This program offers a fresh take on the enduring legned of the superstar whose hits define country music.  From "Your Cheatin' Heart" to "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," Williams'"hillbilly" melodies seeped into the nation's consciousness.

Hank Williams was a recording artist for just six years and a star for just four. Riveting and charismatic some nights, a broken-down drunk on others, he accomplished much, despite trying to destroy himself. He has long been an enigma, and an icon, whose hits define country music. From "Your Cheatin' Heart" to "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" to "Hey Good Lookin'," these "hillbilly" sounds seeped out of the rural juke joints and into the nation's consciousness. Even those who claim to have known Williams will admit that, on some level, they really didn't. With rare performance tapes, home movies and interviews with family, musicians and musicologists, this film reaches beyond the impenetrable myth that has grown up around, and obscured, the real Hank Williams.