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'm Gonna Get Drunk and Hank Williams
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When she walked out my teardrops fell like rain
So set 'em up Joe and give me some dimes
I've got an appointment with a friend of mine
I'm gonna get drunk and play Hank Williams all night long
'Cause the wedding bells will never ring for me
And that whippoorwill ain't got no sympathy
The moanin' blues and your cheatin' heart
I'm gonna get drunk and play Hank Williams all night long
But lovesick blues sure ain't no state of mind
Mixed with broken heart and Juke joint wine
But I ain't leavin', done turned in my keys,
The bartender told me stay as long as you please
I'm gonna get drunk and play Hank Williams all night long
Ah 'cause those wedding bells will never ring for me
And that whippoorwill ain't got no sympathy
I'm broken down and torn apart,
Whiskey bent and your cheatin' heart
I'm gonna get drunk and play Hank Williams all night long
'Cause the wedding bells will never ring for me
Long gone lonesome blues sure fits me to a tee
I'm broken down and torn apart,
Whiskey bent and your cheatin' heart
I'm gonna get drunk and play Hank Williams all night long
Why don't you love me like you used to do
Yeah all night long
In the first verse of the song “I’m Gonna Get Drunk and Play Hank Williams All Night Long,” the singer expresses his emotional pain after being left by his girlfriend. Hank Williams Jr. sings about his sadness in vivid and relatable terms, attributing it to the fact that the wedding bells will never ring for him. To ease his pain, he decides to get drunk with some of his friends and play Hank Williams’ music as a way of coping with the heartache.
As the song progresses, we see the singer using alcohol as a way of numbing the pain and soothing his broken heart. He sings about spending the night playing Hank Williams’ music, as he perseveres through the sadness with melancholy tunes. The singer’s use of Hank Williams’ music seems to be a way of keeping alive the roots of traditional country music, which was founded on songs like those of Hank Williams Sr. and other country legends.
Line by Line Meaning
My good gal left and I can't stand this pain
I am in unbearable pain after my girlfriend left me
When she walked out my teardrops fell like rain
I cried uncontrollably after she left me
So set 'em up Joe and give me some dimes
Please give me drinks and change for the jukebox
I've got an appointment with a friend of mine
I am meeting a friend of mine to get drunk
I'm gonna get drunk and play Hank Williams all night long
I am going to drink and listen to Hank Williams all night long
'Cause the wedding bells will never ring for me
I believe I will never get married
And that whippoorwill ain't got no sympathy
The whippoorwill does not care about my troubles
I'm broken down and torn apart,
I am devastated and falling apart
The moanin' blues and your cheatin' heart
I am feeling low and hurt by your infidelity
But lovesick blues sure ain't no state of mind
Being lovesick with a broken heart is not a good feeling
Mixed with broken heart and Juke joint wine
Drinking alcohol while heartbroken is not good for me
But I ain't leavin', done turned in my keys,
I am not leaving, and I have given up my car keys
The bartender told me stay as long as you please
The bartender said I can stay as long as I want
Ah 'cause those wedding bells will never ring for me
I am convinced that I will never find love or get married
Whiskey bent and your cheatin' heart
I am drinking whiskey and thinking about your cheating heart
Long gone lonesome blues sure fits me to a tee
I can relate to the sadness of long gone and lonely blues
Why don't you love me like you used to do
I am wondering why you no longer love me like you used to
Yeah all night long
I will be drinking and listening to Hank Williams all night long
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Becca Lynn
My good gal left and i can't stand the pain.
When she walked out my teardrops fell like rain.
So set-em up joe and give me some dimes.
I've got an appointment with a friend of mine.
Im gonna get drunk and play hank williams all night long.
Cause the wedding bells will never ring for me.
And that whipporwill ain't got no sympathy.
I'm broken down and torn apart,
The moanin blues and your cheatin heart.
I'm gonna get drunk and play hank williams all night long.
But lovesick blues sure ain't no state of mind.
And mixed with broken heart and juke joint wine.
But i ain't leavin done turned in my keys,
The bartender told me stay as long as you please.
I'm gonna get drunk and play hank williams all night long.
Ahh cause those wedding bells will never ring for me.
And that whipporwill ain't got no sympathy.
I'm broken down and torn apart,
Whiskey bent and your cheatin heart
I'm gonna get drunk and play hank williams all night long.
Cause the wedding bells will never ring for me.
Long gone lomesome blues sure fits me to a tee.
I'm broken down and torn apart,
Whiskey bent and your cheatin heart
I'm gonna get drunk and play hank williams all night long.
Why don't you love me like you used to do.
Yeah all night long.
TheGunslinger454
Many years ago my dad and some of his friends went to a concert of Hanks. Hank played two shows, and my dad and his friends stayed for both, with their feet up on the stage. Hank gestured at them during the second show, said "These guys are all right!!!" because they stayed for the second show. Then at the end, everyone left and Hank invited my dad and his friends to stay and drink. Hank dismissed the bartender, and hung out and drank with them. Hank plays great music and is a good friendly man
Teddy Huckleberry
I bet ur dad has stories to tell ol son that’s sweet man
Kevin Tenbarge
Hell yea he’s a good fellow
Clint Walls
They played shows to be with folks & have Fun!!
Kenny Huston
I still love Hank after all these years, and here he is again with a another great kick ass song!
Randy Orlando
Hank and his daddy are the best to ever do it in my opinion. True country music.
C81739
This is gotta be the best I've heard in a long time just wished more couuntry singers would do more of this stuff I miss it love Hank and Brad's music
TheGunslinger454
I sure hope people can really appreciate real country music cuz this is about as good as it gets.
Heady
Hank Williams jr has always been one of my country music heroes
marty1964fishingman
Music Like This WILL LIVE ON FOREVER !!!!