Born into a leading Fort Worth family (super-8 home movies from the '40s offer glimpses of upper-class comfort), Van Zandt grew into a resolutely itinerant country boy, preferring hardscrabble trailers and backwoods cabins even after Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard scored a No. 1 hit with his "Pancho and Lefty." Brown doesn't elicit many memorable anecdotes from her well-known talking heads, with the notable exception of musician/raconteur Guy Clark -- who begins his interview by toasting his departed friend with a shot of tequila  and Kris Kristofferson, who relates an affecting appraisal of the costs and rewards of choosing the artist's path. Van Zandt's sister, three wives and especially his three children offer keen insights, with eldest son J.T. evincing clear-eyed judgment of his father's addictive personality and its effect on those around him.

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