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I Saw the Light: The Story of Hank Williams
The book that inspired the major motion picture I Saw the Light .
In his brief life, Hank Williams created one of the defining bodies of American music. Songs such as "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Hey, Good Lookin'," and "Jambalaya" sold millions of records and became the model for virtually all country music that followed. But by the time of his death at age twenty-nine, Williams 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 music's top seller, toward the end he was so famously unreliable that he was lucky to get a booking in a beer hall.
Colin Escott's enthralling, definitive biograph -- now the basis of the major motion picture I Saw the Light -- vividly details the singer's stunning rise and his spectacular decline, revealing much that was previously unknown or hidden about the life of this country music legend.
Originally published as Hank The Biography .
In his brief life, Hank Williams created one of the defining bodies of American music. Songs such as "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Hey, Good Lookin'," and "Jambalaya" sold millions of records and became the model for virtually all country music that followed. But by the time of his death at age twenty-nine, Williams 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 music's top seller, toward the end he was so famously unreliable that he was lucky to get a booking in a beer hall.
Colin Escott's enthralling, definitive biograph -- now the basis of the major motion picture I Saw the Light -- vividly details the singer's stunning rise and his spectacular decline, revealing much that was previously unknown or hidden about the life of this country music legend.
Originally published as Hank The Biography .
- GenresBiographyMusicNonfiction
400 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2015
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224 people want to read
About the author
Colin Escott
29 books22 followersColin Escott is the foremost authority on Sun Records. He first wrote the company’s history in 1975 and has revised and expanded it several times since. He has published several other volumes on the early days of country music, including a biography of Hank Williams and The Grand Ole Opry: The Making of an American Icon. He won a Grammy for his work on Mercury Records’ The Complete Hank Williams, and in 2010 received a Tony nomination for Million Dollar Quartet, a Broadway musical about the legendary one-night jam session of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 14, 2021
An encyclopedic account of the beginnings of country music which just happened to have a little bit about Hank Williams in it.
April 28, 2016
I bought this book after seeing the movie, "I Saw the Light", with Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams. (The movie has received mixed reviews, but I thought it was quite good.) Colin Escott's biography of Williams - formerly titled "Hank Williams: The Biography" - is one of the best biographies I've read. From the beginning of his life to the end, Hiram "Hank" Williams was a walking country-western song. Beset by alcoholic and pill addictions that may have stemmed from physical pains, Williams flashed onto the musical scene before his life ended in the back seat of a car, while being driven to a concert in Canton, Ohio, a mere 4 years after gaining prominence.
Country music historian Colin Escott seems to understand Hank Williams and his times and his songs and his influence on both those times and those songs. Born in 1923 in a southern Alabama town to a family that seemed to have the vicissitudes of life down pat. The father, Lon, was a drifter, and the mother, Lillie, saw musical promise in her young son. He grew up in small towns, eventually ending up in Montgomery, where he began working with other singers with a purpose of singing at the "Grand Ol' Opry". He wrote songs - never as successful for other singers as they were for himself - and began a rise through the Shreveport, LA radio barn shows. He married a firecracker - Audrey - who battled his mother for managing Hank's career and their marriage was combustible from the start. Depressing drinking and fighting and philandering on both sides of the marriage. Divorce...then musical fame, beginning in 1949. But the good times - and the bad marriage - didn't last through the haze of liquor and prescription pills. Another marriage followed and so did what seemed to be an untimely death...but probably wasn't. The man was just "wore out" in both body and spirit by his 29th year.
Escott's biography is a straight forward one. He's kind and sympathetic to his subject and understands America of the times (though he does refer to a politician as "standing" for office, rather than "running" for office.) and how country music was never as "pure" after Williams' death. Would Hank Williams be as much of a success today? Escott reminds the reader of how "packaged", "molded" and "handled" today's music makers are. Williams doesn't seem to have been the type that took to handling. He was his own man and his music proved his individuality.
Country music historian Colin Escott seems to understand Hank Williams and his times and his songs and his influence on both those times and those songs. Born in 1923 in a southern Alabama town to a family that seemed to have the vicissitudes of life down pat. The father, Lon, was a drifter, and the mother, Lillie, saw musical promise in her young son. He grew up in small towns, eventually ending up in Montgomery, where he began working with other singers with a purpose of singing at the "Grand Ol' Opry". He wrote songs - never as successful for other singers as they were for himself - and began a rise through the Shreveport, LA radio barn shows. He married a firecracker - Audrey - who battled his mother for managing Hank's career and their marriage was combustible from the start. Depressing drinking and fighting and philandering on both sides of the marriage. Divorce...then musical fame, beginning in 1949. But the good times - and the bad marriage - didn't last through the haze of liquor and prescription pills. Another marriage followed and so did what seemed to be an untimely death...but probably wasn't. The man was just "wore out" in both body and spirit by his 29th year.
