Hank Williams

Description

"He was just twenty-nine years old and had been a recording artist for less than six years when he died on New Year's Day in 1953. Yet the songs Hank Williams left behind - including "I Saw the Light," "Cold Cold Heart," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Jambalaya," "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" - transformed him into a legend whose influence is felt as strongly today as ever. But for all that his music reveals, we know remarkably little of the man himself. His formal interviews barely filled a page, and even those who claimed him as a friend admit they barely knew him.". "Now Colin Escott and Kira Florita present a trove of more than 300 photographs, letters, and other artifacts that shine a new light on Hank as an artist, family man, and performer while they chronicle his rise from poverty to fame and his plunge into self-destruction. Featuring the collections of Marty Stuart, Hank Williams, Jr., and Jett Williams, this remarkable album of images - most never before published - includes shots ranging from the only known baby photo of Hank to funeral pictures of Hank's wife, Billie Jean, saying farewell over his open casket. In between are private childhood photos, rare portraits of Hank with his earliest bands, snapshots from his early stardom in Montgomery and Shreveport, pictures of him performing at the height of his fame, and the only known images of Hank in the recording studio.". "The authors have also assembled revelatory letters and documents, including those Hank wrote to his mother from a rodeo in Texas and those his publisher Fred Rose wrote in the hope of keeping Hank from drink; newly unsealed court depositions by Hank's sister Irene and his two wives; and poignant personal accounts of their father by Hank Williams Jr. and Jett Williams. Here too is the poster for the concert Hank was scheduled to give January 2, not seen since 1953, and even his final lyric, which fell out of his hand onto the floor of the car where he died." "Equally extraordinary are the previously unseen handwritten lyrics - many hurriedly scrawled, scratched out, the rewritten, on lined notepaper or hotel stationery - to nearly thirty songs never recorded by Hank nor published until now.". "Enhanced by compelling first-person accounts from Hank and those who knew him, complemented by a foreword from Rick Bragg and a preface by Marty Stuart, this beautifully designed tribute is a revelation. Open it and know Hank Williams as you have never known him before."--BOOK JACKET.

Description

His recording career lasted only six years, his spell at the top of his profession barely four, and he was only twenty-nine when a life of excess caught up with him. But in that brief span, Hank Williams created one of the greatest bodies of work in American music. Songs like "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "Hey Good Lookin'" and "Jambalaya" sold millions, crossed over from the country to the pop charts, and became the model for all country music that followed. But by the time of his death, Hank had drunk and drugged and philandered his way through two messy marriages and out of his headline spot on the Grand Ole Opry. Even though he was country's top seller, toward the end he was so famously unreliable that he was lucky to get a booking in a beer hall. Drawing on years of impeccable research and powerful first-person accounts to create the most full-blooded portrait of Williams ever, Hank Williams: The Biography is a masterful account of Hank Williams's stunning rise and spectacular decline. It discards the myths to reveal a driven, disorderly life, one that swung between unimaginable success and unutterable miseries. He was raised by a woman who alternately lavished affection on him and made unreasonable demands. His impoverished childhood sent him onto the streets of Montgomery, Alabama, to earn money first by selling peanuts, later by singing. He left behind a stormy home life for an even stormier marriage to a would-be singer who grew increasingly embittered by Hank's success - and by his drinking and endless touring. That marriage ended in a nasty divorce, and the next began in a media circus, a public wedding in an auditorium with spectators paying to watch. . Just weeks after his second marriage, his life spiraled out of control, finally leaving Hank dead in the backseat of his Cadillac on New Year's Day 1953. This biography unfolds Williams's life and times in telling detail, with extraordinary attention to the music that is his legacy. It also reveals much that was previously unknown or hidden about Hank Williams's life, including his songwriting collaborations, his crippling degenerative illness, and the first full account of his final journey. In trying to conjure up something that would sell a few records, Hank Williams laid bare his soul and defined the vernacular of contemporary country music. The generations of fans who have loved that music will find here a compelling and accurate portrait that will stand as the definitive biography.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Hank Williams: the biographyLittle, Brown1994-01-01
• Hank WilliamsLittle, Brown1995-01-01
• Hank WilliamsPaperbackLittle, Brown and Company1995-07-01
• Hank WilliamsLittle, Brown1996-01-01
• Hank WilliamsDa Capo Press2001-01-01
• Hank WilliamsLittle, Brown2004-01-01