Like her father, the years of Jett Williams’s adolescence were critical. She was the child of a legend, but she never met him. Instead, she grew up moving from one adoptive family to another bearing no connection to her true legacy until her teens were in the rearview.

At 21, she finally learned who her father was — Hank Williams Sr., a man whose songs gained a global recognition that’s yet to fade. In the 40 years that followed, Jett’s life has been defined by the determination to be recognized as such, and the will to stand tall in that shadow after she finally was.

“My story, I tell people, is a tar baby. It leads you down a path that will bog you down,” Williams said. “I had to search to find out who I was. I think everybody, to a small or great degree, goes on that journey. Nobody’s born and knows what they’re supposed to do.”

It’s that feeling that connected Jett Williams to a play that will hold its world premiere in Pell City next month. “Hiram – The Story of a Young Hank Williams,” opens a chapter of the country music star’s past that has yet to have an audience.

Written by celebrated Souther writer Rheta Grimsley Johnson and John Williams, “Hiram” takes the audience to Georgiana, Ala., where Hank — and his music — were born and raised. The play takes a look at Hank in his youth. He gets his first guitar. He meets a mentor. He experiences all the music the South has to offer and, after enduring a meld of happiness and hardship he creates the style of music he’s known for playing, as well as the man who would become a celebrity the world over.

Jett said she feels a connection to the hardships her father faced as he struggled to define himself.

“He didn’t exactly come from loving family,” she said. “He was out there every day as kid trying to help bring in money so his family could eat. He went on a mission, and so did I.”

Her attraction to the story and a request from the play’s producers led Jett to compose a song for Hiram to sing at the end of the performance. She said the piece imagines her father’s transition from a first-person perspective, explaining a mix of what he accomplished as Hiram and what he would later be known for as Hank.

“When I told her about the play, she immediately became involved,” said Johnson, a personal friend of Jett Williams. “She’s been very helpful. She’s generous to a fault.”

Jett said after working to score the play alongside Kathy McCoy, artistic director for the Pell City Center for Education and the Performing Arts (CEPA) she’s excited to see it in its entirety. She said she plans to attend the opening night performance at the Center on Feb. 26.

“It’s a slice of Hank pie that I don’t know if anyone’s pulled out before,” Jett said. “Putting it together has been a labor of love for the people involved, and I would love to invite everybody to come see it.”

Hiram – The Story of a Young Hank Williams

Story: When he was 8, his mother, Lillie, bought Hiram his first guitar. Soon after, he met TeeTot (Rufus Payne), whose lessons on music and life in a railroad town filled with family and friends led Hiram to declare his name, from now on, would be Hank.

Written by author and columnist Rheta Grimsley Johnson and John M. Williams. Jett Williams, Hank’s daughter, and Gina Forsyth, a New Orleans composer and musician, have contributed songs for the play.

Dates: Feb. 26-27, 7 p.m. Feb. 28, 2 p.m.

Location: Pell City CEPA

Cost: $15 for seniors & students; $22.50 for adults

More info: visit pellcitycenter.com or call (205) 338-1974