Hank Hung the Moon . . . and Warmed Our Cold, Cold Hearts [Hardcover]

Nationally syndicated columnist Rheta Grimsley Johnsons Hank Hung the Moon is more of a musical memoir than a biography: the authors evocative and personal stories of 1950s and 60s musical stapleselementary school rhythm bands, British Invasion rock concerts and tear-jerker movie musicals. It was a simpler time when Hank roamed the Earth; the book celebrates a world of 78 rpm records and 5-cent Cokes, with Hank providing the soundtrack and wisdom.A Cajun girl learns to understand English by listening to Hank on the radio. A Hank impersonator works by day at a prison but, by night, makes good use of his college degree in country music. Hanks lost daughter, Jett, devotes her life to embracing the father she never knew.Finally, stories you havent heard a thousand times before about people who love Hank, some famous, most not. This lively little book uses Hank as metaphor for life. Youll tap your toe and demand an encore. Rheta Grimsley Johnson spins a nostalgic web of memoir and biography, a tale of how her own life has been intertwined with that of the legendary Hank Williams. Hank Hung the Moon captures Williams tortured life and tragic, puzzling death and gives a nod to all the great singers who have covered his songs. Johnsons writing is evocative of post-war America and the decades that followed, mixing humor and pathos in just proportion. . . . For [Hank] fans and casual readers alike, this brief plunge into the artist and the era is well worth the read. . . . A rich, hot jambalaya. Margaret Renkl, Chapter 16
I admire this book immensely and recommend it to readers who are held and haunted by the music of Hank Williams and also to those who might care to see how a first-rate creative journalist goes about her work. In weaving together her life and Hank's, and then by working into the pattern stories of pilgrims Chaucer might have chosen, Rheta Grimsley Johnson demonstrates a high and rare order of talent. Jerry E. Brown, author of Alabamas Mitchl“7