THE TEX MORTON SONGBOOK
Gordon Spittle

When Hank was on the ropes they called in the hypnotist. Call Robert Morton says The Baron - as Oscar Davis liked to be known - and the phones ring hot till the doctor is located and directed to the concert hall. But Hank is a mess. Too far gone with the bottle and Morton unable to assist. Later the hypnotist stood in the wings and watched the drunk fluff his first number and repeat and repeat the opening line unable to get further. "Your cheatin' heart," sang on Hank Williams like a stuck record.

The story of Dr Robert Morton is an extraordinary encounter with a character spanning six decades of entertainment. Already the Australian King of the Cowboys when Gene Autry met him at the LA airport in 1951, Morton went on to become a stateside box-office sensation as a stage hypnotist and singing cowboy with a sharp-shooting and whip-cracking act culled from his earlier years as a circus ringmaster.

The tall tales of a hobo from Nelson New Zealand will be available in September 2001.