 Hank Williams , who heard both the Miller and Griffin versions , started performing the song on the Louisiana Hayride shortly after joining in August 1948 . Horace Logan , the show 's producer and programming director for KWKH , reported that the audience " went crazy " the first time Williams performed the song on the show . In light of the live audience 's strong positive reaction , Williams decided to record the song . His decision was questioned by his musicians and also his producer , Fred Rose , who felt that the song did not merit a recording . Williams , mindful of the reaction he received live , persisted , and the recording took place during the final half @-@ hour of a session recorded at Herzog Studio in Cincinnati , Ohio , on December 22 , 1948 . For this recording , Williams replaced the jazz musicians with a modern country music band , using a rhythm guitar , mandolin , string bass , drums and a steel guitar . Williams ' session band was composed of Clyde Baum ( mandolin ) , Zeke Turner ( electric guitar ) , Jerry Byrd ( steel guitar ) , Louis Innis ( rhythm guitar ) , Tommy Jackson ( fiddle ) and Willie Thawl ( bass ) . With little time left , Byrd and Turner replicated the musical arrangement they previously used on an Ernest Tubb session for a cover of Jimmie Rodgers ' " Waiting for a Train " . In the episode of American Masters about Williams , Drifting Cowboy Don Helms recalls , " When they recorded ' Lovesick Blues , ' Fred told Hank , ' That song 's out of meter ! Got too many bars in it . And you hold that note too long . ' And Hank said , ' Well , when I find a note I like , I wanna hold on to it as long as I can , ' you know , just tryin ' to be funny . And Fred said , ' Well , I 'll tell you what I 'm gonna do . That thing is so much out of meter , I 'm gonna get me a cup of coffee and when I get back maybe ya 'll have that thing cut . ' And they did , but it was still out of meter . So Fred lived with that the rest of his life . " Williams combined Griffin 's lyrical arrangement with a two @-@ beat honky @-@ tonk track , borrowing the yodeling and beat drops from Miller 's recording . " Lovesick Blues " was recorded in two takes . 
