Addressed to McLean's Country, and amounting to just a few lines, it was from a regular listener thanking me for playing Hank Williams on the show.

Nothing strange about that, I hear you mutter in unimpressed tones. The unusual thing about this particular email is it came from Nashville, Tennessee, where the listener in question tuned into the programme courtesy of the listen again function on the web.

I get requests and comments from all over the globe on a regular basis, but there was something about this one that made me think. Apparently this country music-loving guy had to seek out a DJ in Northern Ireland to hear his beloved Hank Williams, as he couldn't find a station that would play him in his own city.

That that city happens to be the supposed home of country music only makes things even stranger.

Here I am in Belfast spinning tunes about honky tonks, highways and hard living for country fans in Music City itself. Talk about taking coals to Newcastle!

The sad fact is Hank Williams just can't get played on American roots radio these days and the same thing goes for other genuine legends like George Jones, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings.

In a world of glossy production values, expensive Stetsons and stylists, those guys just don't fit in. You could say they're 'too country'.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, but much of what passes for country music in the States is little more than sanitised pop of the lowest quality.

I interviewed Hank's grand daughter, Holly once and she told me it was only when she came to the UK and Ireland that anyone asked about her grandfather's music. In America, it seems, the great Hank is thought of as some long lost historical figure there to be admired but not played on the radio.

Listen to any Hank Williams greatest hits and you'll swiftly realise how wrong that assessment is.

The man was a genius, a trail blazer and an icon for pure country music through out his short life.

His attitude, his slow southern drawl and even his 'live fast die young' ethos just dripped pure rock and roll class a good five years before rock and roll was even dreamed up.

From his earliest tracks like Move It On Over, it's clear he was laying the ground rules for future generations, while his biggest hits like Lovesick Blues and Your Cheatin' Heart sound as thrilling and fresh today as they must have back in the early 50's.

He died at 29, but his legacy lives on. To me, he is country music personified.

There are plenty of cheap compilations out there with many of his finest moments just waiting to be discovered. Do yourself a favour and get one today.

Although you could always listen to him on the radio I suppose!