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.
Low Down Blues
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
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He said, the trouble with you ain't in my book
I'll tell you what it is but it ain't good news
You've got an awful bad case of them low down blues
I've got the mean old miseries in my soul
I went to the river but the water's too cold
I've walked the floor till I've wore out my shoes
Lord, I never knew a man could feel so bad
I never knew livin' could be so sad
All I do is set and cry
Lord, I'd have to get better, before I could die
I've got the mean old miseries in my soul
I went to the river but the water's too cold
I've walked the floor till I've wore out my shoes
Lord, they're killin' me, I mean them low down blues
The song "Low Down Blues" by Hank Williams is a melancholic tune that speaks about the pain of heartbreak and the frustration that comes with feeling down. The lyrics describe the singer's visit to the doctor, who tells him that he has an "awful bad case" of the low down blues, a condition that is not found in any medical book. The singer has tried to escape the pain, but nothing seems to work. He has even gone to the river, but the water is too cold, and he has walked the floor repeatedly until he has worn out his shoes.
The song elicits a sense of helplessness and despair that is typical of a person experiencing heartbreak. The singer expresses that he never knew life could be so sad, and all he does is cry. He desires to get better before he can even think of dying. The chorus, "I've got the mean old miseries in my soul, Lord, they're killin' me, I mean them low down blues," captures the depth of the singer's feelings of sadness and desperation.
Overall, "Low Down Blues" is a song about the crushing pain of heartbreak and the inability to escape it, no matter how hard one tries.
Line by Line Meaning
Lord, I went to the doctor, he took one look
I sought professional help, but the doctor could not find a cure.
He said, the trouble with you ain't in my book
The doctor confirmed that my pain and sorrow are beyond his knowledge and expertise.
I'll tell you what it is but it ain't good news
Although the doctor identified my problem, his diagnosis was not uplifting nor did it offer any hope for a cure.
You've got an awful bad case of them low down blues
The doctor diagnosed me with an extreme form of deep-rooted sadness and melancholy, which is hard to treat.
I've got the mean old miseries in my soul
I have been afflicted with overwhelming misery and sadness that is embedded deeply within my soul.
I went to the river but the water's too cold
I tried to seek solace in nature, but the conditions were not favorable, which worsened my state of mind.
I've walked the floor till I've wore out my shoes
I have been pacing and fretting with worry for so long that I have physically exhausted myself.
Lord, they're killin' me, I mean them low down blues
The depth of my sadness and despair is intolerable, and it feels like it is slowly eating away at my sanity and will to carry on.
Lord, I never knew a man could feel so bad
I had no idea that a human being could experience such intense and relentless sorrow and pain.
I never knew livin' could be so sad
I had no concept of how profoundly sorrowful and hopeless living could be.
All I do is set and cry
I spend most of my days in a state of relentless sorrow and tears, unable to find any joy or meaning in life.
Lord, I'd have to get better, before I could die
I can't imagine allowing myself to die when my soul is still in such an overwhelming state of pain and despair. I would need to find some relief or hope first.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: WILLIAMS, SR.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind