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.
Rainy Night In Georgia
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tryin' to find a warm place to spend the night
A heavy rain a fallin'
Seems I hear your voice callin'
"It's all right"
A rainy night in Georgia
A rainy night in Georgia
Neon signs a flashin'
Taxi cabs and busses passin' through the night
The distant moanin' of a train
Seems to play a sad refrain to the night
A rainy night in Georgia
A rainy night in Georgia
I believe it's rainin' all over the world
How many times I've wondered
It still comes out the same
No matter how you look at it, think of it
You just got to do your own thing
I find me a place in a box car
So I take out my guitar to pass some time
Late at night when it's hard to rest
I hold your picture to my chest
And I'm all right
A rainy night in Georgia
A rainy night in Georgia
I believe it's rainin' all over the world
Hank Williams Jr.'s song "A Rainy Night in Georgia" depicts a weary traveler on a rainy night who's trying to find a place to spend the night. The traveler hears a voice that assures him that everything will be alright. The rainy night seems reminiscent of the mood of the traveler. Neon signs flashing, taxi cabs, and buses passing by make up the ambient view that highlights the melancholy of the night. The disturbance of the night's silence is the moaning of a train, evoking a sense of sadness. The song emphasizes the universality of nature as the singer feels that it is raining all over the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Hoverin' by my suitcase
I am standing uncertainly beside my luggage
Tryin' to find a warm place to spend the night
I am searching for a comfortable place to sleep
A heavy rain a fallin'
It is raining heavily
Seems I hear your voice callin'
I think I can hear you calling out to me
"It's all right"
You are reassuring me that everything is okay
A rainy night in Georgia
It is a wet and stormy evening in Georgia
I believe it's rainin' all over the world
I think it is raining everywhere
Neon signs a flashin'
Bright, flashing lights from neon signs are visible
Taxi cabs and busses passin' through the night
Vehicles such as taxis and buses are moving through the darkness
The distant moanin' of a train
I can hear the faint sound of a train in the distance
Seems to play a sad refrain to the night
It seems like the sound of the train is a melancholy tune in the darkness
How many times I've wondered
I have contemplated this many times before
It still comes out the same
Regardless, the outcome is always unchanged
No matter how you look at it, think of it
No matter what angle or perspective you take
You just got to do your own thing
You must choose your own path and stick to it
I find me a place in a box car
I have located a spot in a train car
So I take out my guitar to pass some time
To occupy myself, I begin to play my guitar
Late at night when it's hard to rest
When it's very late and sleep is difficult
I hold your picture to my chest
I hold your image close to my heart
And I'm all right
Despite the difficult circumstances, I am managing to be okay
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TONY WHITE, TONY JOE WHITE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Torontosaurus Rex
Didn't realize Hank Jr. had such a big vocal range. Impressive.
ThisIsFugitive
I’m 16 and just bought my first truck. I showed my grandma and she seen the cassette player. I was raised on Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson and all of the old country singers and outlaws. She brought me two cassettes and when I put one in, this song was the first one playing. I love it
Kid Canada
Badass!
StoneSoup
I've always loved this song sung by Brooke Benton -- only now hearing Hank Williams Jr. sing his version. His voice is beautiful, with passion! 🎶🎸🎙💝
scraps270
the version of this song is in my humble opinion one of the best ive ever heard of any song. wow .before hank took his own path.the soulfull longing of this is bonechiling
Al Feinstein
Fantastic voice range from bass to tenor, so this is what country music should sound like. Hank Williams Jr style.
Noomz-of-Earl
Lest we forget, this brilliant song was written and originally recorded by the great Tony Joe White, and it appeared on his 1969 LP "Tony Joe White...Continued." The song was immortalized the following year with Brook Benton's stunningly soulful, mature and world-weary reading of it (an exquisite Arif Mardin production), which became a huge soul and pop hit. This Hank Williams Jr. hit country rendition packs an astounding emotional wallop, and I believe it stands as his finest moment.
LW Howell
Agreed.
This version came out before Jr's. accident. This is some of his finest work.
Noomz-of-Earl
@LW Howell Thank you, LW.
Vernal Anderson
Oh my Hank sings this in the most heartfelt way, its just magical. I love it.