Williams began his career following in his famed father's footsteps, covering his father's songs and imitating his father's style. Williams' first television appearance was in a 1964 episode of ABC's The Jimmy Dean Show, in which at age fourteen he sang several songs associated with his father. Later that year, he was a guest star on Shindig!.
Williams' style evolved slowly as he struggled to find his own voice and place within country music. This was interrupted by a near-fatal fall off the side of Ajax Peak in Montana on August 8, 1975. After an extended recovery, he challenged the country music establishment with a blend of country, rock, and blues. As a multi-instrumentalist, Williams' repertoire of skills includes guitar, bass guitar, upright bass, steel guitar, banjo, dobro, piano, keyboards, saxophone, harmonica, fiddle, and drums.
From 1989 through October 2011, his song "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight", refashioned as "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night", had been used to open broadcasts of Monday Night Football until it was pulled after Williams made controversial comments comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler. The song returned to open the show in 2017.
On August 12, 2020, Williams was selected to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Williams' early career was guided, some say outright dominated, by his mother Audrey Williams, who many claim was the driving force that led his father to musical superstardom during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Audrey, in many ways, wished for young Hank to be nothing more than a "Hank Williams, Sr. impersonator", sometimes going as far as to have clothes designed for him that were identical to his father's stage clothes and vocal stylings very similar to those of his father.
Although Williams' recordings earned him numerous country hits throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, he became disillusioned with his role as a 'Hank Williams clone' and severed ties with his mother in order to pursue his own musical direction and tastes. After recording the soundtrack to Your Cheatin' Heart, a biography of his father, Williams, Jr. hit the charts with one of his own compositions, "Standing in the Shadows". The song signalled a move to rock and roll and other influences as he stepped from the shadow of his father.
Also during this time, Williams had his first two No. 1 songs: "All For the Love of Sunshine" (1970, featured on the soundtrack to Kelly's Heroes) and "Eleven Roses" (1972).
By the mid-1970s, Williams had finally found the musical direction that would, eventually, make him a superstar. Williams' unique blend of traditional country with southern rock and blues earned him a devoted following, although some mainstream country radio stations wouldn't touch his new songs in this blatantly untraditional sound.
While recording a series of hit songs, Williams began abusing drugs, including alcohol and eventually tried to commit suicide in 1974. Moving to Alabama, Williams began playing music with Southern rock musicians Toy Caldwell, Marshall Tucker Band and Charlie Daniels, and others.
His last major success was "There's a Tear in My Beer", a duet with his father created using electronic dubbing techniques. The song itself was written by his father, presumably, sometime between 1950 and 1953 and was recorded with Hank Williams playing just his guitar. The music video for the song combined existing television footage of Hank Williams performing and the dubbing techniques transferred the image of Hank Jr. onto the screen, so it appeared as if he were actually playing with his father. The video was an overwhelming success, both critically and commercially. It was named Video Of The Year by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country music. Hank Williams, Jr. would go on to win a Grammy award in 1990 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.
Despite his slumping album sales, Hank Williams Jr. continued to be a popular concert draw during the early 1990s and continued to record, with several of his recordings during this time still managing to achieve gold status, selling 500,000 copies.
He is probably best known today as the performer of the theme song for Monday Night Football, based on "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight". The opening theme became a classic, as much a part of the show as the football itself. In 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994, Williams' opening themes for Monday Night Football would earn him four Emmy awards.
Williams opened for Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006, on ABC and was in the stands as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
On April 10, 2006, CMT honored Williams with the Johnny Cash Visionary Award, presenting it to him at the 2006 CMT Music Awards.
On November 11, 2008, Williams was honored as a BMI Icon at the 56th annual BMI Country Awards. The artists and songwriters named BMI Icons have had "a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers".
In 2011, Williams was named one of "Seven Living Legends" of his native Shreveport, Louisiana, by Danny Fox (1954–2014) of KWKH radio. Others named were Bob Griffin of KSLA and KTBS-TV and James Burton. Two others cited, Claude King and Frank Page, both died in 2013.
In 2015, Hank Williams Jr. was Inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.
A Little Less Talk And A Lot More Action
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nothing I could say ever seemed to matter
So I took a little drive just to clear my head
I saw a flashing neon, up ahead, it looked like a place
With a little less talk and a lot more action
I paid the man at the door and pushed my way to the bar
Shouted for a drink over a screaming guitar
A drunk on a stool tried to mess with my head
But I didn't even listen to a word he said
I knew somewhere amid all this distraction
Was a little less talk and a lot more action
A little less talk if you please
A lot more loving is what I need
Let's get on down to the main attraction
With a little less talk and a lot more action
Well she was fighting them off at a corner table
She had a long neck bottle, she was peeling the label
The look on her face, it was perfectly clear
She said, "Somebody please get me out of here"
The look she shot me through the glass refraction
Said a little less talk and a lot more action
A little less talk if you please
A lot more loving is what I need
Let's get on down to the main attraction
With a little less talk and a lot more action
The song, "A Little Less Talk," by Hank Williams Jr. is about a man who is fed up with his girlfriend's incessant chatter and decides to take a drive to clear his head. He spots a neon sign in the distance, and decides to check out the bar. Hank Williams Jr. introduces us to a boisterous scene with a screaming guitar and drunk men, and in the midst of it all, he observes a woman at a corner table who is awkwardly trying to fend off unwanted attention. The woman is drinking beer, peeling the label off the bottle, clearly indicating that she too, is looking for some relief from daily life.
Through his lyrics, Hank Williams Jr. suggests that sometimes we need to tune out the noise, find our own sanctuary, and create some action with a little less talk and a lot more loving. This song is an uplifting call to action to the listeners to live in the moment and do what makes them feel alive. Ultimately, the song is about taking control of one's own life and making the most of every moment while also seeking happiness and fulfillment.
Line by Line Meaning
I was getting kinda tired of her endless chatter
I was becoming exasperated because she would not stop talking.
Nothing I could say ever seemed to matter
I sensed that my words weren't being valued by her or even heard.
So I took a little drive just to clear my head
I decided to take a short trip to clear my thoughts.
I saw a flashing neon, up ahead, it looked like a place
I noticed a glowing sign up ahead and it seemed like an exciting location.
To find some satisfaction
My intention was to revel in what this place has to offer.
With a little less talk and a lot more action
I want to minimize talking and indulge in the pleasures of the locale more.
I paid the man at the door and pushed my way to the bar
I handed over the cover charge and forced my way through to the bar.
Shouted for a drink over a screaming guitar
I raised my voice to order a drink over the noise of the live band playing.
A drunk on a stool tried to mess with my head
A tipsy patron situated on a stool attempted to provoke me.
But I didn't even listen to a word he said
I did not pay any attention to what he was saying.
I knew somewhere amid all this distraction
Despite the ruckus, I felt that there was some enjoyment to be had here.
A little less talk if you please
Can we talk less, please?
A lot more loving is what I need
I long for more affection than I am currently receiving.
Let's get on down to the main attraction
Let's go to the main component of this place.
Well she was fighting them off at a corner table
She was resisting the advances of other men at a table tucked in a corner.
She had a long neck bottle, she was peeling the label
She was slowly removing the brand label from her beer bottle.
The look on her face, it was perfectly clear
Her facial expression showed that she wanted to leave her current spot.
She said, "Somebody please get me out of here"
She vocalized her wish to be escorted away from the situation.
The look she shot me through the glass refraction
The glare she threw my way was distorted via the glass separation between us.
Said a little less talk and a lot more action
She suggested that we engage in activities instead of talking.
A little less talk if you please
Again, can we talk less please?
A lot more loving is what I need
Once again, I crave affection more than conversation.
Let's get on down to the main attraction
Let's go to the most captivating part of this locale.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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