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.
Jambalaya
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou
My Yvonne the sweetest one, me oh my oh
Son of a gun we'll have big fun on the bayou
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo
'Cause tonight I'm gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Thibodaux Fontaineaux the place is buzzin'
Kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen
Dress in style and go hog wild, me oh my oh
Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the bayou
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo
'Cause tonight I'm gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun we'll have big fun on the bayou
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo
'Cause tonight I'm gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun we'll have big fun on the bayou
The song "Jambalaya" by Hank Williams is a fun, upbeat tune about a man who is saying goodbye to his girlfriend named Yvonne, and is taking a trip down the bayou to have some fun. The opening lines set the scene, with the singer exclaiming "Goodbye Joe me gotta go, me oh my oh" and declaring that he has to go pole the pirogue down the bayou. He describes Yvonne as the "sweetest one" and joyfully exclaims that they will have "big fun on the bayou".
The chorus of the song is catchy and easy to sing along to, featuring the repeated phrase "Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo, 'cause tonight I'm gonna see my ma cher amio. Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o, Son of a gun we'll have big fun on the bayou." The singer continues to describe his trip down the bayou, noting that Thibodaux Fontaineaux (a possible reference to the town of Thibodaux, Louisiana) is buzzing with excitement as he and Yvonne's kinfolk get ready to have a good time.
Overall, "Jambalaya" is a fun, lively tune that celebrates the joys of the Louisiana bayou culture. With its upbeat guitar playing and catchy chorus, it's no wonder that it has become a classic song that is still enjoyed by audiences today.
Line by Line Meaning
Goodbye Joe me gotta go, me oh my oh
I have to say goodbye to Joe and leave because I have important things to do.
Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou
I have to go roll my flat-bottomed boat down the bayou with a long pole.
My Yvonne the sweetest one, me oh my oh
Yvonne is my sweetest and most beloved one.
Son of a gun we'll have big fun on the bayou
We will have a lot of fun on the bayou.
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo
We will have some traditional and delicious Cajun food.
'Cause tonight I'm gonna see my ma cher amio
Because I will see my dear love tonight.
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
I will play my guitar, fill up a jar with fruit and enjoy myself.
Thibodaux Fontaineaux the place is buzzin'
Thibodaux Fontaineaux is a lively place full of activity.
Kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen
My relatives come in large numbers to see Yvonne.
Dress in style and go hog wild, me oh my oh
We will dress up and have a wild and crazy time.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Hank Williams, Sr.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Kaboomthensprinkles
Goodbye Joe me gotta go
me oh my oh
Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou
My Yvonne the sweetest one
me oh my oh
Son of a gun we'll have big fun on the bayou
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo
Cause tonight I'm gonna see
my ma cher amio
Pick guitar fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun we'll have big fun on the bayou
Thibodaux Fontaineaux the place is buzzin'
Kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen
Dress in style and go hog wild
me oh my oh
Son of a gun we'll have big fun on the bayou
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie, fillet gumbo
Cause tonight I'm gonna see
my ma cher amio
Pick guitar fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun we'll have big fun on the bayou(2x)
@JScott-qn6ft
I love love love this song
@felixbautista
Thank you so much!
@douglayton3498
My dad used to sing this to us when we were young. ❤️
@felixbautista
Thank you so much for your kind attention.
@americancajunwarrior6597
That’s exactly how I know this song too! 😆
@thehartofthegalexi8433
So did Hank Jr's.
@locklinochoa3985
The fact that he replied to all of our comments. We should all subscribe to this guy.
@felixbautista
You're such an angel Locklin... thank you ever so much.
@anthonyowsley8286
If you don't like Hank Sr or Bocephus you are missing the music bone.
@rspn
Louisiana’s national anthem