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.
I'll Think Of Something
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But give me time and I'll think of something
I can't say today that I'm alright
But by tonight I'll think of Something
I'll find so many things to do
That I won't have the time to think of her
And then if she's still on my mind
And if that don't work I'll think of something
Where do I go for love that I still need
Now that I'm free I'll think of something
And if someday by accident we meet
And I can't speak I'll think of something
If I can't say a word to her
I'll blame it on this lump that's in my throat
And standing there what will I do
To hide my love enough that it won't show
I don't know I'll think of something
Well, I don't know I'll think of something
The lyrics of Hank Williams Jr.'s song "I'll Think of Something" tell the story of a man who is struggling to get over a past love. He acknowledges that he doesn't know how he'll get her off his mind, but he hopes that with time, he'll be able to think of something that will help. He plans to stay busy with various activities, but if she remains on his mind, he'll resort to drinking to ease his pain. The song is bittersweet as it explores the theme of heartbreak and moving on.
Throughout the lyrics, the singer also reflects on his current emotional state. He realizes that he can't say that he's okay today, but he's hopeful that tonight he'll think of something that will make him feel better. Towards the end of the song, he contemplates what he'll do if he runs into his former love. He acknowledges that it will be difficult, but he plans to think of something to hide the pain and move on.
Overall, "I'll Think of Something" is a relatable song that explores the complexities of love and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't know how I'll get her off my mind
I can't stop thinking about her, but with time, I hope I'll come up with ideas to distract my mind from her.
But give me time and I'll think of something
I believe that with enough time, I'll come up with a solution to forget about her.
I can't say today that I'm alright
I am currently not doing well emotionally, but I hope to get better.
But by tonight I'll think of something
I hope that I'll be able to come up with an idea by the end of the day that will help me feel more at peace.
I'll find so many things to do
I plan on keeping myself busy to distract myself from thinking about her.
That I won't have the time to think of her
If I keep myself occupied long enough, I won't have the mental space to dwell on her.
And then if she's still on my mind
If I still can't stop thinking about her, despite my attempts to distract myself, I'll have to try something else.
I'll try to drink enough to drown the hurt
If keeping busy doesn't work, I'll try to numb my emotions with alcohol.
And if that don't work I'll think of something
If alcohol also fails, I'll come up with another way to cope with missing her and move on.
Where do I go for love that I still need
Now that she's gone, I'll need to find love and affection elsewhere.
Now that I'm free I'll think of something
Now that I'm no longer tied to her, I can focus on finding new ways to move forward.
And if someday by accident we meet
If I happen to run into her unexpectedly, I'll be caught off guard.
And I can't speak I'll think of something
If I'm at a loss for words, I'll need to come up with a way to handle the situation without revealing my true feelings.
If I can't say a word to her
If I can't bring myself to talk to her, I'll have to find a different way to deal with the situation.
I'll blame it on this lump that's in my throat
I'll pretend that I'm having trouble speaking because of a physical issue rather than an emotional one.
And standing there what will I do
If we're face to face, I'll have to think on my feet to avoid revealing my true feelings.
To hide my love enough that it won't show
I'll need to mask my true feelings and pretend like I'm unaffected by seeing her.
I don't know I'll think of something
If all else fails, I'll have to get creative and come up with new strategies to handle my emotions and move on.
Well, I don't know I'll think of something
Even though I don't have a clear plan yet, I'm confident that I'll find a way to deal with my emotions eventually.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BILL RICE, JERRY FOSTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind