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.
Removing the Shadow
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With her gone I'd give you the best in loving well I'm removing the shadow so you can
It's hard to hurt someone that really loves you
Specially after you've promised them the moon
I know but I've been waiting a long time so if you want me you've got to tell her soon
Now I'm not complaining cause I love you
And I want to be with you every minute I can
I want to wake up in your arms and not worry
Now I know I'm taking too long removing the shadow
But honey no matter what I have to do just put your trust in me
I love you cause you're kind sweet and understanding
In fact you're everything I wanted her to be
Well if I'm that close to what you're wanting come and get me
And let removing the shadow be through
I think I've learned how to give you love with satisfaction
And whatever she didn't know I'll teach you
I'm slowly removing the shadow that endangers the future we have planned
With her gone I'd give you the best in loving well I'm removing the shadow so you can
The lyrics of Hank Williams Jr.'s song "Removing the Shadow" depict a man who is trying to remove the shadow of another woman from his love life. The song is about his devotion to his current love interest and his efforts to remove any obstacles that may impede their future together. He promises to give her the best in love and to satisfy her every need. The lyrics suggest that he has been waiting for a long time to be with her, and he is asking her to trust him as he removes the shadow from their relationship.
The song seems to be about a man who is in love with two women at the same time. He is struggling to choose between them, and he knows that he needs to make a decision soon. He is aware that he is hurting his current partner by not being able to commit to her fully. But he also wants her to know that he loves her and that he wants to be with her more than anything else in the world. The lyrics are emotional and heartfelt, and they show the complexity of human relationships.
In summary, "Removing the Shadow" by Hank Williams Jr. is a song about a man's struggle to choose between two women he loves. He promises to remove any obstacles from their relationship and give his current love interest the best in loving. It is a song about devotion, love, and the complexities of human relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm slowly removing the shadow that endangers the future we have planned
I am gradually getting rid of the threat that could harm our future together
With her gone I'd give you the best in loving well I'm removing the shadow so you can
If she is out of the way, I can devote and provide my love to you and eliminate the obstacle
It's hard to hurt someone that really loves you
Hurting someone who truly loves you can be difficult
Specially after you've promised them the moon
Especially after having made big promises to them
I know but I've been waiting a long time so if you want me you've got to tell her soon
I understand, but I have been waiting for a while now, and if you want to be with me, you need to let her know soon
Now I'm not complaining cause I love you
I am not complaining because I love you
And I want to be with you every minute I can
I desire to be with you as much as possible
I want to wake up in your arms and not worry
I want to wake up held in your arms and without any concerns
Honey I know how to satisfy a man
Sweetheart, I know how to make a man happy
Now I know I'm taking too long removing the shadow
I am aware that I am taking too much time to eliminate the obstacle
But honey no matter what I have to do just put your trust in me
Regardless of what needs to be done, please trust me
I love you cause you're kind sweet and understanding
I love you because you are kind, sweet, and empathetic
In fact you're everything I wanted her to be
You are precisely everything that I wished for her to be
Well if I'm that close to what you're wanting come and get me
If I am nearly the one that you desire, then come to me
And let removing the shadow be through
And let eliminating the obstacle be complete
I think I've learned how to give you love with satisfaction
I feel confident that I have learned how to love you and satisfy you
And whatever she didn't know I'll teach you
Anything that she didn't know, I can teach you
I'm slowly removing the shadow that endangers the future we have planned
I am gradually eliminating the obstacle that threatens our planned future
With her gone I'd give you the best in loving well I'm removing the shadow so you can
If she is no more, I will give you the best of my love, and thus I am getting rid of the obstacle for you
Contributed by Ian N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@user-dl7ks4bq2z
Great one , I grew up listening to them when my dad played it. Bringing back some memories ❤
@lyndelltobierre6312
Beautiful song and duet.
@marycagney1718
Beautiful song
@ruthboykin9873
Awesome song! Love it D.! Sharing!
@patrickgeorge1441
found this song and LP while stationed in Wichita Falls TX in 1972........must of listened to it 1000 times.....it just got me....Lois Johnson's voice....man o man....whew!
@marryannlamb9853
Great song Bill. Enjoying listening to your great songs I dug up some more your songs today and I have enjoyed listening. Keep the great songs coming. Have a blessed day.
@danielburns987
this song went to #23 on the country charts in 1970!!!
@oniciahunter2600
Like it
@WickerBillVintageCountryMusic
Thanks Onicia