AMERICAN MASTERS: HANK WILLIAMS: HONKY TONK BLUES {FULL-LENGTH VERSION} (TV)
Summary
One in this documentary series that explores the lives and achievements of America's most celebrated artists and performers. This program profiles country music legend Hank Williams, who died fifty years ago at the age of 29. The documentary uses home movies, rare photos, footage of his television performances, and a soundtrack of Williams's famous songs including "Move It On Over," "Lovesick Blues," "Cold, Cold Heart," and "Your Cheating Heart." Eschewing narration, the documentary relies on the words of family (including the first television interview with his widow Billie Jean Horton), members of his band the Drifting Cowboys and other country artists who knew him, and producer-biographer Colin Escott to tell the story of Hank Williams's life. The documentary also features Hank Jr. and Hank III, Williams's son and grandson. The documentary opens with country artist George Jones and writer Rick Bragg discussing the appeal of Williams, which has lead artists like Ray Charles, Norah Jones, and Bob Dylan to cover his songs (clips included). Early footage features scenes of Hank Williams's funeral in Montgomery, Alabama in 1953 and a television appearance of Williams singing "Still in Love With You" with Anita Carter. Escott, various Drifting Cowboys including RD Norred, Braxton Schuffert, Lum York, and Don Helms, half-sister Leila Griffin, and cousins Walt McNeil and Lewis Fitzgerald discuss Williams's early life, covering the following topics: his father's hospitalization for 10 years; his mother Lillie's decision to move the family to Montgomery and the boarding house she ran there; Lillie's role in getting Williams on the air at WSFA in his teens; and the early signs of his problem with binge drinking. Henderson Payne, the son of Rufus Payne "Teetot," talks about his father teaching Williams the blues, and others testify to the influence of black music on Williams. Escott suggests that Hank Williams's back pain that plagued him throughout his life was caused by spina bifida. Audrey Williams (in an early recording) tells the story of meeting Williams on a medicine show and how he woed her; Williams's stepdaughter Lycrecia Williams (from Audrey's first marriage) discusses her mother; and Helms and Clent Holmes discuss Audrey's lack of singing ability, although they admit her role in pushing Williams to meet with music publisher Fred Rose. Country artists and friends Claude King, Merle Kilgore, and Big Bill Lister (who was Hank's opening act) talk about how Williams composed his songs. Next, the program covers Williams's move to Shreveport and his work for The Louisiana Hayride at KWKH (includes commentary from historian Ronnie Pugh, booking agent Tillman Franks, and Hayride announcer Frank Page); Clent Holmes and Franks talk about the birth of Hank Jr. during Williams's time in Shreveport. Escott discusses Hank's success with "Lovesick Blues," his first No. 1 hit, which lead to his stint at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Country artist and deejay Charlie Walker discuss Williams's awareness of country singers Roy Acuff and Ernest Tubb, and how he modeled his style on them. Lycrecia, Kilgore, Big Bill Lister, and others discuss the tensions that emerged between Audrey and Hank over Williams's drinking; Hank Williams III reads a letter written by Rose, taking Williams to task about his drinking. Hank III sings "Rambling Man" which segues into Hank Williams's version. Singer-songwriter and friend Danny Dill and others talk about Hank's dissatisfaction with his success. Next, the documentary traces the impact of Williams's "Cold, Cold Heart," the significance of Tony Bennett covering it in 1951 (footage shows Bennett singing the song in a television appearance with Ernest Tubbs and Hank Williams singing it in a separate appearance), and the origins of the song's composition in a particularly tough patch in Audrey and Hank's relationship. Bernice Turner, friend and costar, talks about the songs Williams wrote under the pseudonym of "Luke the Drifter" -- dark and full of moralizing recitiations -- as indicative of the kind of man he was. Audrey's recording and Lycrecia recount the time soon after his back surgery around Christmas of 1951 when Williams fired a gun in their home (whether at Audrey or himself remains unclear) -- an incident that lead Audrey to leave him. The documentary then covers Williams's affairs after his breakup with Audrey, first with Bobby Jett, which lead to the birth of a daughter Jett Williams who Williams would never see, and his marriage to Billie Jean. Billy Walker, Billie Jean, Dill, McNeil, and Page discuss Williams being fired from the Grand Ole Opry and his return to the Shreveport Louisiana Hayride. Williams's physical decline, including the role of cloral hydrate that was given to him by Toby Marshall, is discussed by Billie Jean, Minnie Pearl, and others. The documentary ends with a discussion of Williams's final hours, including the eyewitness testimony of Charlie Carr, the driver who was taking Williams to a New Year's gig in Canton, Ohio when Williams died en route. A final scene shows Williams singing "I Saw the Light" in a television appearance.
(This is the full-length version of the documentary that aired in an edited 60-minute form on PBS.)
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: June 23, 2004 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:22:10
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:81227
- GENRE: Arts documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Biography; Country music
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1986-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Anthony Wall … Executive Producer
- Steven M. Bass … Executive Producer
- Susan Lacy … Executive Producer
- Julie Sacks … Supervising Producer
- Prudence Glass … Producer
- Morgan Neville … Producer, Director, Writer
- Colin Escott … Producer, Writer
- Brenna Sanchez … Associate Producer
- Dylan Robertson … Line Producer
- Julie Goldman … Producer
- Krysanne Katsoolis … Producer
- Caroline Stevens … Producer
- Jac Venza … Producer
- Roy Acuff
- Tony Bennett
- Rick Bragg
- Charles Carr
- Anita Carter
- Ray Charles
- Danny Dill
- Bob Dylan
- Colin Escott
- Lewis Fitzgerald
- Tillman Franks
- Leila Griffin
- Don Helms
- Clent Holmes
- Billie Jean Horton
- Bobby Jett
- George Jones
- Norah Jones
- Merle Kilgore
- Claude King
- Big Bill Lister
- Toby Marshall
- Walt McNeil
- RD Norred
- Frank Page
- Henderson Payne
- Rufus "Teetot" Payne
- Ronnie Pugh
- Braxton Schuffert
- Ernest Tubb
- Bernice Turner
- Fred Rose
- Billy Walker
- Charlie Walker
- Audrey Williams
- Hank Williams
- Hank Williams III
- Jett Williams
- Lillie Williams
- Lycrecia Williams
- Lum York