Sneezy Waters

Who is Sneezy Waters?

Sneezy Waters is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitar player who is best known for his portrayal of Hank Williams Sr. in the play and film "Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave." The play portrays an 'imaginary concert' that the legendary US country singer might have given New Year's Eve 1952 in Canton, Ohio, had he not died en route. It was premiered in November 1977 at the Beacon Arms Hotel, Ottawa, and then presented on tour throughout Canada and in the USA until 1982. It was also staged at the O Kanada cultural exhibition in Berlin in 1983. Waters gave some 300 stage performances as Williams, and also appeared in the film adaptation of the show, a made-for-Canadian-TV-movie that first aired 31 December 1980.

He began performing in Ottawa coffeehouses in his late teens and was a member of several local rock bands, including The Children and A Rosewood Daydream, appearing with the latter at Expo '70, in Osaka, Japan. Taking the stage name Sneezy Waters he performed during the 1970s as a street musician in Ottawa and appeared as a soloist and with his Excellent Band at folk festivals and nightclubs elsewhere in the country.