Hank Williams, Jr., and the Great Zoo Robbery, Part 3

Here's the Tower

Episode 12

Before Hank Williams, Jr., became the outlaw country legend we know as Bocephus, he toiled in a career overshadowed by his father’s greatness.

When he finally began shaping his own image and writing his own material, there was an adjustment period before he established himself as a legend in his own right.

His 1973 album, After You, Pride’s Not Hard to Swallow, was a notable step in that journey that almost ended tragically two years later when he fell nearly 500 feet at Ajax Peak, Montana. That rock climbing accident nearly killed him and changed his appearance to the point where he has rarely been seen without his trademark beard, sunglasses and cowboy hat in the forty years since.

This multi-episode documentary series takes a look behind the scenes of how he arrived on the cover of a major label album wearing an unzipped, wide-lapeled terrycloth exercise jacket in a poorly lit photo that looks like it was shot late one night when he got high and broke into a zoo.

The narration for these episodes was provided by Elvis Deane. Guest voice on this episode by Alex Leask as album designer and art critic Henry Streck.

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