STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU: The Story of Hank and Audrey Williams. By Lycrecia Williams and Dale Vinicur. Rutledge Hill Press. $16.95.
Hank Williams is to country music what Elvis Presley is to rock ‘n’ roll — a giant, seminal figure whose like will not be seen again. This is true not so much because his talent was greater than earlier or later singers and songwriters, but because, like Elvis, he came along at just the right time.
Born to poverty in Alabama, Williams rose early in his adult life to become the brightest country star in the 1940s, when it was still known deprecatingly as “hillbilly music.” But with his raw, magnetic stage presence, his impassioned singing and, above all, his songwriting genius, Williams inflamed audiences not only in the rural South but in the cities as well.
Williams was the transitional figure whose popularity broadened the appeal of country music. Then, after such hits as Your Cheatin’ Heart, I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You) and Move It On Over, he died in the back seat of a car on Jan. 1, 1953, the victim of alcoholism. He was 29.
At the time Williams died, his stepdaughter, Lycrecia, was 11 years old. Unlike her half-brother, Hank Jr., she can remember the stormy years Williams spent with their mother, Audrey. Now, she breaks three decades of silence with this remarkable memoir.
Books written by relatives of celebrities have fallen into a well-deserved disrepute. Either they are dull whitewashes or they are bitter hatchet jobs, embarrassing exercises in revenge-taking. Happily, Lycrecia Williams has set out to neither lambast nor idolize either of her famous parents.
Her aim is to humanize the Hank Williams myth by telling the inside story of life in the Williams family as truthfully as she can.
Lycrecia’s selection of Dale Vinicur is an indication of her intentions. In addition to being a free-lance writer, Vinicur is a former research assistant at the Country Music Association. Her research skills are put to good use. Where Lycrecia’s memory is faulty, or where she lacks first-hand knowledge, the authors have tracked down contemporaries of Hank and Audrey to get the real story.
In telling that story, Lycrecia pulls no punches. She recalls Hank as a warm and loving stepfather, but writes frankly of his irresponsibility and drinking. She reports the love and passion between Hank and Audrey, but also explores the role that Audrey’s ambition and deep need for control played in their breakup.
Audrey’s own descent into alcoholism, ending in an alcohol-related death 23 years later, is one of the book’s poignant revelations. Audrey did not drink while Hank was alive, but following his death she — as though following his steps — also became an alcoholic.
An adequate singer, Audrey made a prolonged but ultimately failed attempt to carve out a music career for herself. She then devoted herself to Hank Jr.’s promising career. She also fell prey to a succession of unscrupulous business partners and predatory younger lovers — who were sometimes one and the same.
Lycrecia does not shy even from the story of her illegitimate half-sister, Jett Williams, who was conceived shortly before Hank’s death. Hank made provisions to provide for the child, the daughter of a girlfriend, but these were ignored after he died. Jett did not know who her father was until she was an adult. It has only been in the past few years that she has been able to prove in the courts that she is the daughter of the legendary country music star.
In relating the tawdry details of her parents’ lives, Lycrecia herself comes across as levelheaded and likable. She received no part of the Williams inheritance. Hank wanted to formally adopt her, but Audrey, who used the children as a weapon against him in their arguments, refused to allow it.
But Lycrecia does not rue the loss of the wealth that might have been hers:
“I had a very good childhood those first years in Nashville. Of the two of us, Hank Jr. and me, I feel I’m the lucky one. I may not be Daddy’s blood daughter, but I got to do a lot more and go more places with Daddy than Hank Jr. ever did.”
It’s interesting to note that throughout the book, Lycrecia refers to Audrey formally as “Mother,” but Hank she calls “Daddy.” This partly reflects the roles they unconsciously played in the alcoholic drama of their lives. At least that’s the way Lycrecia sees it. She analyzes their legendary relationship — Audrey is widely believed to have inspired Hank’s most heart- rending songs — in light of what is known today about alcoholism and co- dependency.
The result is an illuminating personal memoir that brings Hank and Audrey to life with all their gifts and flaws.
