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.
Cry Cry Darling
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you should leave me with the blues
Cry, cry, darling, that's all I do
'Cause you're the one that's in my heart
If ever we should part
Cry, cry, darling, that's all I do
'Cause you're the one that's in my heart
Cry, cry, darling, my eyes will cry
And never dry if you should go
Cry, cry, darling, when shadows creep
I'll just weep all night I know
You know, how much I'd miss you
If ever we should part
Cry, cry, darling, that's all I do
'Cause you're the one that's in my heart
The lyrics to Hank Williams Jr.'s song Cry Cry Darling plaintively express the fear and heartache of losing the one you love. The singer conveys the depth of his love by explaining that he would cry and weep endlessly if his lover were to leave him. The lyrics suggest that the love between the two is so intense that there would be no moonlight for him if they were to part. The repetition of the phrase "cry cry darling" emphasizes the pervasive sense of loss and sadness that the singer would feel if his lover left him.
The lyrics also convey a sense of vulnerability and helplessness. The singer seems to suggest that his emotions are entirely dependent on his lover and that he would be unable to cope without her. The line "when shadows creep I'll just weep all night I know" suggests that the darkness of night would be particularly difficult for him, as it would exacerbate the sense of loss that he feels. The lyrics are simple but effective, conveying a powerful sense of love and loss that is sure to resonate with listeners.
Line by Line Meaning
Cry cry darling that's what I do if you'd leave me with the blues
If you were to leave me with sadness, I would cry and cry, darling.
Cry cry darling that's all I do if it's you I should lose
Losing you is unbearable, so if it ever happens, I'll just continue to cry endlessly, darling.
For me there'd be no moonlight if ever we should part
Without you, my life would be dark and empty, just like a moonless night, darling.
Cry cry darling that's what I do cause you're the one in my heart
You hold a special place in my heart, and that's why I cry so much when I think about losing you, darling.
Cry cry darling my eyes will cry and never dry if you should go
My eyes will never stop crying if you ever leave me, darling.
Cry cry darling when shadows creep I'll just weep all night I know
Even if it's just the shadows creeping, I know I'll still cry all night, darling.
You know how much I'd miss you if ever we should part
You're aware of how much I would miss you if we ever had to part ways, darling.
Cry cry darling that's all I do cause you're the one in my heart
You're always on my mind and in my heart, and that's why I keep crying, darling.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jeff H
Love this. One of Hank, Jr.'s best. Would love to see all of his 60's-70's MGM recordings reissued on CD.
Manny Ruiz
Great album, great country songs. Just noticed there ain't no steel guitar on this record.
Najponk Jazz
Beautiful 🎵 thank you Bill 🎹
Marryann Lamb
Awesome song Bill thanks
Coleman Osburn
I actually own this vinyl
Machine Gun Nest
17 Year old guitar player singer
john sandiford
Thanks for sharing