Ain't Nothin' as Sweet as My Baby: The Story of Hank Williams' Lost Daughter

In 1974 on her 21st birthday, Williams leaned that her father was probably the country-music star, Hank Williams. Ten years later, the ``lost baby'' began to investigate her heritage, the source of this amazing story. With freelancer Thomas's help, Williams details the singer's affair with her mother--Bobbie Jett--between his divorce from his first wife and marriage to a second. Days after Hank's sudden death in 1953, Bobbie bore a daughter who was adopted by Hank's mother but, upon her death, disowned by his sister. The child was then adopted by Wayne and Louise Deupree of Mobile, Ala., who play supporting roles in this drama. With Keith Adkinson, her lawyer (and later husband) Williams proved in court that Hank's kin had denied her parentage in order to claim his considerable fortune. Now with a singing career of her own, backed up by members of her father's band, Williams presents a necessarily one-sided version of events, somewhat marred by many complaints against her adoptive family, justified or not. Otherwise, her tale is as engrossing as a detective story. (Sept.)