Hank and Irene as infants. (COURTESY OF LEILA GRIFFIN)
Lon Williams, gentleman farmer. (COURTESY OF LEILA GRIFFIN)
The Skippers and McNeils, circa 1925. Lilly is on the far left, with her hands on Hank, next to her brother-in-law, Walter McNeil. In the front row, Hank’s cousin J. C. McNeil is fifth from the right; his sister, Irene, is third from the right; his cousin Bernice McNeil is second from the right; and his cousin Marie McNeil is at the far right. (COURTESY OF THE CITY OF GEORGIANA)
Hank, Lilly, Irene, and J. C. McNeil in front of the W. T. Smith log train. (AUTHOR’S COLLECTION)
Georgiana, Alabama. (COURTESY OF THE CITY OF GEORGIANA)
Hank in Montgomery, circa 1940. (AUTHOR’S COLLECTION)
Hank and Pee Wee Moultrie. (COURTESY OF PEE WEE MOULTRIE)
Hank and Audrey with Lilly and her third husband, J. C. Bozard. (AUTHOR’S COLLECTION)
Hank’s cousin Marie. (COURTESY OF LEWIS FITZGERALD)
Hank with Lewis “Butch” Fitzgerald. (COURTESY OF LEWIS FITZGERALD)
Stars of WSFA. Left to right top: Sammy Pruett, Hank, unknown, Audrey, Jimmy Webster. Bottom: Lum York. (COURTESY OF LUM YORK)
Fred Rose and Roy Acuff. (GRAND OLE OPRY ARCHIVE)
The trade advertisement for Hank’s first record. (COLIN ESCOTT)
Hank with Henry Clay, manager of KWKH, Shreveport. (COLIN ESCOTT)
Audrey shortly after giving birth to Hank Jr. (MENASCO)
Friends and nemeses. From left: Jimmie Davis, cowriter of “Lonesome Whistle”; Hank’s first manager, Oscar Davis; his first hero, Roy Acuff; West Coast promoter Foreman Phillips. (COLIN ESCOTT)
Hank with Frank Walker, president of MGM Records. (COLIN ESCOTT)
Hank and Lilly at the Montgomery Homecoming. (COLIN ESCOTT)
Hank’s Montgomery Homecoming. (COURTESY OF JETT WILLIAMS)
Hank and Audrey’s Corral. (COLIN ESCOTT)
Hank on the Grand Ole Opry. (TSLA/ESCOTT)
Mother’s Best li’l ol’ boys. From left: Cedric Rainwater, emcee Cousin Louie Buck, Sammy Pruett, Hank, Jerry Rivers, Don Helms. (COLIN ESCOTT)
Shake ’n’ howdy in Dallas with young fan Darwin Dunn. (COURTESY OF DAVID DENNARD)
Backstage at the Opry. (GRAND OLE OPRY ARCHIVES)
Whistlin’ dixie. From left at rear: Hank, Jerry Rivers, Sammy Pruett, Cedric Rainwater, Don Helms. Front: Minnie Pearl. (GRAND OLE OPRY ARCHIVES)
Staged arrest in Texas. (ESTATE OF HONEY WILDS)
With Opry costars Jamup and Honey. (ESTATE OF HONEY WILDS)
Greenville Homecoming. Hank is in the front seat with Butch Fitzgerald; Lilly is in the backseat. Lon Williams and Hank’s uncle Robert are standing beside the car, in which Hank would die some twenty-one weeks later. (GREENVILLE ADVOCATE)
On the West Coast with songwriter Johnny Pusateri, April 1952. (ADAH)
The drinks are on me. Hank with promoter Dub Allbritten, standing. (GLENN SUTTON)
Billie Jean. (ADAH)
“A picture from the past came slowly stealing….” Billie Jean. (COLIN ESCOTT)
Hank marries Billie Jean, New Orleans, October 19, 1952. (MENASCO)
Toby Marshall. (DAILY OKLAHOMAN)
The last prescription (DAILY OKLAHOMAN)
Billie Jean bids farewell. (AUTHOR’S COLLECTION)
Charles Carr, the driver from Hank’s last ride, comforts Marie at the funeral. (AUTHOR’S COLLECTION)
Irene and Lilly in Hank’s former bedroom. (ADAH)
Lilly, Audrey, and Hank Jr. look over the letters of condolence. (ADAH)
Audrey on the town with Jerry Lee and Linda Gail Lewis. (AUTHOR’S COLLECTION)