Golden Radio Theater
Home/Music/Mother's Best Flour Show
Music · WSM

Mother's Best Flour Show

January 8, 1951 – April 6, 1951 · 16 broadcasts

From January 1951, Hank Williams sang and sold Mother's Best Flour for fifteen minutes every weekday morning on Nashville's WSM, backed by his Drifting Cowboys and needled by announcer Louis Buck. Most mornings ran to a pattern: Hank opened on a snatch of "Lovesick Blues," played a country song, and worked toward a hymn, with an instrumental or a vocal turn from his wife Audrey Williams in between and the flour, the self-rising cornmeal, and the Pig and Sow Feed sold along the way. Because Hank was so often on the road, many shows were cut to 16-inch acetate ahead of time and aired as if live. Those discs were nearly lost -- salvaged from a WSM discard pile, then locked in a decades-long ownership fight -- before Time Life issued the complete surviving run in 2010. Collectors prize them above almost anything in the catalog: unhurried, warm, full of between-song talk, they catch Hank as a working entertainer rather than the doomed legend of the biographies. Golden Radio Theater holds sixteen of the roughly seventy-two surviving shows.

Collection status: 16 of 16 held (100% complete)
◆ ◆ ◆

Episode Spine

1951

January 8, 1951 First Song The Blind Child Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour. Opening on "The Blind Child," the show runs: The Blind Child, Blue Steel Blues (instrumental), and When God Dips His Love in My Heart, framed by Hank's "Lovesick Blues" and his sung "Mother's Best Theme." Announcer Louis Buck pitches the flour between songs.
January 9, 1951 First Song Where The Old Red River Flows Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour. Opening on "Where the Old Red River Flows," the show runs: Where the Old Red River Flows, Moonlight Waters (instrumental), and How Can You Refuse Him Now, framed by Hank's "Lovesick Blues" and his sung "Mother's Best Theme." Announcer Louis Buck pitches the flour between songs.
January 10, 1951 First Song Moanin the Blues Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Moanin' the Blues." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
January 11, 1951 First Song Alabama Waltz Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Alabama Waltz." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
January 12, 1951 First Song No Bodys Lonesome For Me Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Nobody's Lonesome for Me." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
January 15, 1951 First Song Loveless Mansion on the Hill Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "A Mansion on the Hill." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
January 16, 1951 First Song Everythings Okay Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Everything's OK." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
January 17, 1951 First Song Nobodys Lonesome For Me Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Nobody's Lonesome for Me." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
January 18, 1951 First Song Move It On Over Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Move It On Over." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
January 19, 1951 First Song Seamans Blues Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Seaman's Blues." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
February 2, 1951 First Song Cold Cold Heart Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Cold, Cold Heart." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
April 2, 1951 First Song Move It On Over Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Move It On Over." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
April 3, 1951 First Song Faded Love and Winter Roses Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Faded Love and Winter Roses." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
April 4, 1951 First Song Why Should We Try Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Why Should We Try." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
April 5, 1951 First Song Long Gone Lonesome Blues Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Long Gone Lonesome Blues." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
April 6, 1951 First Song Dear John Listen (MP3)
A surviving quarter-hour of Hank Williams's WSM morning show for Mother's Best Flour, opening on "Dear John." It follows the program's usual fifteen-minute shape -- Hank's songs and his "Lovesick Blues" theme, an instrumental or a vocal from wife Audrey Williams, and often a hymn -- while announcer Louis Buck sells the flour between numbers.
The Story

From January 1951, Hank Williams sang and sold Mother's Best Flour for fifteen minutes every weekday morning on Nashville's WSM, backed by his Drifting Cowboys and needled by announcer Louis Buck. Most mornings ran to a pattern: Hank opened on a snatch of "Lovesick Blues," played a country song, and worked toward a hymn, with an instrumental or a vocal turn from his wife Audrey Williams in between and the flour, the self-rising cornmeal, and the Pig and Sow Feed sold along the way. Because Hank was so often on the road, many shows were cut to 16-inch acetate ahead of time and aired as if live. Those discs were nearly lost -- salvaged from a WSM discard pile, then locked in a decades-long ownership fight -- before Time Life issued the complete surviving run in 2010. Collectors prize them above almost anything in the catalog: unhurried, warm, full of between-song talk, they catch Hank as a working entertainer rather than the doomed legend of the biographies. Golden Radio Theater holds sixteen of the roughly seventy-two surviving shows.

Full story — coming soon while it's being curated.
Gallery
Art pending