HANK WILLIAMS: Country Music's Tragic King

by Jay Caress ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 21, 1979

Legendary singer-songwriter Hank Williams (""Your Cheatin' Heart"") was only 29 when he died of booze-plus-morphine in the backseat of a car in 1953; and his short, sad life--Alabama sharecropper's kid to teenage radio personality to alcoholic Grand Opry headliner and recording star--probably doesn't lend itself to a full-length biography. Certainly this folksy effort isn't the answer: instead of digging deeply; Caress stretches out the basic facts with repetitious anecdotes and endless quotes from friends and relations--most of them banal, many of them second- or third-hand. He also indulges in pseudo-psychology (""Through the tangible joy of looking at his baby son, Hank may have gotten a glimmer of what things are truly important in life""), sentimental rhetoric (""But why did Hank's heartbreak have to end in self-destruction?""), and back-porch sermonizing: ""Only God and Hank know where Hank's soul was transported when he departed his vehicle that night and left his body on the chilly black leather."" And with all that droning, undeveloped emphasis on Hank's drinking and domestic misery (two strong-willed wives, back pain), the songs--and Hank's place in music history--tend to get lost. Caress does provide a discography, analyzes many lyrics, acknowledges the influence of black music and dance music, and wisely draws on Henry Pleasants' Great American Popular Singers. But his comments are unoriginal and even sometimes confusing--as when he dissects the music and words of ""Lost Highway"" and then casually mentions that Williams didn't write it. Devoted down-home fans may welcome Caress' indiscriminately detailed approach to ""ol' Hank""--but wiser folk will find more compact, evocative Williams portraits elsewhere.

Pub Date: July 21, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Stein & Day

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1979

Categories: NONFICTION