Burger Bar

The most storied country music city that's not named Nashville is probably Bristol. The city sits on the Tennessee/Virginia border in the Great Valley, the preferred route for immigrants who landed in a port on the Eastern Seaboard to head south to Tennessee and points west. Bristol may not be the country music industry center that Nashville is, but it's home to the “Big Bang of Country Music,” which occurred when Ralph Peer of the Victor Talking Machine Company stopped over in Bristol for several days in 1927. 

During that time he recorded artists from throughout southeastern Appalachia. He came away with a  treasure trove of recordings by artists encompassing blues, ragtime, gospel, ballads, and what became known as “country” music. His recordings included the Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers, who became huge radio stars as a result. 

Hank Williams did not record at the Bristol sessions, and in fact was only four years old at the time of the recordings. He didn't become a star until the 1940s, but in the space of six years recorded dozens of hits and redefined country music forever. Williams was only 29 when, on Dec. 30, 1952, he headed out on a ride from Alabama, through Knoxville, Tennessee, to a New Year's Eve gig in Charleston, West Virginia. Williams laid down in the backseat, wrapped in a blanket and loaded on booze, morphine, chloral hydrate, and vitamin B12.

According to legend, his driver stopped in downtown Bristol, Virginia, to get gas and check a cab stand to see if he could find a relief driver. Next door was a diner, the Burger Bar. The driver asked Williams if he wanted anything to eat. Williams declined, saying he just wanted to sleep. Next time they stopped, in Oak Hill, West Virginia, Williams was found and pronounced dead. More than 25,000 people attended his funeral.

To its credit, the Burger Bar doesn't lean all that hard into the “Hank Williams’ last words” story. These days, it doesn't need to. The diner has defied the passage of time and remained open under numerous owners. The Burger Bar’s current owner and operator don't seem so worried about the legend.