Cowboy Hat in stone.

Hank Williams Astroturf Grave

Montgomery, Alabama

Country music megastar Hank Williams is buried in his home town of Montgomery. His granite grave is embellished with musical notes, carvings of his guitar and boots, references to his most popular songs, and a sculpture of his cowboy hat. What's most notable about it, however, is that it's carpeted in snappy green astroturf, not grass. The turf came in years after Hank's 1953 death, and after it became clear that no grass was ever likely to grow on his grave, since it would be plucked clean by his fans as souvenirs.

Hank and Audrey Williams' graves.

The cemetery memorial, which includes his late wife Audrey, is still a popular sight for music fans, with a large granite sign out by the highway directing people to it. But the idea of replacing grass with astroturf seems unique to Hank Williams. We can't recall any other celebrity graves doing likewise. Perhaps grass-plucking was a fad unique to Hank's fans. And since so many superstars have died abruptly since Hank, and since so much time has passed, we suspect real grass could probably be planted on the grave and survive. But the lovely astroturf has become part of Hank's lore, as unique as his voice and song writing talent, so it's likely to stay.