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.
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Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I try, I'm just wastin' my time
Lord, I've tried and I've tried and all night long I've cried
But I can't get you off of my mind
Well, you think you would leave me behind
But I guess you're the good timin' kind
Do you think that it's smart to jump from heart to heart
I can't get you off of my mind
When I try, I'm just wastin' my time
Lord, I've tried and I've tried and all night long I've cried
But I can't get you off of my mind
You believe that a true love is blind
So you fool every new love you find
You've got stars in your eyes, but they can't hide the lies
I can't get you off of my mind
I can't get you off of my mind
When I try, I'm just wastin' my time
Lord, I've tried and I've tried and all night long I've cried
But I can't get you off of my mind
The lyrics to Hank Williams Jr.'s song Can't You See are a heart-wrenching depiction of the pain of unrequited love. Williams pours out his soul in describing how he just can't seem to forget this person who has left him behind. He has tried and tried to move on, but to no avail. The pain is so intense that he has cried all night long. Williams paints a picture of a person who is not only hurting but is also angry at the situation. He describes this person as the "good timin' kind" who jumps from heart to heart, leaving a trail of broken hearts in their wake. It's clear that Williams is frustrated and unable to let go of this person who has caused him so much pain.
Through his lyrics, Williams is letting his audience know that he understands the challenges of dealing with heartbreak. The song is relatable, as most people have experienced the pain of unrequited love at some point in their lives. Hank Williams Jr.'s emotional delivery of the lyrics makes the song even more authentic and relatable to his fans.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't get you off of my mind
Despite my efforts, I am unable to stop thinking about you.
When I try, I'm just wastin' my time
Attempting to forget about you is a futile endeavor.
Lord, I've tried and I've tried and all night long I've cried
I have exhausted all attempts to forget you and have spent many sleepless nights grieving your absence.
But I can't get you off of my mind
Despite my efforts, I remain fixated on you.
Well, you think you would leave me behind
You believe that you have successfully moved on from me.
But I guess you're the good timin' kind
However, it seems that you are simply looking for temporary pleasure and not a lasting relationship.
Do you think that it's smart to jump from heart to heart
It is not wise to continually seek out new romantic partners without fully committing to any of them.
When I can't get you off of my mind
Especially since I am still fixated on you, unable to move on.
You believe that a true love is blind
Your belief that love is blind leads you to deceive every new partner you find.
So you fool every new love you find
You are able to trick each new romantic partner into thinking that you are truly committed to them.
You've got stars in your eyes, but they can't hide the lies
You may appear to be genuine and devoted, but your deceitful ways will eventually be revealed.
I can't get you off of my mind
Despite your unfaithfulness and deception, I cannot stop thinking about you.
When I try, I'm just wastin' my time
My attempts to forget you are pointless and ineffective.
Lord, I've tried and I've tried and all night long I've cried
I have put forth significant effort to move on, but remain consumed by thoughts of you, causing me great anguish.
But I can't get you off of my mind
Despite all adversity and heartache, I remain consumed by thoughts of you.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HANK WILLIAMS SR.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@chrisray6385
This is the heart of America.
Those who make it work
Those who came before
Who gave us this chance
Those who assure our future
Just because my grandfather's blood has been washed away by sand and time
Doesn't mean I have forgotten what he fought for.
How about you...
Have you forgotten?
@JesusKing1105
I am 42 Salvadorean 🇸🇻, raised in the US 🇺🇲and I have so much love and respect for good Americans that love and defend this way of life. God bless you all!
@seancasey8640
Nah brother, your roots are Salvadoran, you are 'Merican.
@jeremymoorer1611
That love makes you one of us. Alabama
@myamadeus1
In America the citizenry loves immigrants. :)
@FahqTyrants
🫡🇺🇲
@user-wr2cd1wy3b
Nothin' but 'A Merry Can' do, from an American dude
@DrPhillipMcCracken
I got hurt at work several years ago and was bleeding out in a hurry. The guy that stopped the bleeding, and made this typing possible, came from the WV coal mines. This song always reminds me of that. I'm a country boy but I couldn't help myself, thank God there was another one there.
@gabbynye7536
god bless
@lillyanp4
💯👍🏻
@743buses
I am a Cajun boy and I got hurt a lot and I am just a kid I almost died before as before and I fought it