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.
O.D'd In Denver
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I made the first one but I did not make the second show
Cause I met this girl there that brought about quite a big change
But I OD'd in Denver and I just can't remember her name
I guess you could say that my love life would not up to part
Too many nights alone had left some permanence scars
She told me she'd love me and I told her I'd do the same
Then I OD'd in Denver and I just can't remember her name
I brought it on myself and I guess that I shouldn't complain
Doc said son you can't do anymore of that cocaine
But she made me higher than all of those expensive things
But I OD'd in Denver and wish I could remember her name
I turned to other things tryin' to make my daydreams real
But they don't take the place of the woman's face and her feels
She treated me nice and I like to find her again
But I OD'd in Denver and I just can't remember her name
I brought it on myself and I guess that I shouldn't complain
I'd be damned if I do anymore of that cocaine
But she made me higher than all of those expensive things
But I OD'd in Denver and I just can't could remember her name
Kinda overdid it in Denver and I just can't remember her name
The lyrics to Hank Williams Jr.'s song "O.D.'d in Denver" are a tale of regret and lost love. The song starts with the singer describing how he started a tour in Denver, and how he met a girl who brought about a significant change in his love life. However, things took a turn for the worse when he ended up overdosing on cocaine and can't remember her name, leaving him with an intense feeling of remorse and longing.
The theme of the song centers on the singer's feelings of guilt and regret. He acknowledges that he brought it on himself and that he shouldn't complain, but the pain of his lost love still runs deep. The lyrics refer to how he tried to fill the void by turning to other things, but nothing could replace the woman's face and her touch.
The use of cocaine in the song has a twofold purpose. Firstly, it serves as a sign of the singer's self-destructive tendencies, which led him to make the mistake of overdosing. Secondly, it reinforces the idea that the relationship was intense and perhaps not sustainable, as both parties were caught up in a world of drug use and partying.
Overall, "O.D.'d in Denver" is a cautionary tale of the dangers of drug use and how it can lead to the loss of significant romantic relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
We started the tour out in Denver Colorado
The tour started in Denver, Colorado.
I made the first one but I did not make the second show
He missed the second show after performing the first.
Cause I met this girl there that brought about quite a big change
He met a girl in Denver who had a significant impact on him.
But I OD'd in Denver and I just can't remember her name
He overdosed in Denver and can't remember the girl's name.
I guess you could say that my love life would not up to part
His love life was not great.
Too many nights alone had left some permanence scars
Being alone for too long had a lasting effect on him.
She told me she'd love me and I told her I'd do the same
They both said they loved each other.
Then I OD'd in Denver and I just can't remember her name
He overdosed and can't remember her name.
I brought it on myself and I guess that I shouldn't complain
He takes responsibility for his actions.
Doc said son you can't do anymore of that cocaine
His doctor told him to stop doing cocaine.
But she made me higher than all of those expensive things
The girl made him feel better than anything else.
But I OD'd in Denver and wish I could remember her name
He wishes he could remember her name.
I turned to other things tryin' to make my daydreams real
He tried to make his daydreams come true using other things.
But they don't take the place of the woman's face and her feels
Nothing compares to the woman he met in Denver.
She treated me nice and I like to find her again
He wants to find the girl who treated him well.
But I OD'd in Denver and I just can't remember her name
He overdosed in Denver and can't remember her name.
I brought it on myself and I guess that I shouldn't complain
He takes responsibility for his actions.
I'd be damned if I do anymore of that cocaine
He won't do cocaine anymore.
But she made me higher than all of those expensive things
The girl made him feel better than anything else.
But I OD'd in Denver and I just can't could remember her name
He overdosed in Denver and can't remember her name.
Kinda overdid it in Denver and I just can't remember her name
He admits to overdoing it in Denver and not being able to remember her name.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: HANK JR. WILLIAMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind