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.
Everytime I Hear That Song
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But there are some things that bring tears to my eyes
Some old movies they've shown
Some old people all alone
And everytime I hear that song
Everytime I hear that song
I think of someone who is gone
Everytime I hear that song
What makes big old boys like me
Get down on bended knee?
And today's girl who's moving ahead
Stay at home all night crying in bed
It's those old loves that linger on
Just like some of those good old songs
Everytime I hear that song
I think of someone who is gone
And the hurtin' starts comin' on real strong
Everytime I hear that song
The lyrics to Hank Williams Jr.'s "Everytime I Hear That Song" reflect on the power of music to evoke emotions and memories of lost loved ones. The song opens with the idea that cowboys should never cry, yet there are some things that can't help but bring tears to a person's eyes. These include nostalgic movies and elderly people living alone. But more than anything, it's hearing certain songs that can really hit a person hard. As the chorus repeats, the singer reveals that every time he hears that song, he is reminded of someone who is gone and the pain comes on strong.
The second verse highlights the universality of this feeling, as the singer asks what makes a big tough guy like himself get down on bended knee, or why a modern woman who's moving ahead might still spend nights at home crying over past loves. It's because some loves refuse to die, and memories of them are kept alive through songs that continue to make a deep impact.
Overall, this song emphasizes the emotional power of music and how certain songs can resonate with us in deeply personal ways. It reflects on the universal experience of loss and how music can bring those we've lost back to us, even if just for a few fleeting moments.
Line by Line Meaning
I heard cowboys should never cry
I've heard that cowboys shouldn't show their emotions, but sometimes it's just impossible not to
But there are some things that bring tears to my eyes
Despite what people say, there are some things that can make even the toughest of cowboys tear up
Some old movies they've shown
Watching certain old movies can make me feel sentimental and emotional
Some old people all alone
Seeing elderly people who are alone and possibly feeling lonely can also be a trigger for emotions
And everytime I hear that song
Whenever a certain song plays, it brings up memories and emotions that are hard to ignore
I think of someone who is gone
The song reminds me of someone I've lost, and the pain of their absence comes rushing back
And the hurtin' starts comin' on real strong
The emotions that the song brings up are intense and painful, and it's hard to shake them off
What makes big old boys like me
Even someone like me, who is considered tough and strong, can be brought to tears by certain things
Get down on bended knee?
Why do we sometimes feel so overwhelmed by emotions that we feel like we need to physically kneel down in order to deal with them?
And today's girl who's moving ahead
Even young and independent women can still experience heartache and sadness
Stay at home all night crying in bed
Sometimes the pain of a lost love is so strong that it feels impossible to even get out of bed
It's those old loves that linger on
The memories of past loves can haunt us and continue to affect us, even years later
Just like some of those good old songs
Just like certain old songs that continue to be popular and meaningful, the memories of old loves can also stay with us for a long time
Contributed by Muhammad Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.