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't Nobody's Business
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the next day it ain't nothing shakin'
And it ain't noboady's business if I do what I do
Me and my babe oh we fuss and fight
And the next minute, yea everything is alright
And it ain't nobody's business what we do
(Cause that's all private stuff)
One day I think I'm going crazy
And the next day I'm laid back and lazy
And it ain't nobody's business if I do
One day I might take a notion
To go right down and jump in the ocean
And it ain't nobody's business if I do
The lyrics to Hank Williams Jr.'s "Ain't Nobody's Business" elude to the freedom of choice one should have in their life without the judgment of others. It's a classic blues song that emphasizes the personal autonomy of individuals towards their actions and decisions, even amidst trivial struggles in life such as eating habits, relationship quarrels, and daily moods. The line "One day I have ham and bacon, and the next day it ain't nothing shakin'" suggests that people have the right to make different choices each day, and the judgments of others towards such actions are simply not relevant. The song's powerful message is about being true to oneself and following one's own path.
The lyrics also highlight the intimacy of one's relationships and personal life. "Me and my babe oh we fuss and fight, and the next minute everything is alright, and it ain't nobody's business what we do" signifies that relationships, even if tumultuous, are private matters that should not be interfered with by outsiders. The song encourages freedom of expression and individuality, urging people to do what they please without concern for societal expectations.
Line by Line Meaning
One day I have ham and bacon
One day I might indulge in a lavish meal of ham and bacon
And the next day it ain't nothing shakin'
But the very next day, I might not have as much to eat or enjoy
And it ain't nobody's business if I do what I do
However, whatever I decide to do is not someone else's concern; I'm free to make my own choices
Me and my babe oh we fuss and fight
Sometimes my partner and I argue and disagree with one another
And the next minute, yea everything is alright
But quickly we make up and everything is back to normal
And it ain't nobody's business what we do
(Cause that's all private stuff)
Whatever happens between my partner and I is our own private matter; no one else needs to know or interfere
One day I think I'm going crazy
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed or like I'm losing my mind
And the next day I'm laid back and lazy
But then the next day, I might be feeling more relaxed and taking it easy
And it ain't nobody's business if I do
Regardless of how I'm feeling or what I'm doing, it's not someone else's business to know or judge
One day I might take a notion
There may come a time when I feel inspired to do something spontaneous or unpredictable
To go right down and jump in the ocean
Like impulsively deciding to go for a swim in the ocean
And it ain't nobody's business if I do
Regardless of how unusual or random my actions may seem, it's not anyone else's concern to question or scrutinize
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: EVERETT ROBBINS, PORTER GRAINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind