Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Wil… Read Full Bio ↴Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or alternatively as Hank Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of country music singer Hank Williams; the half-brother of Jett Williams; and the father of Hank Williams III, Holly Williams, Hilary Williams, Sam Williams, and the late Katherine Williams-Dunning.

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.

Old Flame New Fire
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Old flame new fire let the good times roll while the fire burns out of control
Hello honey (how you doin') it's so good to see you
Sure has been a long time come right on in
You can kick your shoes off you can let your hair down
Baby you're lookin' so good just like I knew you would
Old flame new fire burnin' so hot cause we got a whole lot to catch up on
Old flame new fire let the good times roll while the fire burns out of control

Gonna make up for lost time I'm gonna make you a believer
I'm gonna spend your loving like money from home
You and me together ah we can make a good thing better

Can't do no wrong honey child from now on
Old flame new fire burnin'...

Overall Meaning

The song "Old Flame New Fire" by Hank Williams Jr. is a classic country love song about rekindling an old flame. The song talks about how good it is to see someone after a long time and how the fire between them is burning brighter than ever. The lyrics suggest that the time apart has made them appreciate each other even more and that they have a lot of catching up to do. Hank Williams Jr. is confident in his ability to make up for lost time and to make his old flame a believer in their love once again.

The chorus of the song, "Old flame new fire, let the good times roll while the fire burns out of control," is a nod to the idea that their love is like a flame that has been reignited, and that they should enjoy the moment while it lasts. The song is a reminder that sometimes love needs a little bit of time to grow and mature, and that it can be just as powerful the second time around.

Overall, "Old Flame New Fire" is a sweet and upbeat song about the power of love and connection. The lyrics capture the feeling of seeing someone you once loved and realizing that the spark is still there.

Line by Line Meaning

Old flame new fire let the good times roll while the fire burns out of control
Bringing back the past passion between us, let's have a fun time while our love is still at its peak

Hello honey (how you doin') it's so good to see you
Addressing a former lover, expressing joy about seeing them once again

Sure has been a long time come right on in
Noting that a significant amount of time has passed and inviting the person to come in

You can kick your shoes off you can let your hair down
Inviting the former lover to relax and get comfortable

Baby you're lookin' so good just like I knew you would
Complimenting the appearance of the former lover

Old flame new fire burnin' so hot cause we got a whole lot to catch up on
The renewed passion between them is strong since there's so much for them to talk about

Gonna make up for lost time I'm gonna make you a believer
Intending to make up for time lost apart and to convince the former lover to come back to them

I'm gonna spend your loving like money from home
Promising to cherish and enjoy the affection from the former lover with gusto

You and me together ah we can make a good thing better
Believing that they can create something better together than they ever could apart

Can't do no wrong honey child from now on
Feeling confident that things will go right from now on

Old flame new fire burnin'...
Recall of the renewed passion between them

Contributed by Alex P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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