Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Wil… Read Full Bio ↴Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or alternatively as Hank Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of country music singer Hank Williams; the half-brother of Jett Williams; and the father of Hank Williams III, Holly Williams, Hilary Williams, Sam Williams, and the late Katherine Williams-Dunning.

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.

All By Myself
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When I was young i never needed anyone
And making love was just for fun
Those days are gone livin' alone
I think of all the friends I've known
When I dial the telephone nobody's home

All by myself don't wanna be
All by myself anymore

Hard to be sure sometimes I feel so insecure
And loves so distant and obscure
Remains the cure

All by myself don't wanna be
All by myself anymore

All by myself don't wanna live
All by myself anymore

When I was young i never needed anyone
Making love was just for fun
Those days are gone

All by myself don't wanna be
All by myself anymore

All by myself don't wanna live
Oh don't wanna live
By myself, by myself anymore
By myself anymore
Oh all by myself

Don't wanna live i never, never, never
Needed anyone

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Hank Williams Jr.'s song All by Myself are a contemplation of loneliness and the yearning for connection. The singer begins by reflecting on their past, recalling a time when they were carefree and didn't need anyone. They enjoyed casual romantic encounters, but now those days are behind them. Now they live alone and think back on the friends they've had, but when they reach out to them through the phone, nobody answers. The refrain repeats the phrase "All by myself," emphasizing this isolation and expressing the singer's desire to no longer be alone.

The second verse slightly shifts focus, with the singer acknowledging their insecurities and the elusive nature of love. Despite these difficulties, they recognize that love is the cure for their loneliness. Overall, the song is a poignant reflection on the universal human need for connection and the pain of feeling alone.

Line by Line Meaning

When I was young
In my youth

I never needed anyone
I was independent and self-sufficient

And makin' love was just for fun
Sex was a casual and enjoyable activity

Those days are gone
Those times have passed and things are different now

Livin' alone
Being solitary and without company

I think of all the friends Ive known
I remember all of the people I have been acquainted with

But when I dial the telephone
However, when I try to reach out and communicate

Nobody's home
There is no one to answer or respond

All by myself
Being completely alone

Don't wanna be
Not desiring to stay in this state

All by myself anymore
No longer wanting to be completely alone