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.
Hank Hill Is The King
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Never seen a situation he couldn't handle
No he'll never give in and he always helps his friends
But the world today sure looks strange to him
His trade mark his big square grey glasses
He wears t-shirts he don't care about high fashion
When he plays his guitar, in his mind he's a star
I'm telling you Hank Hill is the king
Cause a hick is a hick (a hick is a hick)
And a dude is a dude (a dude is a dude)
A squirrel is a squirrel and a nut is a nut and I love his attitude
There's only one show that's worth a damn on the tube
Yeah he's my hero, a man I'd be proud to know
I'm telling you Hank Hill is the king
Now our kind of food is barbeque and steaks
We hate jet skis and beaches
We like fishing boats and lakes
Close as heaven I can go is watching hunting and fishing shows
And hanging out down at the hardware store
Now Texas that is one beautiful place
We don't have as many weirdos as New York and L. A,
We got our ideology and politics just right you see
He's our only hope, a man we'd be proud tp know
I'm telling you Hank Hill is the king
Cause a hick is a hick (a hick is a hick)
And a dude is a dude (a dude is a dude)
A freak is a freak and a nut is a nut and I love his attitude
There's only one show that's worth a damn on the tube
Yeah he's my hero, a man I'd be proud to know
I'm telling you Hank Hill is the king
Hank Hill is the king
The song "Hank Hill Is The King" by Hank Williams Jr. is an ode to the character Hank Hill from the animated show "King of the Hill." The lyrics describe Hank as a man who can handle any situation with his trademark grey glasses and t-shirts, who is always helping his friends, and who is uninterested in high fashion. In the eyes of the singer, Hank Hill represents an ideal of masculinity, embodying a down-to-earth, barbecue-loving lifestyle that values fishing, hunting, and hanging out at the hardware store. Hank is portrayed as a hero who represents an alternative to the "weirdos" of New York and LA, and who is "our only hope" for preserving a particular ideology and politics.
Line by Line Meaning
He's got the whitest legs this side of Montana
His legs are incredibly pale
Never seen a situation he couldn't handle
He is very capable and never flustered
No he'll never give in and he always helps his friends
He is loyal and always supportive of his friends
But the world today sure looks strange to him
He has trouble adapting to modern times
His trade mark his big square grey glasses
He is easily identifiable by his glasses
He wears t-shirts he don't care about high fashion
He dresses casually and does not follow fashion trends
When he plays his guitar, in his mind he's a star
He loves playing music and imagines himself as a famous musician
I'm telling you Hank Hill is the king
He is a admirable and respected figure
Cause a hick is a hick (a hick is a hick)
People from certain regions have distinct qualities or characteristics
And a dude is a dude (a dude is a dude)
People from other regions have different qualities or characteristics
A squirrel is a squirrel and a nut is a nut and I love his attitude
He has a simple and straightforward view of the world, which is admirable
There's only one show that's worth a damn on the tube
Most TV shows are not worth watching
Yeah he's my hero, a man I'd be proud to know
He is a role model and someone to look up to
Now our kind of food is barbeque and steaks
He enjoys certain kinds of food that are popular in his region
We hate jet skis and beaches
He dislikes certain recreational activities that are popular in other regions
We like fishing boats and lakes
He enjoys certain recreational activities that are popular in his region
Close as heaven I can go is watching hunting and fishing shows
He finds great pleasure in watching shows related to his hobbies
And hanging out down at the hardware store
He enjoys going to a particular kind of store and socializing there
Now Texas that is one beautiful place
He is proud of his home state and finds it attractive
We don't have as many weirdos as New York and L. A,
He believes that his region has fewer unusual or eccentric people
We got our ideology and politics just right you see
He subscribes to a certain set of beliefs and values that he considers correct
He's our only hope, a man we'd be proud tp know
He is perceived as the ideal representative of his region
Hank Hill is the king
He is highly respected and admired
Contributed by Charlie I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.