Legend has it this song came to Williams while with fiancé Billie Jean Horton. Just driving around, talking about standard fiancé stuff…like, his ex-wife.

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While telling his future bride about his former’s infidelities, he cried out that one day Audrey’s “Cheatin’ Heart” would pay. A hit was born, and, probably, so was a discussion re: whether or not he was really over his ex-wife.

MGM released the song in January 1953, just weeks after Hank’s death at age 29. In 2004 “Your Cheatin’ Heart” was named #1 in CMT’s list of the 40 Greatest “Done-Me Wrong Songs”.

This episode was co-written by Alexis Lisser, part of the Sound Beat Class Partnership. Find out more right now at soundbeat.org

Sound Beat is produced at the Belfer Audio Archive, Syracuse University Libraries.