Charles Carr | Singer's last driver, 79

Charles Carr, 79, who was just a college freshman when he drove country-music legend Hank Williams on his final, lonesome journey six decades ago, has died.

The director of the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, Ala., Beth Petty, said Mr. Carr, a retired investor, died Monday after a brief illness.

His son, Charles Lands Carr, said his father didn't talk much about being Williams' driver on that final trip, until late in his life.

Williams died at age 29 just before or on Jan. 1, 1953. He died during the night in the back of his 1952 blue Cadillac near Bluefield, W.Va., while he and Mr. Carr were on their way to a show in Ohio.

According to the Tennessean newspaper, which examined Williams' death in 2003, the singer had taken several shots of morphine to ease back pain.

Mr. Carr, who was a friend of the Williams family, told the Tennessean that at some point in the drive, he learned that Williams had died and took him to a hospital.

Heart failure was listed as the cause of death.

"I called my dad and told him what happened, and then Hank's mother called me at the hospital," Mr. Carr told the newspaper. "One of the parting things she said was: 'Don't let anything happen to the car.' " The Cadillac is on display in the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery.

Mr. Carr began to speak more about Williams' last ride after he became involved with the museum. Petty said Mr. Carr "was always kind to fans of Hank" and never tried to profit from his ties. - AP