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.
Guess What That
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My temperature started to rise
A cold chill's a comin' all over
And tears are fillin' my eyes
The days will turn into weeks
The weeks will turn into years
And I'm turnin' into a block of stone
I can't see for my tears
Guess what, that's right she's gone
The train left town this morning
Guess who waved goodbye
A cute little trig in a bridal red dress
And a man with a little bow tie
My mind is spinnin' in circles
I'm about to go insane
Like a fool
I'm a runnin' down the railroad track
I'm tryin' to stop that train
Guess what, that's right she's gone
The train left town this morning
Guess who waved goodbye
Guess what, you're right she's gone
Guess what, that's right she's gone
The lyrics to Hank William Jr.'s "Guess What That's Right She's Gone" is a depiction of the heart-wrenching feeling of losing a loved one. The song describes the physical and emotional pain that the singer is going through in the aftermath of the departure of his partner. The opening lines, "My blood pressure worked no normal, My temperature started to rise, A cold chill's a comin' all over" reveals the physical symptoms he is experiencing, the depth of the emotions he is feeling, and the shock and disbelief of the situation. As the song progresses, he narrates how he is struggling to cope with the loss; he is crying uncontrollably, and his mind is spiraling.
The lyrics masterfully describe the devastating impact of a breakup. The singer understands that time will heal his wounds, but the wait seems unbearable. He narrates, "The days will turn into weeks, The weeks will turn into years, And I'm turnin' into a block of stone." The song ends with the singer chasing after the train that is carrying his ex-lover away. It is a desperate attempt to stop the inevitable and win her back. The song portrays a feeling a lot of people can relate to—a feeling of loss and desperation.
Line by Line Meaning
My blood pressure worked no normal
I am experiencing physical symptoms of distress and upset due to the absence of my lover.
My temperature started to rise
My body is reacting to the emotional pain I am feeling, causing my temperature to increase.
A cold chill's a comin' all over
I am feeling a physical sensation of coldness due to the emotional shock of my lover leaving.
And tears are fillin' my eyes
I am crying and unable to control my emotions at the thought of my lover leaving me.
Guess what, that's right she's gone
I am faced with the reality that my lover has left me and there is nothing I can do to change it.
The days will turn into weeks
Time will continue to pass, and my pain will persist and possibly even worsen.
The weeks will turn into years
My sadness and heartbreak may last for an extended period of time, causing me to feel like time is dragging on.
And I'm turnin' into a block of stone
The weight of my sadness is making it hard for me to move forward, and I feel like I am becoming hardened and unfeeling.
I can't see for my tears
My vision is blurred and obstructed by the amount of tears I am crying.
The train left town this morning
My lover left me behind and moved on, leaving me feeling abandoned and alone.
Guess who waved goodbye
My lover said goodbye to me as they left, adding to the pain of their departure.
A cute little trig in a bridal red dress
My lover got married to someone else, which I am forced to witness and makes me feel jealous and hurt.
And a man with a little bow tie
The person my lover married is dressed in formal attire, adding to the feeling that they are moving on to a more refined and sophisticated life without me.
My mind is spinnin' in circles
I am unable to think clearly due to the overwhelming emotions that I am experiencing in response to my lover's departure.
I'm about to go insane
The intensity of my emotional pain is becoming too much for me to bear, and I feel like I may lose my grip on reality.
Like a fool
I feel foolish for not being able to control my emotions and for still loving someone who has left me.
I'm a runnin' down the railroad track
I am so desperate to stop my lover from leaving that I am willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means chasing after a train.
Guess what, that's right she's gone
The pain of my lover leaving is still fresh and ever-present, and I am struggling to come to terms with it.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Daniel Burns
this song only went to #42 on the country charts in 1964!!!
Debbie Williams
👍👍👍👍...
MAMA TRIED
Hank Jr. before he fell off of the mountain.