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.
Almost Persuaded
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Met a girl with a drink in her hand.
She had ruby red lips, coal black hair
And eyes that would tempt any man.
Then she came and sat down at my table,
And as she placed her soft hands in mine,
I found myself wanting to kiss her
For temptation was flowing like wine.
And I was almost persuaded to strip myself of my pride.
Almost persuaded to push my conscience aside.
Then we danced and she whispered, "I need you!"
"Take me away from here and be my man."
Then I looked into her eyes and I saw it:
The reflection of my wedding band.
And I was almost persuaded to let strange lips lead me on.
Almost persuaded but your sweet love made me stop and go home.
Last night all alone in a barroom
Met a guy with a drink in his hand.
He had bay blue eyes, coal black hair
And a smile that a girl understands.
Then he came and sat down at my table,
And as he placed his hands over mine,
I found my self wanting to kiss him
For temptation was flowing like wine.
And I was almost persuaded to strip myself of my pride.
Almost persuaded to push my conscience aside.
Then we danced and he whispered, "I need you!"
"Let me take you away and be your man."
Then I looked into his eyes and I saw it:
The reflection of my wedding band.
And I was almost persuaded to let strange lips lead me on.
Almost persuaded but your sweet love made me stop and go home.
The song "Almost Persuaded" by Hank Williams Jr. talks about a man and a woman who are tempted to cheat on their spouses. The singer of the story meets a woman at a bar and is captivated by her beauty, but he is reminded of his wedding band when he sees its reflection in her eyes. The woman also meets a man at the same bar and is tempted to cheat on her partner but also sees her wedding band's reflection in the man's eyes, which stops her from acting on the temptation. The song highlights the importance of commitment to marital vows and the struggle that comes with resisting temptation.
"Almost Persuaded" has been covered by numerous artists since its release, including David Houston, who had a major hit with the song in 1966. The song has been recorded by dozens of other artists, including Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, and Conway Twitty. The song has been called one of the saddest country songs of all time.
Line by Line Meaning
Last night all alone in a barroom
The singer sets the scene and describes the place where he is about to meet a new stranger
Met a girl with a drink in her hand.
The singer sees a woman in the bar who is holding a drink
She had ruby red lips, coal black hair / And eyes that would tempt any man.
The singer is attracted to her appearance
Then she came and sat down at my table / And as she placed her soft hands in mine,
The woman comes over to the singer's table and they start to touch hands
I found myself wanting to kiss her / For temptation was flowing like wine.
The singer is tempted to kiss the woman
And I was almost persuaded to strip myself of my pride.
The singer is considering giving into temptation and betraying his own values
Almost persuaded to push my conscience aside.
The singer is considering ignoring his own moral compass
Then we danced and she whispered, "I need you!" / "Take me away from here and be my man."
The woman is expressing her desire for the singer and asking him to leave with her
Then I looked into her eyes and I saw it: / The reflection of my wedding band.
The singer realizes that he is married and sees his own reflection in her eyes
And I was almost persuaded to let strange lips lead me on.
The singer is considering cheating on his spouse with this stranger
Almost persuaded but your sweet love made me stop and go home.
The singer ultimately decides to reject the temptation because of his love for his spouse
Met a guy with a drink in his hand.
The singer describes meeting a man in the bar
He had bay blue eyes, coal black hair / And a smile that a girl understands.
The singer is attracted to the man's appearance
Then he came and sat down at my table / And as he placed his hands over mine,
The man comes over to the singer's table and they start to touch hands
I found my self wanting to kiss him / For temptation was flowing like wine.
The singer is tempted to kiss the man
Then we danced and he whispered, "I need you!" / "Let me take you away and be your man."
The man is expressing his desire for the singer and asking her to leave with him
Then I looked into his eyes and I saw it: / The reflection of my wedding band.
The singer realizes that she is married and sees her own reflection in his eyes
And I was almost persuaded to let strange lips lead me on.
The singer is considering cheating on her spouse with this stranger
Almost persuaded but your sweet love made me stop and go home.
The singer ultimately decides to reject the temptation because of her love for her spouse
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BILLY SHERRILL, GLENN SUTTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind