Rating: 
Summary: A good followup to Roger Williams' SING A SAD SONG
Review: Except for Jesus Christ and Robert E. Lee, no other person has affected the conscious and unconscious mind of the average Southerner as has Hank Williams.Colin Escott's biography is less sentimental and more sensationalized than Roger Williams', but is it really more detailed? After all, you can only get so much material within a given number of pages. Nevertheless, every time you re-read this book, you pick up facts and suggestions you never noticed before.
Of course, this is necessarily true with such a complex man, a genius in his field, and whose life and death were mysterious. My favorite anecdote concerning Hank is missing from both books and is related by his steel guitarist, Don Helms: Once, playing an outdoor venue, it began to rain on Hank and his band. Hank and the band retreated to a covered stage area, where they continued the show. Looking over the audience, who were getting soaked, Hank had compassion on his musical followers, and returned to the rain. "If you're good enough to listen to me in the rain, I'm good enough to play for you in the rain!" And he did. There you have it--a man with godlike qualities but yet a complete lack of pretense and who cared for his listeners like no one ever has. This is why you should pick up a copy of this for yourself and a copy to pass down to your grandchildren. We should never let this man's memory die.
Rating:
Summary: Did you ever see a robin weep...
Review: Giving this book 5 Stars is as big an understatement as saying Hank could sing a heartbreak song.After all these years he is still the person who had the biggest impact on Country Music.I miss greatly the great music we used to hear on our radios we got from Hank and many others for so many years.This music which was written by,loved by,lived by and told about the hopes,struggles,sorrow,happiness and every other aspect of life of the people came from the singers and songwriters themselves.It is such a shame that the Industry has hijacked this music of the people and while forcing it aside,replaced it with studio tripe.The stuff that comes out today is a pretty sad subsitute for what Country Music really is--Hank,Robbins,Haggard,Jones,Carters,Cash Sovine,Nelson,Bare,Snow, Arnold,Lewis,Wynette,Cline ,Miller,Loretta,Anderson,Campbell,Boxcar,just to name a very few.Do you get my point? These people and their music would just never be heard if starting out today.It's time to forget about the studios and go back to the people--the roots of Country Music.
"Did you ever see a robin weep,
When leaves began to die,
Like me,he's lost the will to live,
I'm so lonesome I could cry." How about Mansion on the Hill,Cold,Cold Heart,I saw the Light;that was Country Music at it's finest. Escott as covered Hank with all the passion few others would be able to.I remember the New Year Hank Williams specials that lasted for four hours on radio here in Toronto hosted by Escott and Bill MacEwan and miss them as well.If you like Country Music and Hank;you'll love this book,as well as "Hank Williams Snapshots from the Lost Highway" by Escott and Kira Florita ;it is a great companion to this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Ole Hank: From rags to riches to rags to hillybilly heaven
Review: Hank Williams (aka Luke the Drifter) lived 29 hard years from his hardscrabble youth in Alabama to his tragic death in the backseat of a car on Jan. 1, 1953. Along the way Hank managed to
live in what was often an alcholoh induced haze.
Williams was raised by his tough as nails mother Miss Lillian
who was oft married, ruled the roost and tried to control the erratic genius of her wayward son. Hank had an affinity for strong minded women. His first wife Audrey and second wife Billie were women who lived with the mecurial genius who wrote like an angel but lived the devil of a life.
Colin Escott is a British writer who draws a nuts and bolts portrait of Williams. His portrait is that of a poor boy from a poor part of southwest Alabama who from 1949-1953 dominated post World War II country music or hillybill music as it was called in those distant days.
Williams wrote such classics as "Cold Cold Heart, "YourCheating Heart" and others. Along the way he was helped by Fred Rose of Acuff-Rose publishing company along with the friends in the business from Ernest Tubb to Minnie Pearl.
Hank could not deal with fame and retreated into his booze and died an early death.
He is the greatest country music singer. Escott has done a good job but some readers may be bored by all the verbiage dedicated to record deals and the politics of the recording industry.
Nevertheless, I loved this book. It is a vivid snapshot of life lived along the lost highway of a lost soul who has blessed our culture with great music.
Everyone who loves Hank Williams and enjoys country music history will benefit from this fine book.
Rating:
Summary: Well Written and Well Researched.
Review: I have read several other biographies,over the years regarding Hank Williams,and folks I am here to tell you this is the one to read!The intense research that went into this work is well translated into the facts behind Hank Willaim's life.In fact the book does an excellent job of correcting many of the misconceptions and myths associated with Hank's life.One especially noteworthy example of this is the story behind Lon Williams-Hank's father.For years I had heard the story that Lon had died in a VA hosptal back in the early 30's,due to some old WWI wounds.In fact Hank contributes to this notion in the final lyrics of"The Log Train" when he alludes to his father's demise.The author's research establishes that Lon Williams actually lived til the early 1970's,surviving Hank,his sister Irene and their mother Lillie. Whether you are a scholar,a historian or a fan this is the book to have in your collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of detail in this story of country legend
Review: I just finished reading this biography of Mr. Williams, and came away feeling very sad for Hank and his son Hank, Jr. Although the book chronicles the real contributions that Hank's mother and wife Audrey made in starting his career, the two women seemed to use Hank as a gravy train, with little love shown for this sad, lonely man. Particularly disgusting was the vulture like behavior exhibited immediately following his tragic death. Thank heaven he had Billie Jean, if even for a short while. She seems to be the only woman in his life that really loved him. Between his back pain and loneliness, it's no wonder he drank. There was a lot of interesting detail in the book, sometimes too much info for my taste. Mr. Escott went into exhausting detail giving the background of practically every soul Hank ever met. It also seemed Mr. Escott disliked Roy Acuff, which I found interesting, since he has always been portrayed as a virtual saint. Also, Mr. Escott's descriptions of what would have become of Hank and his career had he lived were very interesting, and probably true. I wish Hank, Jr. could have known his father, it was obvious that Hank loved him, but addictions and circumstance kept them apart. I'll listen to Hank's music with a much deeper knowledge of the pain that influenced his songs.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of detail in this story of country legend
Review: I just finished reading this biography of Mr. Williams, and came away feeling very sad for Hank and his son Hank, Jr. Although the book chronicles the real contributions that Hank's mother and wife Audrey made in starting his career, the two women seemed to use Hank as a gravy train, with little love shown for this sad, lonely man. Particularly disgusting was the vulture like behavior exhibited immediately following his tragic death. Thank heaven he had Billie Jean, if even for a short while. She seems to be the only woman in his life that really loved him. Between his back pain and loneliness, it's no wonder he drank. There was a lot of interesting detail in the book, sometimes too much info for my taste. Mr. Escott went into exhausting detail giving the background of practically every soul Hank ever met. It also seemed Mr. Escott disliked Roy Acuff, which I found interesting, since he has always been portrayed as a virtual saint. Also, Mr. Escott's descriptions of what would have become of Hank and his career had he lived were very interesting, and probably true. I wish Hank, Jr. could have known his father, it was obvious that Hank loved him, but addictions and circumstance kept them apart. I'll listen to Hank's music with a much deeper knowledge of the pain that influenced his songs.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Hank
Review: In his short life, Hank messed up plenty. But as Escott writes, "Through it all, Hank never messed up in the recording studio. He was charmed like a man walking through a minefield." It's the songs, those beautiful and aching songs, that get the most attention in this balanced biography. While he can't avoid the binges, backaches, and bust ups with Miss Audrey that left the legend little more than a crumpled heap, Escott concentrates on the music. He includes tales of the first acetates, of the rise from honky tonk obscurity to vindication on that stage of stages. The tone never becomes maudlin, not even when the author describes that cold and mysterious night when a hired car takes Hank's lifeless body on into West Virginia. In the end, the music helps dispel the myths. Escott aptly notes that Hank "left a life diarized in verses sung with such a conviction that we feel as though we know him well." This fine book gets us a little closer too.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Hank
Review: In his short life, Hank messed up plenty. But as Escott writes, "Through it all, Hank never messed up in the recording studio. He was charmed like a man walking through a minefield." It's the songs, those beautiful and aching songs, that get the most attention in this balanced biography. While he can't avoid the binges, backaches, and bust ups with Miss Audrey that left the legend little more than a crumpled heap, Escott concentrates on the music. He includes tales of the first acetates, of the rise from honky tonk obscurity to vindication on that stage of stages. The tone never becomes maudlin, not even when the author describes that cold and mysterious night when a hired car takes Hank's lifeless body on into West Virginia. In the end, the music helps dispel the myths. Escott aptly notes that Hank "left a life diarized in verses sung with such a conviction that we feel as though we know him well." This fine book gets us a little closer too.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Hank
Review: In his short life, Hank messed up plenty. But as Escott writes, "Through it all, Hank never messed up in the recording studio. He was charmed like a man walking through a minefield." It's the songs, those beautiful and aching songs, that get the most attention in this balanced biography. While he can't avoid the binges, backaches, and bust ups with Miss Audrey that left the legend little more than a crumpled heap, Escott concentrates on the music. He includes tales of the first acetates, of the rise from honky tonk obscurity to vindication on that stage of stages. The tone never becomes maudlin, not even when the author describes that cold and mysterious night when a hired car takes Hank's lifeless body on into West Virginia. In the end, the music helps dispel the myths. Escott aptly notes that Hank "left a life diarized in verses sung with such a conviction that we feel as though we know him well." This fine book gets us a little closer too.
Rating:
Summary: Slim Pickings
Review: It is true that this is the apex of the study of Hank Williams, and Colin Escott did an outstanding job turning over every stone that might still be in existence. However, Escott's writing style is a little clumbsy and I often had to revert to re-reading the text to follow his structure. Great research, but the writing could have been better.
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