Tuesday, April 09, 2019

Books read in 2019: No. 26 -- Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams

by Paul Hemphill

Started: April 6
Finished: April 9

Notes: Last summer I was going through Alabama while on a cross-country trip when my traveling companion pointed to the side of the highway where a sign proclaimed the Hank Williams Boyhood Home & Museum at the next exit. I've always been something of a minor fan of Hank's music, so we decided to stop for a few hours. We discovered the museum and the small town of Georgiana, Alabama, and were charmed by all we found there. Unfortunately we had missed a major annual music event in the town by just a couple of days. While touring the museum and seeing all it had to offer, I found the place offered no small number of books about the life of Hank Williams, so I decided upon this one in order to learn more about this legend of Country music though I'm fairly familiar with the basics of the man's life.

Mini review: A life that burned brightly and burnt out far too soon. Hank brought upon him most of his troubles, but during his time (and for his time) he was something of a musical genius, reaching the hearts of his fans even if he wasn't considered all that sophisticated in some circles. I'll add, too, that the author's writing here is quite solid, some of the best I've read from a biography, though I did wish he had expounded upon a few incidents and side characters in Hank's life.

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