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.
She
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My temperature started to rise
A cold chill's a comin' all over
And tears are fillin' my eyes
The days will turn into weeks
The weeks will turn into years
And I'm turnin' into a block of stone
I can't see for my tears
Guess what, that's right she's gone
The train left town this morning
Guess who waved goodbye
A cute little trig in a bridal red dress
And a man with a little bow tie
My mind is spinnin' in circles
I'm about to go insane
Like a fool
I'm a runnin' down the railroad track
I'm tryin' to stop that train
Guess what, that's right she's gone
The train left town this morning
Guess who waved goodbye
Guess what, you're right she's gone
Guess what, that's right she's gone
The lyrics to Hank Williams Jr.'s song She are a poignant tribute to the often-overlooked roles and contributions of women in the lives of men. The song describes a woman who is tasked with doing everything around the house: washing the dirty clothes, cooking meals, taking care of the children, and answering the telephone. She does all of these things without complaint or recognition, and the man in the song doesn't realize how much she means to him until she's gone.
The lyrics speak to the idea that women are often viewed as disposable or replaceable, and their contributions to the household and family are taken for granted. The man in the song only realizes how much he needs her when she's gone, and he's left with nothing. The song is a reminder to appreciate the women in our lives and acknowledge their hard work and sacrifice.
Overall, the song is a touching tribute to women and the important role they play in our lives. It's a reminder that we should never take the people we love for granted, and that we should always take the time to say thank you and show appreciation for everything they do.
Line by Line Meaning
She is just someone to wash your dirty clothes
She is the one who takes care of all your dirty laundry, someone who is always there to pick up after you.
Someone who never knows where all your money goes
She is not involved in your finances and is not privy to what you do with your money.
She is just someone to teach the children right from wrong
She is the one who imparts morality and discipline to your children, someone who plays a vital role in their upbringing.
And you never know how much she means until she is gone
You fail to realize her true worth until she is no longer with you.
She is just someone to cook all your meals
She is the one who prepares all your meals, someone who takes care of your nutritional needs.
And act like you're a millionaire though you can't pay the bills
She puts up an outward show of affluence even though financial struggles are a reality for the both of you.
She is just someone to answer the telephone
She is the one who attends to all your calls, someone who takes care of all your tiny nuisances.
And she's gone for good cause I was bad
She left forever because you mistreated her in some way.
Now everything I have is gone cause she was all I had
You lost everything you had because she was your only support and you failed to recognize her worth.
She is just someone to give me love and keep me warm
She is the one who showers you with love and affection, someone who provides you with emotional warmth and comfort.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
1955mercury
This was back when Hank Jr. could really sing country music.