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.
Thanks a Lot
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You made me cry, and I cried a lot.
I just wanted your love, baby thanks a lot.
You told my friends as I was passin' by,
That you're not sorry that you made me cry.
You said I deserved everything that I got,
Well if that's how you feel, honey thanks a lot.
Yeah thanks, thanks a lot,
I've got a broken heart, that's all I got.
You made me cry, and I cried a lot.
I just wanted your love, so baby thanks a lot.
You ordered a fool, and I played the part,
Now all I've got is a broken heart.
We loved a little and you laughed a lot,
And then you were gone. honey thanks a lot.
Thanks, thanks a lot, I've got a broken heart, that's all I got.
You made me cry, and I cried a lot.
I just wanted your love, honey thanks a lot.
I just wanted your love, baby thanks a lot.
Oh thanks loads honey.
Hank Williams Jr.'s song "Thanks a Lot" is a heartbreak anthem that speaks to the pain of a broken heart. The song begins with the repeated phrase "Thanks, thanks a lot," which may initially sound like gratitude, but quickly becomes clear that it is in fact a sarcastic dig at the person who has caused the singer so much pain. The singer has a broken heart and nothing else that he can hold on to. He is upset that the person he cared for has made him cry and he has been left with nothing but heartbreak. The singer just wanted to be loved by this person, and their rejection has wounded him deeply.
The second verse is even more brutal: the person who caused the singer so much pain has confirmed that they do not regret their actions. They believe that the singer deserved to be hurt and are not sorry for their behavior. This adds fuel to the fire and makes the singer feel even worse about himself. In the bridge, the singer laments the fact that he played the part of a fool in this toxic relationship. He gave his all to someone who did not deserve it, and now he is left with a broken heart. Throughout the song, the singer sarcastically thanks the person who caused him so much pain, making it clear that he's not really thankful for their cruelty.
Line by Line Meaning
Thanks, thanks a lot, I've got a broken heart, that's all I got.
Sarcastically expressing gratitude for being left with a broken heart and nothing else.
You made me cry, and I cried a lot.
Pointing out the pain and suffering caused by the actions of the other person.
I just wanted your love, baby thanks a lot.
Expressing disappointment in not receiving the desired love and affection from the person.
You told my friends as I was passin' by, That you're not sorry that you made me cry.
Revealing the cruelty of the other person by taking pleasure in causing tears and refusing to apologize.
You said I deserved everything that I got, Well if that's how you feel, honey thanks a lot.
Sarcastically acknowledging the other person's belief that the heartbreak was deserved.
You ordered a fool, and I played the part, Now all I've got is a broken heart.
Describing the situation where the other person took advantage of his willingness to act foolish and now he is left with a broken heart.
We loved a little and you laughed a lot, And then you were gone. honey thanks a lot.
Recalling a brief moment of love and happiness before being left alone and heartbroken.
Oh thanks loads honey.
Sarcastically thanking the other person once again for everything they have done.
Lyrics © GARNETA JOHNSTON D/B/A NETA JOHNSTON MUSIC , Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHARLIE RICH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind