Music

AUX DOCS: Hank Williams The Show He Never Gave

by Allan Tong

It’s December 31, 1952.  On the final night of his life, country music legend Hank Williams lies dying in the backseat of his Cadillac and imagines himself giving a New Year’s Eve performance in a small bar.  Between songs he reflects on his life to the audience and sings his greatest songs including “Lovesick Blues” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart”.  Thoughts of his first wife, Audrey, race throug his mind, and memories of the son he abandon haunt him.  Mostly he remembers the highs and lows of his tumultuous life and all the demons he battled and eventually succuumbed to.

This 1981 Canadian film is based on a London stage play by Maynard Collins, and has attracted a devoted cult over the years.  Credit starts with Sneezy Waters who delivers a dead-on performance on the self-destructive, but charismatic star, who died possibly of booze and drugs at age 29.  Waters is essentially a dead ringer in mannerism and delivery, with a performance that deserved an Oscar.  Though Collins’ script plumbs Williams’ dark side,  Waters channels the legend’s homey charm and wit both in his onstage raps and of course in Williams’ timeless music.