9 Country Legends Who Battled Their Demons: When Fame Meets Addiction

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00:009 Country Legends Who Battled Their Demons When Fame Meets Addiction

00:05Number 9 Willie Nelson, Taxman Blues Became Chart Gold

00:10After the IRS claimed $16.7 million in taxes, Willie Nelson recorded stripped-down classics,

00:17turning his debt into a chart-topping album.

00:20Number 8 George Jones, Riding the Lawnmower to Legend Status

00:25Jones' voice was pure heartbreak, but his demons drove him wild.

00:30Once, after his wife hid the car keys, he rode a lawnmower 8 miles for whiskey.

00:35Number 7 Tammy Wynette, First Lady of Country's Hidden Battle

00:40Crowned by Stand By Your Man, Wynette lived with relentless pain.

00:4517 surgeries led to prescription dependence, and behind her regal presence was a woman drowning

00:50in pills.

00:51Number 6 Steve Earle, From Guitar Town to Rock Bottom Recovery

00:57Steve Earle's Guitar Town debut soared, but heroin and cocaine addiction derailed him

01:01until prison compelled detox and reflection.

01:05Number 5 Hank Williams Jr, Breaking Free from Impossible Expectations

01:10Hank Williams Jr survived a 500-foot fall that shattered his skull, battled painkiller addiction

01:16and rebuilt his career on his own.

01:19Number 4 Randy Travis, Deep Voice, Deeper Struggles

01:24Randy Travis' baritone made him a star, but a 2013 stroke stole his speech, driving him

01:30to re-learn words and sing.

01:32Number 3 Waylon Jennings, The Outlaw's Secret War

01:37Waylon Jennings defined outlaw country with Luckenbach, Texas, then quit cocaine cold turkey

01:43in 1984, flushing his stash permanently.

01:46Number 2 Glenn Campbell, Rhinestone Cowboy's Real Redemption

01:52Glenn Campbell sold 90 million records crossing country and pop, battled cocaine and alcohol

01:57addiction, then toured despite Alzheimer's.

02:01Number 1 Hank Williams Sr, The Original Heartbreak King

02:06Hank Williams Sr defined country heartbreak, but chronic pain led to alcohol and morphine dependence,

02:12and he died age 29.