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.
Daytona Nights
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And a rebel flag
Stuck a Florida road map
In my saddle bag
I think Panama City
Would be a good place to start
On this little vacation
To loosen up my heart
Over in Orlando
I've heard some wild tales about the women there standing out on the road
And when you leave out of there
On a midnight ride
Take that highway down to that famous town on the ocean side
Daytona nights
They make you dance
All the girls got that centerfold pose
And they all got a tan
And if they're looking for love
It's like a rising tide
And they will swallow you up like sand to the hubs, daytona nights
Now the Boothill Saloon
And the Last Resort
That's a few of the sites
You need to be looking for
Hawaian tropic women
They got the best buns of all
I like the way they sway when they walk up and say,
"hey and how are y'all"
So we swim all day
And we played all night
And I never want to leave this free as a breeze, daytona nights
Daytona nights
Sure make you dane
All these girls got that centerfold pose
And they all got a tan
And if they're looking for love
It's like a rising tide
They will swallow you up like sand to the hubs, daytona nights
Yes if they're looking for love
It's like a stormy tide
They will swallow you up like sand to the hubs, daytona nights
Stuck in those daytona nights
Here comes the tide
The lyrics to Hank Williams Jr.'s song "Daytona Nights" depict a fun and carefree adventure in Florida. The singer expresses his desire to explore the state, starting at Panama City, to alleviate his woes and release his inhibitions. He includes mention of the Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, which he has heard tales of women standing out on the road. The singer advises taking a drive down the famous town on the ocean side, which could allude to Daytona Beach. The chorus emphasizes the lively nights in Daytona and the beautiful, tanned centerfold posed women that inhabit the location. The lyrics also include mentions of The Boothill Saloon and The Last Resort, suggesting that these are local landmarks that are worth visiting.
Line by Line Meaning
I got some sun tan oil
I brought sun tan oil with me for my trip
And a rebel flag
I have a Confederate flag, which I intend to fly during my trip
Stuck a Florida road map
I brought a map of Florida
In my saddle bag
I packed the map in my saddle bag
I think Panama City
I believe that Panama City would be a good place to begin my vacation
Would be a good place to start
I think it would be enjoyable to begin my trip in Panama City
On this little vacation
I'm going on a small vacation
To loosen up my heart
I hope the trip will allow me to relax and unwind
Orange blossom trail
There is a scenic road called the Orange Blossom Trail
Over in Orlando
It can be found in Orlando
I’ve heard some wild tales about the women there standing out on the road
I have heard rumors about women standing by the road in Orlando
And when you leave out of there
If you leave that area
On a midnight ride
Late at night
Take that highway down to that famous town on the ocean side
You should take the highway to a well-known beach town by the ocean
Daytona nights
Nights spent in Daytona Beach
They make you dance
The energy and atmosphere of the nights in Daytona make people want to dance
All the girls got that centerfold pose
The women in Daytona are very attractive and have enticing poses
And they all got a tan
The women in Daytona have tans
And if they're looking for love
If these women want love, attention or companionship
It’s like a rising tide
It is inevitable or unavoidable
And they will swallow you up like sand to the hubs, Daytona nights
If you are not careful, the energy and personalities of these women can consume you
Now, the Boothill Saloon
There is a bar in Daytona called the Boothill Saloon
And the Last Resort
There is another bar called the Last Resort
That's a few of the sites
These are a couple of the places to visit in Daytona
You need to be looking for
You should make an effort to check these places out
Hawaiian Tropic women
There are women in Daytona who participate in the Hawaiian Tropic modeling contest
They got the best buns of all
These women have an excellent physical figure
I like the way they sway when they walk up and say, “Hey and how are y’all”
I find it attractive when these women walk up to me and start a conversation
So, we swim all day
We spend our days swimming
And we ate all night
We spend our nights eating
And I never want to leave this free as a breeze, Daytona nights
I never want to leave the nights spent in Daytona
Yes, if they're looking for love
Again, if these women are looking for love or companionship
It's like a storm tide
It can become overwhelming and engulfing
They will swallow you up like sand to the hubs, Daytona nights
These women will consume you if you do not proceed with caution
Stuck in those Daytona nights
Feeling like you are trapped in the nights spent in Daytona
Here comes the tide
A warning that the 'rising tide' of these women is approaching
Contributed by Nicholas O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.