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.
Lovesick Blues
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Since my baby said goodbye
Lord, I don't know what I'll do
All I do is sit and sigh, oh, Lord
That last long day she said goodbye
Well, Lord, I thought I would cry
She'll do me, she'll do you, she's got that kind of lovin'
Such a beautiful dream
I hate to think it all over, I've lost my heart it seems
I've grown so used to you somehow
Well, I'm nobody's sugar daddy now
And I'm lonesome, I got the lovesick blues
Well, I'm in love, I'm in love, with a beautiful gal
That's what's the matter with me
Well, I'm in love, I'm in love, with a beautiful gal
But she don't care about me
Lord, I tried and I tried, to keep her satisfied
But she just wouldn't stay
So now that she is leavin'
This is all I can say
I got a feelin' called the blues, oh, Lord
Since my baby said goodbye
Lord, I don't know what I'll do
All I do is sit and sigh, oh, Lord
That last long day she said goodbye
Well, Lord, I thought I would cry
She'll do me, she'll do you, she's got that kind of lovin'
Lord, I love to hear her when she calls me sweet daddy
Such a beautiful dream
I hate to think it all over, I've lost my heart it seems
I've grown so used to you somehow
Lord, I'm nobody's sugar daddy now
And I'm lonesome, I got the lovesick blues
The lyrics of Hank Williams Jr.'s Lovesick Blues describe the pain and heartache that comes with a breakup. The singer’s lover left him, and he is left feeling the blues. He tries to find solace by sitting and sighing, but his thoughts keep returning to his lost love. He is reminded of the last day they were together, and he thought he would cry. He can’t help but love her, and he remembers how good it felt when she called him “sweet daddy.” He is trapped in a beautiful dream and can't bear to think of life without his lover. He has grown so used to her that he feels lonely and without purpose now that she's gone. The song portrays a sense of loneliness and heartbreak, leaving the singer feeling lovesick and lost.
To add some context to Lovesick Blues, the song was written by Cliff Friend and Irving Mills in 1922, and it was later covered by numerous artists, including Hank Williams in 1949. Williams's version was a commercial success and became one of his signature songs. The song was later covered by a variety of artists and was featured in the movie The Blues Brothers. Interestingly, it was also one of the first songs performed by Elvis Presley when he auditioned at Sun Records in Memphis in 1954.
Line by Line Meaning
I got a feelin' called the blues, oh, Lord
I am feeling sad and emotionally overwhelmed
Since my baby said goodbye
Ever since my partner left me
Lord, I don't know what I'll do
I don't know how to cope with the pain
All I do is sit and sigh, oh, Lord
All I can do is sit around feeling miserable
That last long day she said goodbye
The day my partner left me
Well, Lord, I thought I would cry
I was so sad, I didn't think I could hold back tears
She'll do me, she'll do you, she's got that kind of lovin'
My ex-partner has a way of charming and seducing people
Lord, I love to hear her when she calls me sweet daddy
I used to feel happy and loved when my partner called me affectionately
Such a beautiful dream
Being with my partner was like living in a wonderful dream
I hate to think it all over, I've lost my heart it seems
I can't bear the thought of the relationship being over, it feels like I've lost a part of myself
I've grown so used to you somehow
I had become comfortable and familiar with being with my partner
Well, I'm nobody's sugar daddy now
I'm not anybody's provider or supporter anymore
And I'm lonesome, I got the lovesick blues
I feel lonely and depressed because of my heartache
Well, I'm in love, I'm in love, with a beautiful gal
I'm currently infatuated with an attractive woman
That's what's the matter with me
That's the reason behind my current emotional state
But she don't care about me
However, my feelings aren't reciprocated, and the woman doesn't show any interest in me
Lord, I tried and I tried, to keep her satisfied
I did everything I could to make her happy
But she just wouldn't stay
But despite my efforts, she decided to leave
So now that she is leavin',
Since she is departing
This is all I can say
I only have these few words to express my feelings
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Cliff Friend, Irving Mills
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind