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.
Ain
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can't you hear that lonesome sound
Oh my poor old heart is breakin'
'Cause my sweet love ain't round
Lord I think I'll start to ramble
Got to leave this weary town
This old place is way too lonely
On that train tonight I'm leavin'
And don't ask me where I'm bound
I can't stay here any longer
'Cause my sweet love ain't around
In Hank Williams Jr.'s song "Ain't Around," the singer's heartbroken state is clearly conveyed through the lyrics. The sound of the falling rain and the lonesome sound it creates seems to mirror the pain the singer is feeling. He longs for the presence of his "sweet love," but unfortunately, she is nowhere to be found. The anguish he feels is palpable as he contemplates leaving the town as it has become too lonely without her. He decides to take a train and go somewhere, anywhere, but he cannot stay there without her any longer. The lyrics convey raw emotions and the struggle that someone goes through when they are heartbroken and cannot have the person they love by their side.
Line by Line Meaning
Listen to the rain a-fallin'
Listen to the soothing sound of the rain falling.
Can't you hear that lonesome sound
The sound of the rain is not just soothing, but also lonesome.
Oh my poor old heart is breakin'
The singer's heart is breaking due to the absence of his love.
'Cause my sweet love ain't round
The reason for the singer's heartbreak is that his love is not around.
Lord I think I'll start to ramble
The singer wants to leave the place and wander aimlessly.
Got to leave this weary town
The singer wants to leave the town that has become tiresome due to the absence of his love.
This old place is way too lonely
The place has become too lonely for the singer to stay any longer.
'Cause my sweet love ain't around
The reason for the singer's loneliness is the absence of his love.
On that train tonight I'm leavin'
The singer is leaving on a train tonight.
And don't ask me where I'm bound
The singer does not know where he is heading to.
I can't stay here any longer
The loneliness has become unbearable for the singer.
'Cause my sweet love ain't around
The reason for the singer's departure is the absence of his love.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HANK WILLIAMS SR.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind