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.
Nobody
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But nobody's lonesome for me
Ev'rybody's thinkin' 'bout somebody else
But nobody thinks about me
When the time rolls around for me to lay down and die
I bet I'll have to go and hire me someone to cry
Ev'rybody's lonesome for somebody else
Nobody is lonesome for me.
Ev'rybody's longin' for somebody else
But nobody's lonesome for me
Ev'rybody's dreamin' about somebody else
But nobody dreams about me
All I need is a bride who want's a big-hearted groom
I wouldn't care if she come ridin' in on a broom
Ev'rybody's lonesome for somebody else
No-bod-o-dy lonesome for me.
Ev'rybody's pinin' for somebody else
But nobody's lonesome for me
Ev'rybody's crazy 'bout somebody else
But nobody's crazy 'bout me
Oh, I shined up my shoes and then I slicked down my hair
Put on my Sunday suit, but I ain't goin' nowhere
Ev'rybody's lonesome for somebody else
But nobody's lonesome for me.
Ev'rybody's yearnin' for somebody else
But nobody's lonesome for me
Ev'rybody's fallin' for somebody else
But nobody's fallin' for me
Now I ain't had a kiss since I fell out of my crib
It looks to me like I been cheated out of my rib
Ev'rybody's lonesome for somebody else
No-bod-o-dy lonesome for me.
Hank Williams's song "Nobody's Lonesome for Me" is a self-pitying tune about a man who feels forgotten and overlooked. The lyrics express deep feelings of inadequacy and loneliness. The opening lines, "Ev'rybody's lonesome for somebody else / But nobody's lonesome for me," set the tone for the song, with the singer lamenting his own lack of attention and affection.
The song continues with the singer pointing out how everyone else is thinking about someone else, dreaming about someone else, and pining for someone else, but not him. He sarcastically talks about how he will have to hire someone to cry at his funeral since no one will miss him when he is gone. He then talks about wanting a bride who will want him but acknowledges that he would not care even if she came riding in on a broomstick.
The song captures the deep-seated pain of loneliness and the sense of not belonging, highlighting the universal desire for love and connection. It is a poignant reminder that everyone wants to be loved, and nobody wants to feel forgotten.
Line by Line Meaning
Ev'rybody's lonesome for somebody else
Everyone is lonely and longing for someone else
But nobody's lonesome for me
But no one is lonely or longing for me
Ev'rybody's thinkin' 'bout somebody else
Everyone is thinking about someone else
But nobody thinks about me
But no one is thinking about me
When the time rolls around for me to lay down and die
When my time comes to pass away
I bet I'll have to go and hire me someone to cry
I may have to pay someone to cry at my funeral since no one will miss me
All I need is a bride who want's a big-hearted groom
I just want someone who will love me despite my faults
I wouldn't care if she come ridin' in on a broom
I don't care what my future bride looks like or where she comes from
Ev'rybody's pinin' for somebody else
Everyone is yearning for someone else
Ev'rybody's crazy 'bout somebody else
Everyone is crazy about someone else
Oh, I shined up my shoes and then I slicked down my hair
I got ready and dressed up, hoping for someone to notice me
Put on my Sunday suit, but I ain't goin' nowhere
I dressed up but have nowhere to go and no one to see
Ev'rybody's yearnin' for somebody else
Everyone is longing for someone else
Ev'rybody's fallin' for somebody else
Everyone is falling in love with someone else
Now I ain't had a kiss since I fell out of my crib
I have not had any romantic experiences in my life
It looks to me like I been cheated out of my rib
I feel like I have been denied a partner or companion in life
No-bod-o-dy lonesome for me.
No one is lonely or longing for me.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Hank Williams Sr.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
wrotenwasp
Wow, haven't heard this in years. We had an old horse farm when I was a kid and in one building we had a couple pinball machines with a 1956 Rock ola juke box and I remember this being on there in the late 60s-early 70s. What a sad song.
BestClassicCountryMusic
Indeed wrotenwasp...really sad, one of the greatest from Hank, Jr...glad you remembered...Dan
rufus3898
As an adopted child this really hits home.
Daniel Burns
this song only went to #46 on the country charts in 1967!!!
Marryann Lamb
Great song Dan thanks.
Marryann Lamb
@BestClassicCountryMusic it was sad Dan I'd have adopted them all maybe I got to tender heart.
BestClassicCountryMusic
Sad song, done brilliantly by Hank, Jr. glad you liked this too...Blessings Marryann
Keith Kimmey
Hank Snow from When Tragedy Struck is better than this by Hank Jr Jr managed to change the melody as well through in some modern steel to boot nice try kid Dont care much for Snows original but the album cut on When Tragedy Struck is THE BEST IMO,Keith Kimmey
Rebecca
What a sad song!
BestClassicCountryMusic
Yes indeed...Thanks Rebecca for listening in...Dan