:55
  7. "Lost Highway" - 2:40
  8. "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" - 2:31
  9. "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" - 2:45
  10. "I Just Don't Like This Kind of Living" - 2:46
  11. "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" - 2:36
  12. "My Son Calls Another Man Daddy" - 2:32
  13. "Why Don't You Love Me " - 2:22
  14. "Why Should We Try Anymore" - 2:36
  15. "They'll Never Take Her Love from Me" - 2:47
  16. "Moanin' the Blues" - 2:25
  17. "Nobody's Lonesome for Me" - 2:30
  18. "Cold, Cold Heart" - 2:45
  19. "Dear John" - 2:35
  20. "Howlin' at the Moon" - 2:41

    Disc two

  21. "I Can't Help It " - 2:25
  22. "Hey, Good Lookin'" - 2:55
  23. "Crazy Heart" - 2:29
  24. " Lonesome Whistle" - 2:28
  25. "Baby, We're Really in Love" - 2:34
  26. "Ramblin' Man" - 3:04
  27. "Honky Tonk Blues" - 2:12
  28. "I'm Sorry for You, My Friend" - 2:43
  29. "Half as Much" - 2:44
  30. "Jambalaya " - 2:54
  31. "Window Shopping" - 2:33
  32. "Settin' the Woods on Fire" - 2:38
  33. "You Win Again" - 2:37
  34. "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" - 2:27
  35. "Kaw-Liga" - 2:35
  36. "Your Cheatin' Heart" - 2:43
  37. "Take These Chains from My Heart" - 2:40
  38. "I Won't Be Home No More" - 2:45
  39. "Weary Blues from Waitin'" - 2:38
  40. "I Saw the Light" - 2:43

    Technical details