; Whereas Williams’ common tongue and easygoing music earned him the nickname Hillbilly Shakespeare ; Whereas Williams often authored and sung many gospel songs and recorded many moral narrations under the pseudonym Luke the Drifter ; Whereas Williams recorded 55 singles that made the top 10 of the Billboard Country and Western Best Sellers chart, including 12 that reached number 1, 3 of which were after his death; Whereas Williams authored iconic American hits such as 1947’s Move It On Over , 1949’s I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry , 1951’s Hey, Good Lookin’ and Ramblin’ Man , and 1953’s Your Cheatin’ Heart ; Whereas Williams made music history by releasing other famous hits such as 1949’s Lost Highway and Lovesick Blues , 1951’s Cold, Cold Heart , and 1952’s Jambalaya ; Whereas Williams most famous gospel song was his 1948 release of I Saw the Light , ushering in a genre-defining piece of work that set the stage for gospel music for generations to come; Whereas the Country Music Hall of Fame noted that Williams set the agenda for contemporary country songcraft and the standard by which success is measured in country music ; Whereas Williams was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame in 1999, and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; Whereas, in 2010, Williams was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for his work, honoring his craftsmanship as a songwriter who expressed universal feelings with poignant simplicity and played a pivotal role in transforming country music into a major musical and cultural force in American life ; Whereas Williams’ many achievements spanned only a few years before his untimely death at the young age of 29