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.
Lonesome Whistle
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heading south from Caroline
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
Got in trouble, had to roam
Left my gal an' left my home
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
I went and broke my darling's heart
I guess I was too young to know
They took me off the Georgia Main
Locked me to a ball and chain
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
All alone, I bear the shame
I'm a number, not a name
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
All I do is sit an' cry
When the evening train goes by
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
I'll be locked here in this cell
'Till my body's just a shell
An' my hair turns whiter than snow
I'll never see that gal of mine
Lord, I'm in Georgia doing time
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
The lyrics of "Lonesome Whistle" by Hank Williams describe the sorrowful and regretful thoughts of a prisoner heading south on a train. As the train whistle blows, it reminds the prisoner of his past mistakes and lost love. He left his home and girlfriend, thinking he was acting smart, but quickly got into trouble and ended up behind bars, with nothing but his own shame and loneliness for company.
The lyrics deliver a powerful sense of nostalgia and longing for the past, as the prisoner is forced to confront the consequences of his actions. The lonesome whistle becomes a symbol of his own isolation and despair, as he listens to the sound of passing trains, knowing that he will never be able to reclaim his old life, or be with the woman he loves.
Overall, "Lonesome Whistle" is a poignant and moving song about regret, lost opportunities, and the high price of youthful recklessness. It highlights the importance of taking responsibility for one's actions and being mindful of the consequences of one's choices, before it's too late.
Line by Line Meaning
I was riding Number Nine
I was aboard a train called Number Nine
Heading south from Caroline
I was on my way south from a place called Caroline
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
I heard the sad, plaintive sound of a train's whistle in the distance
Got in trouble, had to roam
I got into some trouble and had to leave my usual surroundings
Left my gal an' left my home
I left my girlfriend and my home behind
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
I heard the same sad train whistle again
Just a kid, acting smart
I was a young boy trying to act grown up and wise
I went and broke my darling's heart
I hurt my loved one's feelings and caused her pain
I guess I was too young to know
I probably didn't realize the full impact of my actions due to my young age
They took me off the Georgia Main
I was removed from the Georgia Main, a main railway line in Georgia, USA
Locked me to a ball and chain
I was imprisoned and restrained with a heavy metal ball and chain around my leg
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
I heard the same train whistle again, reminding me of my imprisonment and loneliness
All alone, I bear the shame
I am completely alone with the burden of my guilt
I'm a number, not a name
In prison, I am reduced to a mere number rather than being recognized as an individual
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
The train whistle serves as an eerie reminder of my confinement
All I do is sit an' cry
All I am able to do is sit and weep
When the evening train goes by
When the train passes by in the evening
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
I hear that same mournful train whistle again and again
I'll be locked here in this cell
I will be imprisoned in this cell for a long time
'Till my body's just a shell
Until my physical body is broken and withered away from being confined for so long
An' my hair turns whiter than snow
My hair will eventually turn completely white from my long years in captivity
I'll never see that gal of mine
I will never be able to see my beloved girlfriend again
Lord, I'm in Georgia doing time
Oh God, I am in Georgia serving my sentence
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
The sad train whistle continues to haunt me even as I serve my sentence
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jimmie Davis, Hank Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ChrisMorris-dq6ti
I'm a huge fan of HANK WILLIAMS SR And HANK WILLIAMS JR is real country music not some of this fake country music like they play today
@uronthehill
Thanks for stoppin' by again Chris. 😀
Mikey Thompson
@ChrisMorris-dq6ti
I'm a huge fan of HANK WILLIAMS SR And HANK WILLIAMS JR
@uronthehill
Thanks for stoppin' by again Chris. 😀
Mikey Thompson
@indiancreekspirit5102
We love this greetings from the back woods Owsley county Kentucky
@uronthehill
You must be around Booneville? Thanks for stoppin' by. 😀
Mikey Thompson
@oldmate1342
Jr puts his soul into his daddy's songs...
@uronthehill
Thanks for stoppin' by. 😀
Mikey Thompson
@joshuamartz6078
I’m going to get my haircut just like that
@uronthehill
Thanks for stoppin' by Joshua. 😀
Mikey Thompson