Escott's biography is a straight forward one. He's kind and sympathetic to his subject and understands America of the times (though he does refer to a politician as "standing" for office, rather than "running" for office.) and how country music was never as "pure" after Williams' death. Would Hank Williams be as much of a success today? Escott reminds the reader of how "packaged", "molded" and "handled" today's music makers are. Williams doesn't seem to have been the type that took to handling. He was his own man and his music proved his individuality.
February 28, 2018
Not just a biography of one of the greatest American song writers but a case study in the way substance abuse will get you in the end. If you love country, roots, Americana music you'll know the importance of Hank Williams to those genres of music. But Williams pithy, powerful and poignant songs have influenced a host of rock and rollers from Bob Dylan to Tom Petty, the Grateful Dead and the Beatles.
This book is easy to read, immensely informative and objective. Essential reading for anyone interested in Post WWII American popular music.
This book is easy to read, immensely informative and objective. Essential reading for anyone interested in Post WWII American popular music.
May 28, 2025
Like so many great artists before him and after, Hank Williams lived a life full of pain and misery. He poured that pain out in his songs, hoping for relief that never came. He grew up influenced by the country gospel music he heard in the churches he grew up in, as well as the African American churches in the area. One of his earliest influences was a black street performer, Rufus Payne, who Hank followed around and listened to while a teenager.
Hank had a charisma that can’t be taught and was an amazing live performer by all accounts. Despite his alcoholism, self destructive lifestyle and constant back pain he was the most popular country musician of his time. The true test of an artist’s greatness is how they stand the test of time. Hank Williams is more popular 70 years after his death than he was in the time he was living. His songs have been covered by hundreds of artists and almost all of the songwriters who came after him were influenced by him. He was a shooting star that burned out fast, but left a lasting legacy.
Hank had a charisma that can’t be taught and was an amazing live performer by all accounts. Despite his alcoholism, self destructive lifestyle and constant back pain he was the most popular country musician of his time. The true test of an artist’s greatness is how they stand the test of time. Hank Williams is more popular 70 years after his death than he was in the time he was living. His songs have been covered by hundreds of artists and almost all of the songwriters who came after him were influenced by him. He was a shooting star that burned out fast, but left a lasting legacy.
January 1, 2022
It didn't start off well, but it improved about 1/4 or 1/3 of the way through. It suffers from the same thing that many similar biographies do - that the author has done so much thorough research that they end up bogging it down with what is essentially useless information in the end, or information that detracts from the larger story. When you include too much information about too many side players, it just ends up making the narrative confusing and muddled. There was a lot of supposition too, and comments about how Hank must have or likely felt about things with no real basis for how the author could have any idea that was how he must have felt.
I was a bit annoyed and amused by some fairly small things; like when the author refers to Hank's mother being eighteen as "almost a spinster", when a photo of two young children who are clearly in the toddler range (Hank and his sister) is labelled "as infants", or the instances where the author proves he is clearly awful at math, like when Hank says something in 1951 about being on a radio station for 11 years, the author said that would place his debut in 1936. The most ridiculous comment made near the end by the author's was that Hank's music for adults, but that Rock n' Roll was "for, by, and about teenagers". Sure, ok.
As a side note, I did uncover an error unrelated to Hank after doing a little bit of research. It was mentioned in passing that in October of 1946 Country singer Johnnie Bailes' girlfriend had stabbed herself three times and then jumped to her death from his room in the Merchant's Hotel in Nashville. My first thought was that it certainly sounded like a suspicious suicide, and then I thought it was disrespectful that she wasn't named and was only referred to as his girlfriend. A bit of research uncovered the fact that she did not actually die but was taken to the hospital and recovered from her injuries. While the article I found did not mention Johnnie Bailes at all it was certainly the incident that was referred to and it did give her name. A quick search turned up the fact that she not only survived, but she eventually married Johnnie and remained his wife until his death in 1989 (although at the time of the incident it appears they were both married to other people). Juanita, also known as "Ma Bailes" died in 2018 at the age of 96!
I was a bit annoyed and amused by some fairly small things; like when the author refers to Hank's mother being eighteen as "almost a spinster", when a photo of two young children who are clearly in the toddler range (Hank and his sister) is labelled "as infants", or the instances where the author proves he is clearly awful at math, like when Hank says something in 1951 about being on a radio station for 11 years, the author said that would place his debut in 1936. The most ridiculous comment made near the end by the author's was that Hank's music for adults, but that Rock n' Roll was "for, by, and about teenagers". Sure, ok.
As a side note, I did uncover an error unrelated to Hank after doing a little bit of research. It was mentioned in passing that in October of 1946 Country singer Johnnie Bailes' girlfriend had stabbed herself three times and then jumped to her death from his room in the Merchant's Hotel in Nashville. My first thought was that it certainly sounded like a suspicious suicide, and then I thought it was disrespectful that she wasn't named and was only referred to as his girlfriend. A bit of research uncovered the fact that she did not actually die but was taken to the hospital and recovered from her injuries. While the article I found did not mention Johnnie Bailes at all it was certainly the incident that was referred to and it did give her name. A quick search turned up the fact that she not only survived, but she eventually married Johnnie and remained his wife until his death in 1989 (although at the time of the incident it appears they were both married to other people). Juanita, also known as "Ma Bailes" died in 2018 at the age of 96!
December 22, 2019
Normally, I wouldn't pick up a book that was shown as a movie tie-in, but this particular one was shown as an updated (to 2015) edition, so I took a chance. And, it has turned out to be a very comprehensive look at the tortured life of the man who arguably, is perhaps the greatest Country music singer and writer, although it does seem he borrowed some tunes quite liberally from others without acknowledging it.
Williams brought Country to the forefront of America's consciousness following World War II and so many of his songs have been recorded by everyone from jazz artists to punk rockers that it's easy to say Hank Williams transcends all categories. So many of his songs echo his life which - even after he achieved stardom - was not easy, nor pleasant. He had a painful back ailment which he tried to alleviate by a steady diet of drugs and drink which ultimately led to his untimely death in the back seat of a car on New Year's Eve, 1953. Most seem to be willing to say he died on New Year's Day, 1953, although there is some question about that. No one is really sure. But, it just adds to the Williams mystique - one of the mysteries surrounding the man who was Hank Williams.
Make no mistake about it, Williams was a talented person and his life is just one of the many tragedies that Country music seems to have so many of in its storied history, beginning with the death of the man who is considered the "Father of Country Music," Jimmie Rodgers.
Well-researched, this is a book for the person who is just curious about the life of Hank Williams, or for the Country music fan who wants to know more about the life of the man whose career was short-lived, but who gave the world so many great songs in such a short period of time.
Williams brought Country to the forefront of America's consciousness following World War II and so many of his songs have been recorded by everyone from jazz artists to punk rockers that it's easy to say Hank Williams transcends all categories. So many of his songs echo his life which - even after he achieved stardom - was not easy, nor pleasant. He had a painful back ailment which he tried to alleviate by a steady diet of drugs and drink which ultimately led to his untimely death in the back seat of a car on New Year's Eve, 1953. Most seem to be willing to say he died on New Year's Day, 1953, although there is some question about that. No one is really sure. But, it just adds to the Williams mystique - one of the mysteries surrounding the man who was Hank Williams.
Make no mistake about it, Williams was a talented person and his life is just one of the many tragedies that Country music seems to have so many of in its storied history, beginning with the death of the man who is considered the "Father of Country Music," Jimmie Rodgers.
Well-researched, this is a book for the person who is just curious about the life of Hank Williams, or for the Country music fan who wants to know more about the life of the man whose career was short-lived, but who gave the world so many great songs in such a short period of time.
April 19, 2018
Interesting and depressing in equal parts, Colin Escott's biography of Hank Williams paints a picture of the country singer-songwriter as a haunted, damaged person. In only a few short years, he re-wrote the rules of country music and turned it from a niche genre into a crossover phenomenon. At the same time, he was a boozer who ignored his kids and beat his wives, ultimately drinking himself to death before he turned 30.
Ultimately, his music says little about himself; as Escott notes, Williams had a talent for tricking the listener into think they were hearing inner secrets when they were just hearing the same script as everyone else. And with him, and the passing of several of his allies and enemies, any insight into him was lost, too. There's more than a few times that Escott notes how someone hinted they knew the real Hank, but died without spilling the beans.
And maybe that's how it should be: with such a blank canvas, Nashville - and especially the Opry - were able to shape Williams' legacy to their own ends, whitewashing the substance abuse, the domestic assaults and how he was as likely to show up drunk at a gig as he was sober. Escott's book tries to show the real picture, but even with a shelf full of facts and anecdotes, I never felt like I knew Hank any better than I had before.
Ultimately, his music says little about himself; as Escott notes, Williams had a talent for tricking the listener into think they were hearing inner secrets when they were just hearing the same script as everyone else. And with him, and the passing of several of his allies and enemies, any insight into him was lost, too. There's more than a few times that Escott notes how someone hinted they knew the real Hank, but died without spilling the beans.
