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 Really Like Girls
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I really, really, really, really, really, really like girls
Yeah, I really, really, really, really, really, really like girls
I like girls (3x)
I like the way that they giggle,
When they walk up and ask you to dance
I like the way that they wiggle,
Wrapped up in the skin tight pants
They got smiles
They drive me wild!
Yeah, I really, really, really, really, really, really like girls
Yes, I really, really, really, really, really, really like girls!
I like them small
I like 'em tall
I like 'em all!
Now it don't bother me,
If a girl don't know how to cope
Because the things that they know,
How to do can't be learned in a book!
They got smarts
They got hearts
They got my heart!
That's why I really, really, really, really, really, really like girls
Yeah, I really, really, really, really, really, really like girls!
I want 'em small
I want 'em tall
I want 'em all!
Every day in every way they're here to stay
They're really really neat
They're really sweet
They're real petite
I like girls!
Hank Williams Jr.'s song "I Really Like Girls" is a rockabilly anthem that celebrates the singer's love for women. The song repeats the phrase "I really, really, really, really, really, really like girls," emphasizing his attraction to the opposite sex. He notes that he appreciates the way that women giggle and wiggle, and he enjoys looking at their style and smiles. The lyrics continue to say that Williams Jr. likes women regardless of their size or ability to cope, and that he is attracted to their intelligence and hearts.
The song's lyrics are simple and straightforward, celebrating the male gaze and objectifying women. However, some have argued that the song is more ironic than sincere, and that Williams Jr. is poking fun at the rockabilly culture that often celebrated male lust. Others have argued that the song is a product of its time, and reflects the attitudes of the 1950s and early 1960s when it was written. Regardless of its interpretation, "I Really Like Girls" has become a staple of Hank Williams Jr.'s discography and an emblematic song of rockabilly.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, well
Opening of the song
I really, really, really, really, really, really like girls
Emphasizing the love for girls
Yeah, I really, really, really, really, really, really like girls
Repeating the love for girls
I like girls (3x)
Stating the preference
I like the way that they giggle,
Appreciating the cuteness of girls
When they walk up and ask you to dance
Loving the confidence of girls
I like the way that they wiggle,
Appreciating the attractiveness of girls
Wrapped up in the skin tight pants
Appreciating the fashion choices of girls
They got style
Appreciating the fashion sense of girls
They got smiles
Loving the smiles of girls
They drive me wild!
Expressing the excitement girls bring
Yes, I really, really, really, really, really, really like girls!
Repeating the love for girls
I like them small
Expressing a preference for petite girls
I like 'em tall
Expressing a preference for tall girls
I like 'em all!
Expressing an open mind towards different types of girls
Now it don't bother me,
Expressing an accepting mindset
If a girl don't know how to cope
Acknowledging that girls have different skills
Because the things that they know,
Appreciating the unique talents of girls
How to do can't be learned in a book!
Highlighting the value of life experience
They got smarts
Appreciating the intelligence of girls
They got hearts
Appreciating the kindness of girls
They got my heart!
Expressing emotional attachment
I want 'em small
Stating a preference for petite girls
I want 'em tall
Stating a preference for tall girls
I want 'em all!
Expressing the desire to explore different types of girls
Every day in every way they're here to stay
Expressing the pervasiveness of girls in life
They're really really neat
Appreciating the unique qualities of girls
They're really sweet
Appreciating the kind nature of girls
They're real petite
Appreciating the attractiveness of petite girls
I like girls!
Closing the song by reiterating the love for girls
Contributed by Austin G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.