Watch Alan Jackson Celebrate Hank Williams' 100th Birthday

There's simply nobody more essential to country music than Hank Williams, so it's no surprise that his birthday is still remembered and celebrated among the genre's stars, even a whole century later.

Alan Jackson marked Williams' 100th birthday on Sunday (Sept. 17), performing his own rendition of Williams' classic "Your Cheatin' Heart" on acoustic guitar.

Jackson filmed his simple, stripped-down cover in what looks like an area of his house, the wall behind him decorated with items like an American flag, an old fashioned gas pump, a stereo and a CD tower.

Though Jackson didn't put too many of his own embellishments on the performance, own vocal talents are readily apparent in the video, as is his reverence for Williams' legacy and the influence the older artist had on Jackson's own career.

"Happy 100th birthday, Hank," Jackson said after he finished performing. "I don't think I'd be here without you."

Born Sept. 17, 1923, Williams produced a sprawling catalog of hits despite the fact that he died just months shy of his 30th birthday. Over the course of his 15-year career, the singer charted 55 singles inside the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart and sent 12 songs to No. 1. Five of his hits were released posthumously, among them "Your Cheatin' Heart," which was written and recorded in the fall of 1952. Other enduring Williams hits include "Honky Tonk Blues," "Hey, Good Lookin'," "Cold, Cold Heart," "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and others. He is often regarded as country music's first true superstar.

Williams died on Jan. 1, 1953 at the age of 29, while in a car being driven from Tennessee to Ohio for a New Year's Day concert. His official cause of death was heart failure caused by longterm drug and alcohol use.

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