And maybe that's how it should be: with such a blank canvas, Nashville - and especially the Opry - were able to shape Williams' legacy to their own ends, whitewashing the substance abuse, the domestic assaults and how he was as likely to show up drunk at a gig as he was sober. Escott's book tries to show the real picture, but even with a shelf full of facts and anecdotes, I never felt like I knew Hank any better than I had before.
May 4, 2016
I love music bios and this one is very well written and researched. Hank Williams was a rather shadowy character even though he made such a huge impact on American music. Escott does a great job of filling in the back story and giving us a real sense of all the contradictions of Hank Williams. His life is, in the end, a dark and depressing story. He appears to be a sad, lonely figure, wracked by chronic pain, untrusting of most people, treated as a commodity by the people who claimed to care. It's little wonder he met a bad end, and the last few chapters detail a truly horrific decline that ultimately ended in his untimely death. Don't go into this one expecting to be amused. This isn't a light read. It is dark, like Hank.
April 3, 2017
I already knew a lot about Hank Williams as I grew up with his music. However, I didn't know about all the financial dealings behinds the scenes. Plus all the hell he put his band members through. I knew that he and Audrey really loved each other, but wasn't really good for each other. I saw Hank Jr in my hometown when I was about 16 and he was between 18- 21. He sang a lot of his Dad's songs. I think a lot of people were looking at him and trying to see his Dad. I'm glad he sang some of his Dad's songs, but I knew that in order to get out from his Dad's shadow he would have to look deep within his own soul and become his own man and singer.
October 23, 2017
Hank Williams' Biographie war ein sehr interessanter Einblick in das Leben einer amerikanischen Ikone. Viele Weggefährten, seine erste Frau Audrey und seine zweite Frau Billie Jean kommen ebenso zu Wort wie einige, wenige Interviewausschnitte, Arbeitgeber, Manager und Kollegen. Und dennoch bleibt das Mysterium "Hank Williams" bestehen - ob gewollt oder nicht. In den 6 Jahren seines Aufstiegs zum größten Country Sänger und dem rasanten Verfall durch Alkohol und Medikamente. Was aber bleibt ist die Liebe zu seiner Musik, die "Wahrheit" in den Texten und das universelle Verstehen, dass Hand Williams noch heute Hörenswert macht.
April 4, 2016
While about Hank Williams from birth to post-death, this book is also about the music industry and human nature. The author provides information that is not flattering to Hank Williams nor to most of the "close" family and friends. It was sad how he was used (and abused) by so many, yet also by himself. His songs express his depression and loneliness. One has to wonder how his life might have been different if he hadn't started to drink and if he could have stayed focused on the "light" he saw.
January 24, 2024
Heartbreaking how music industry eats musicians raw. Yes Ol' Hank had his issues, but pressure to produce and performance schedules took a huge toll. Aloso there are lots of historical tidbits to get get you thinking such as musicians striking to stop record making. Live petformances on radio and on the road were the main thing and musicians worried about revenue and job loss. The artist's struggle to protect their art and lively has been long, hard and, sadly, it continues. R.I.P. Ol' Hank. You will always be loved.
August 23, 2020
A ok read
The author spent a lot of time telling where the songs came from and who sang or wrote them back in the 20's and 30's. This was annoying and I never heard of these people, plus who cares? Tell me more about Hank and his life. Also, seems Acuff/Rose was a hero to this author as they cashed in on Hank!
The author spent a lot of time telling where the songs came from and who sang or wrote them back in the 20's and 30's. This was annoying and I never heard of these people, plus who cares? Tell me more about Hank and his life. Also, seems Acuff/Rose was a hero to this author as they cashed in on Hank!
October 30, 2016
The author keeps a pinpoint focus on the negative aspects of Hank Williams life. By the end I was so overwhelmed by the losses, addictions, and petty people in Hank's life that it was truly easy to forget what a remarkable and enduring legacy he left behind in the form of his music.
June 5, 2017
"The Story..." fizzled the whole way and fell lax in the dregs of merely cataloguing a great icon. Perhaps the author believed that his subject alone would make this book pop, but Escott inevitably delivers a mundane, uninspired account of Hank Williams.
August 7, 2021
"I Saw the Light" is a very interesting, matter-of-fact telling of the life of Hank Williams with lots of background information on the country music business. I only wish there had been a picture of Hank on the front cover, no disrespect to Tom Hiddleston.
September 29, 2024
Drags a little but enthralling detail about the music industry and the life of Hank Williams. Having grown up in the same area he did, I loved the mentions of all the towns he lived in and played.
March 22, 2024
Very interesting, well researched biography on Hank Williams. Sometimes it veers into the weeds with uncessesary paragraphs on minor characters but overall I enjoyed it very much.
June 30, 2024
This book gave me a sense about who Hank Williams was (which is was I was looking for) despite overall being a little dry.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews