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.
Midnight Rider
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm bound to keep on ridin'
And I've got one more silver dollar
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
And I don't own the clothes I'm wearing
And I've got one more silver dollar
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
And I've gone by the point of caring
Some old bed I'll soon be sharing
And I've got one more silver dollar
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
No I'm not gonna let 'em catch me no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
No I'm not gonna let 'em catch me no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
No I'm not gonna let 'em catch me no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
Hank Williams Jr.'s song Midnight Rider is a song about a man who is on the run and trying to escape from someone or something. He is bound to keep on riding and has only one more silver dollar, which he intends to use to keep going. The man is determined not to get caught and is willing to keep running no matter what. The song talks about how the man doesn't own the clothes he's wearing and the road goes on forever, implying that he is living a transient lifestyle with no permanent roots.
The lyrics suggest that the singer has gone past the point of caring, and he expects to soon be sharing an old bed. This could imply that he has nothing left to lose or that he is resigned to a life of hardship and accepts it. The repeated chorus shows how the man is determined to keep moving forward and not let his pursuers catch him. The song's fast-paced lyrics, combined with the blues-influenced guitar solo, further add to the tension and sense of urgency in this song.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I've got to run to keep from hidin'
I am running so that I do not have to face the consequences of my actions.
And I'm bound to keep on ridin'
I am committed to continuing on this journey, no matter the obstacles.
And I've got one more silver dollar
I have a little bit of money left to my name.
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me no
I am determined to evade capture and punishment for my deeds.
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
I will not let myself be caught, even if it means staying out all night.
And I don't own the clothes I'm wearing
I have nothing to my name except the clothes on my back.
And the road goes on forever
The path ahead is long and there is no end in sight.
And I've gone by the point of caring
I have reached a point where I no longer care about the consequences of my actions.
Some old bed I'll soon be sharing
I will be sleeping in some unknown place, likely uncomfortable.
No I'm not gonna let 'em catch me no
I am resolute in evading capture and punishment for my deeds.
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
I will persist in my efforts to escape even if it means staying up all night.
No I'm not gonna let 'em catch me no
I am determined to avoid the consequences of my actions.
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
No matter what, I refuse to be caught, even if it means staying awake all night.
No I'm not gonna let 'em catch me no
I am unwavering in my determination to evade capture and punishment.
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider
I will not let myself be caught, even if it means staying up all night.
Contributed by Dominic G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.