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.
Blue Lady in a Red Mercedes
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a red mercedes
Driving down from her big house on the hill
With her mind on fire
For an old desire
And sweet memories bring on the tears
And that blue lady
All the money and big house so fine
Just to feel him touch her one more time
She's sewn and reeped
And now she's gotta sleep
In empty arms tonight
All night she's got her little paradise
But she's a lonely wife
If that old flame could burn again
Would it justify the sin
I think it would considering the shape her heart is in
And that blue lady
Would give that red mercedes
All the money and big house so fine
Just to feel him touch her one more time
Just to feel him touch her
Just to feel him touch her
Just to feel him touch her one more time
The lyrics to Hank Williams Jr.'s song Blue Lady in a Red Mercedes tell the story of a wealthy woman who is driving home from her mansion, reminiscing about a past love. She is portrayed as having a mind "on fire" for her old desire, while sweet memories bring on the tears. The blue lady is so consumed by her lost love that she would give away everything she has, including her red Mercedes and big house, just to feel his touch once again. She sleeps alone at night in her luxurious paradise, but she is a lonely wife. She wonders if her old flame could burn again, and whether it would justify the sin, considering the shape her heart is in.
The lyrics of the song tell a classic country story of love, loss, and desire for something that may never come back. It is a story about the past, present, and future, and how one person's life can be defined by their love (or lack thereof) for another. The blue lady in the song is living in luxury, with all the trappings of wealth and success, but she is ultimately unhappy and unfulfilled without her old flame. The lyrics are a poignant reminder that sometimes, the things we want the most are the things we can never have.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a blue lady
There's a wealthy and privileged woman who is feeling lonely and unfulfilled.
In a red mercedes
She is driving around in a fancy car, perhaps to distract herself from her problems.
Driving down from her big house on the hill
She is leaving her mansion, but not necessarily for a happy reason.
With her mind on fire
Her thoughts and emotions are intense and overwhelming.
For an old desire
She is yearning for something that she used to have or experience.
And sweet memories bring on the tears
She is reminiscing about a past love, which makes her emotional.
And that blue lady
The woman in question, who is described as blue and therefore sad.
Would give that red mercedes
She would be willing to sacrifice her wealth and status for the chance to be with her old flame again.
All the money and big house so fine
Her material possessions, which she realizes are not enough to bring her happiness.
Just to feel him touch her one more time
Her deepest desire is to be physically close to her former lover again.
She's sewn and reeped
She has worked hard and achieved success in life, but it hasn't brought her the fulfillment she craves.
And now she's gotta sleep
Despite her wealth and privilege, she still has to face the loneliness of her bed at night.
In empty arms tonight
She has no one to hold her and make her feel loved.
All night she's got her little paradise
Her luxurious home is meant to be her paradise, but it fails to bring her happiness.
But she's a lonely wife
The woman is married, but her husband cannot fill the emotional void in her life.
If that old flame could burn again
She wonders if things would be different if she could be with her former lover once more.
Would it justify the sin
She is questioning whether it would be worth going against societal norms and cheating on her spouse if it meant she could be happy again.
I think it would considering the shape her heart is in
The singer believes that given the pain and sadness the woman is experiencing, it would be understandable for her to want to pursue the possibility of happiness with her old flame.
Just to feel him touch her
Once again, the woman's deepest desire is to be physically close to her former lover.
Just to feel him touch her
The repetition of this line underscores how important physical touch is to the woman's sense of fulfillment and desire.
Just to feel him touch her one more time
The woman is clearly fixated on this one desire, which speaks to the depth of her feelings for her former lover.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BUCK A. MOORE, DAN TOLER, TROY HAROLD SEALS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind