February 18, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A documentary film produced by two University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) professors on the early career of country music legend Hank Williams Sr., will be distributed to more than 200 PBS stations nationwide this spring.

UAB communication studies professors June Mack, MFA, and Larry Powell, Ph.D., co-produced the 55-minute documentary, “Hank Williams Sr.: Along for the Ride,” which first aired on Alabama Public Television on September 17, 2003. The film will be distributed by the National Educational Telecommunications Association to 201 affiliate public broadcasting stations through a satellite uplink on April 3.

“It is a great honor that our work has been chosen for distribution,” said Mack, “and we hope that this piece will bring positive attention to film and video production at UAB.”

The documentary features interviews with Williams’ early band mates, The Drifting Cowboys, a colorful cast of characters not usually seen in other documentaries. The film’s story line takes viewers through Williams’ childhood, his marriages, his struggles with alcohol and chronic back problems and his rise to stardom.

During his short career, Williams wrote 125 songs and recorded more than 225, with hits such as “Hey Good Lookin,’ ” “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” “Jambalaya,” “I Saw the Light,” “Take These Chains,” “Honky Tonkin’ ” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” to name a few.

June Mack, M.F.A., is an award-winning filmmaker and an assistant professor in the UAB Department of Communication Studies. Powell is a professor and interim chairman of the UAB Department of of Communication Studies.