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.
Country Love
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I ride on out to the country and call up my sweet honey
And we'll mess around and make country love
Meet me at night tonight and we'll go down by the river side
Take along some moonshine our love is much too strong for wine
And we'll drink it up and make country love
Some folks fall to the city just to do that lovin' dirt
But just get me the smell of pine trees makin' love in the warm country air
Lord you know it feels so fine to hold that country girl of mine
And lay here in the moonlight and do what feels so right
To smooth and hug and make a lotta country love
Some folks fall to the city
So tonight when the crickets start singin' the songs
That's when me and you will be gettin' it off
To who I would be who whoin' cause he'll see what we're doin'
We're foolin' we're makin' country love
When the night hang up we're makin' country love
I'm a southern boy spreadin' joy and country love
The lyrics of Hank Williams Jr.'s "Country Love" describe a passionate and romantic getaway in the country. The singer, who is likely a southern boy, jumps onto his truck and heads out of town when nighttime falls. He meets his lover in the countryside where they proceed to engage in romantic activities, including drinking moonshine and making love. The singer emphasizes the differences between city life and country life, expressing his preference for the latter. He believes that there is something special about making love in the warm country air under the moonlight.
The lyrics are simple yet profound, and they express the singer's love for the country lifestyle and his desire for romantic experiences that embody the spirit of the southern countryside. The song uses a casual and conversational tone to convey the singer's emotions and feels like a conversation between two close friends. The lyrics are accompanied by a lively country melody, which heightens the sense of excitement and passion.
Line by Line Meaning
When the nighttime comes fallin' down I jump in my pickup and head out of town
At night, I quickly get in my truck and leave town.
I ride on out to the country and call up my sweet honey
I drive to the country and call my girlfriend.
And we'll mess around and make country love
We will spend time together and make love.
Meet me at night tonight and we'll go down by the river side
Let's meet tonight and go down to the riverside.
Take along some moonshine our love is much too strong for wine
Bring moonshine with you, our love is too strong for wine.
And we'll drink it up and make country love
We will drink and make love.
Some folks fall to the city just to do that lovin' dirt
Some people go to the city to have casual sex.
But just get me the smell of pine trees makin' love in the warm country air
I prefer the smell of pine trees and making love in the warm country air.
Lord you know it feels so fine to hold that country girl of mine
It feels great to hold my girlfriend.
And lay here in the moonlight and do what feels so right
To lay here in the moonlight and do what feels right.
To smooth and hug and make a lotta country love
To touch and hug and make a lot of love.
So tonight when the crickets start singin' the songs
Tonight when the crickets start singing.
That's when me and you will be gettin' it off
That's when we will have sex.
To who I would be who whoin' cause he'll see what we're doin'
Someone might see us and make noises.
We're foolin' we're makin' country love
We are having sex and having fun.
When the night hang up we're makin' country love
We are making love throughout the night.
I'm a southern boy spreadin' joy and country love
I am from the south and spreading joy and love.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: AL CARTEE, HANK JR. WILLIAMS, TOM BRASFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
TheGto389
wow awesome, doesnt anyone else think this is real country!