This petition asks the Obama administration to implore the Grand Ole Opry to reinstate Hank Williams as a member. As the History Channel's website explains, Hank Williams' June 11, 1949 Grand Ole Opry debut "remains one of the most famous" in the program's history; Williams "electrif[ied] a live audience at Ryman Auditorium that called Williams out for six encores and had to be implored not to call him out for more in order to allow the rest of the show to go on. . . . [The Opry] fired Williams in July 1952 over his heavy drinking. Two months later, Hank Williams died of alcohol-induced heart failure at the age of 29." Hank Williams' contribution to country music cannot be overstated. Substance abuse notwithstanding, he deserves to be reinstated.
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