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.
If Heaven Ain't a Lot Like Dixie
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I'd just as soon stay home.
I was one of the chosen few, to be born in Alabam',
I'm just alike my daddy's son, I'm proud of who I am.
I went through a lot of good women, and shook old Jim Beam's hand,
If I never see the pearly gates, I've walked through the promised land.
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I'd just as soon stay home.
If they don't have a Grand Ole Opry, like they do in Tennessee,
Just send me to hell or New York City, it would be about the same to me.
I've got wild honey trees and crazy little weeds, growin' around my shack.
These dusty roads ain't streets of gold, but I'm a happy right where I'm at.
All these pretty little southern belles are a country boy's dream.
They ain't got wings or halos, but they're sure looking good to me.
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I don't wanna go
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I'd just as soon stay home
If they don't have a Grand Ole Opry, like they do in Tennessee,
just send me to hell or New York City, it would be about the same to me.
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I don't wanna go
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I'd just as soon stay home
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I don't wanna go
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I'd just as soon stay home.
If they ain't got a Grand Ole Opry, like they do in Tennessee,
just send me to hell or New York City, it would be about the same to me.
The lyrics of Hank Williams Jr.'s song "If Heaven Ain't a Lot Like Dixie" celebrate the southern culture of his home state of Alabama. He believes that if heaven isn't like the way it is in the south, then he doesn't want to go there because he is proud of who he is and where he is from. He talks about his experiences with good women and drinking Jim Beam. He believes that he doesn't need pearly gates to have reached the promised land because he has a happy life on earth.
The song also specifically references the Grand Ole Opry, which is a famous country music venue in Nashville, Tennessee. Williams suggests that if heaven doesn't have a place like that, such as the Grand Ole Opry, then he would rather go to hell or even New York City. The singer references his humble living conditions and the women he's met in the south.
Line by Line Meaning
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I don't wanna go.
If heaven is not reminiscent of the southern charm and traditions of Dixie, then I have no interest in going there.
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I'd just as soon stay home.
If heaven is not reminiscent of the southern charm and traditions of Dixie, then I'd prefer to stay on Earth.
I was one of the chosen few, to be born in Alabam'
I consider myself fortunate to have been born and raised in Alabama, a state that represents the best of southern culture and values.
I'm just alike my daddy's son, I'm proud of who I am.
I share many of the same traits and beliefs as my father and am proud of my southern heritage and upbringing.
I went through a lot of good women, and shook old Jim Beam's hand,
I've had my fair share of relationships with good women and enjoyed a few drinks with Jim Beam along the way.
If I never see the pearly gates, I've walked through the promised land.
Even if I don't make it to heaven, I feel that I have already found my own 'promised land' on earth.
If they don't have a Grand Ole Opry, like they do in Tennessee,
One of the defining elements of southern culture is the Grand Ole Opry, and I would want to see it represented in heaven.
Just send me to hell or New York City, it would be about the same to me.
If heaven doesn't embody southern culture and values, I would find no more fulfillment in going there than going anywhere else, even hell or the big city.
I've got wild honey trees and crazy little weeds, growin' around my shack.
I may not have much material wealth, but I appreciate the simple pleasures of the rural south, like my honey trees and wildflowers.
These dusty roads ain't streets of gold, but I'm a happy right where I'm at.
I don't need the trappings of wealth or success to find happiness in life. I'm content with my humble surroundings and the joys they bring me.
All these pretty little southern belles are a country boy's dream.
As a country boy, I appreciate the beauty and charm of southern women, who capture my heart and imagination.
They ain't got wings or halos, but they're sure looking good to me.
While these women may not be perfect or angelic, they still have a special allure and appeal to me as a southern man.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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