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.
Tennessee
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I never would've got through the Arkansas mud
If I hadn't been a ridin' on the Tennessee Stud
I had some trouble with my sweetheart's pa one of his
brothers was a bad outlaw
I send her a letter by my Uncle Fudd and I rode away on the Tennessee Stud
The Tennesee Stud was long and lean the color of the
sun and his eyes were green
He had the nerve and he had the blood
And there never was a horse like the Tennessee Stud
We drifted on down onto no man's land we crossed the
river called the Rio Grande
I raced my horse with a Spaiard foal till I got me
a skin full of silver and gold
Me and a gambler we couldn't agree we got in a fight over Tennessee
We jerked our guns and he fell with a thud and I got
away on the Tennessee Stud
Well I got just as lonesome as a man can be dreamin'
of my girl in Tennessee
The Tennessee Stud's green eyes turned blue
Cause he was dreamin' of his sweetheart too
We loped right back across Arkansas I whipped her brother
and whipped her pa
I found that girl with the golden hair and she was
a ridin' on the Tennessee Mare
The Tennesee Stud was long and lean...
Stirrup to stirrup and side by side we crossed the
mountains and the valleys wide
We came to Big Muddy and we forded the flood
And the Tennessee Mare and the Tennessee Stud
A pretty little baby and the cabin floor a little horse
cold playin' round the door
And I love the girl with the golden hair
And the Tennessee Stud loves the Tennessee Mare
The Tennesee Stud was long and lean...
Hank Williams Jr.'s song "Tennessee Stud" narrates the journey of a man and his trusty horse from Tennessee down to Mexico and back, with a pit stop in Arkansas. Despite facing various challenges along the way, the Tennessee Stud proves to be an able companion, helping his rider overcome every obstacle. The singer's relationship with his sweetheart is also a major theme in the song. He had trouble with her family, but he sends her a letter before leaving, and they eventually reunite towards the end of the song. The horse's own romantic attachments are also hinted at, with the stud's green eyes turning blue as he dreams of his own sweetheart.
The song highlights the beauty and ruggedness of the American South and Mexico, as the pair travels across mountains, valleys, rivers, and across the vast landscapes. It also depicts the importance of loyalty, resilience, and bravery, both in terms of human relationships and the bond between man and horse.
Line by Line Meaning
Back about 1825 I left Tennessee very much alive
In 1825, I left Tennessee while being alive and well.
I never would've got through the Arkansas mud
I don't think I would have made it through the mud in Arkansas.
If I hadn't been a ridin' on the Tennessee Stud
If I wasn't riding on the Tennessee Stud, I would not have been able to make it through the mud.
I had some trouble with my sweetheart's pa one of his brothers was a bad outlaw
I had some trouble with my sweetheart's father since one of his brothers was an outlaw.
I send her a letter by my Uncle Fudd and I rode away on the Tennessee Stud
Before leaving, I sent my sweetheart a letter using my Uncle Fudd's help, and then I rode away on the Tennessee Stud.
The Tennessee Stud was long and lean the color of the sun and his eyes were green
The Tennessee Stud was a lean horse with a coat as golden as the sun and green eyes to match.
He had the nerve and he had the blood
The Tennessee Stud was a bold and brave animal.
And there never was a horse like the Tennessee Stud
The Tennessee Stud was one of a kind.
We drifted on down onto no man's land we crossed the river called the Rio Grande
We kept moving until we arrived at no man's land, where we crossed a river known as the Rio Grande.
I raced my horse with a Spaiard foal till I got me a skin full of silver and gold
I raced my horse against a Spanish foal until I won enough prizes in silver and gold to impress anyone.
Me and a gambler we couldn't agree we got in a fight over Tennessee
I got into a fight with a gambler because we couldn't agree about Tennessee.
We jerked our guns and he fell with a thud and I got away on the Tennessee Stud
In the fight, I resorted to pulling out my gun, and the gambler fell down, allowing me to escape on the Tennessee Stud.
Well I got just as lonesome as a man can be dreamin' of my girl in Tennessee
I became incredibly lonely, thinking of my girl back in Tennessee.
The Tennessee Stud's green eyes turned blue
Even the Tennessee Stud, my horse, started feeling lonely and sad with his green eyes turning blue.
Cause he was dreamin' of his sweetheart too
The horse was thinking of his sweetheart as well.
We loped right back across Arkansas I whipped her brother and whipped her pa
We returned to Arkansas, where I fought and won against my sweetheart's dad and brother.
I found that girl with the golden hair and she was a ridin' on the Tennessee Mare
I found my golden-haired girl, riding on the Tennessee Mare.
We came to Big Muddy and we forded the flood
During our journey together, we arrived at Big Muddy and crossed the flood.
And the Tennessee Mare and the Tennessee Stud
The Tennessee Mare and the Tennessee Stud crossed the flood together.
A pretty little baby and the cabin floor a little horse cold playin' round the door
There were a pretty little baby and a little horse playing around the cabin.
And I love the girl with the golden hair
I loved the girl with the golden hair.
And the Tennessee Stud loves the Tennessee Mare
The Tennessee Stud loved the Tennessee Mare.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind