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.
The Blues Man
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Kind of a clinger to sad old songs
I'm not a walk behinder, I'm a new note finder
But my name's a reminder of a blues man that's already gone
So I started drinkin', took some things that messed up my thinkin'
I was sure sinkin' when you came along
I was alone in the hot lights, not too much left in sight
Hey baby, I love you, hey baby, I need you
Hey baby, you ain't got to prove to me you're some kind of macho man
You've wasted so much of your life runnin' through the dark nights
Let me shine some love light down on the blues man
I got so sick from speedin', all the steps they said I was needing
If I was to keep on pleasing all of my fans
I got cuffed on dirt roads, I got sued over no shows
But she came and took all that old load down off of this blues man
Hey baby, I love you too, hey baby, I need you
Hey baby, I do get tired of this traveling band
I'm thirty years old now, nights would be cold now
If you hadn't stuck it out with this blues man
I'm thirty years old now, nights sure would be cold now
If you haven't hung around with this blues man
The first verse of Hank Williams Jr.'s song The Blues Man highlights his natural talent as a singer and guitar player who loves playing old, sad songs. He may not be a copycat musician, but a new note finder who's always looking to bring something fresh to the table. The lyrics continue to remember a blues man who's already gone, but whose name serves as a reminder of the soulful, melancholic genre that influenced Hank's music.
The second verse tells the story of Hank's personal struggles with drugs and alcohol and how meeting someone special helped him on the road to sobriety. The woman in the story sings him a song, which offers him a glimmer of hope and a reason to keep going. He acknowledges that he's wasted a lot of his life chasing fame and fortune, but it's his love for the blues that kept him going despite all the obstacles.
The chorus reflects the woman's unwavering love for Hank and how it helped him get through some tough moments during his music career. She shows him that he doesn't have to prove himself to anyone and that the only thing he needs is her love and support. The song ends with a powerful declaration of gratitude towards the woman who stood by him through thick and thin.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm just a singer, a natural born guitar ringer
I'm a musician with an innate ability to play guitar and sing.
Kind of a clinger to sad old songs
I tend to hold on to and enjoy melancholic and nostalgic songs.
I'm not a walk behinder, I'm a new note finder
I don't follow others; I explore new musical ideas.
But my name's a reminder of a blues man that's already gone
My name serves as a tribute to a legendary blues musician who's passed away.
So I started drinkin', took some things that messed up my thinkin'
I began drinking and using substances that negatively affected my mental state.
I was sure sinkin' when you came along
I was going through a tough time when you entered my life.
I was alone in the hot lights, not too much left in sight
I was metaphorically under the spotlight, but felt like I had little left to offer.
But she changed all that one night when she sang me this song
However, her performance of a particular song brought positivity and hope to my life.
Hey baby, I love you, hey baby, I need you
She expresses her love and affection for me.
Hey baby, you ain't got to prove to me you're some kind of macho man
She reassures me that I don't have to prove my masculinity to her.
You've wasted so much of your life runnin' through the dark nights
She understands that I've made mistakes and had a difficult past.
Let me shine some love light down on the blues man
She wants to bring love and positivity to my life and career as a musician.
I got so sick from speedin', all the steps they said I was needing
I got exhausted from living a fast-paced lifestyle and following conventional steps to success.
If I was to keep on pleasing all of my fans
My desire to please my fans led to my exhaustion.
I got cuffed on dirt roads, I got sued over no shows
I faced legal issues related to my career as a traveling musician.
But she came and took all that old load down off of this blues man
Her love and support helped me overcome my hardships and struggles.
Hey baby, I love you too, hey baby, I need you
I reciprocate her love and need for her presence in my life.
Hey baby, I do get tired of this traveling band
However, I express my weariness of constantly touring as a musician.
I'm thirty years old now, nights would be cold now
I appreciate that she has stuck with me throughout my life, particularly now that I'm older and perhaps less appealing to others.
If you hadn't stuck it out with this blues man
Without her, my life and career would have been much harder and less fulfilling.
Lyrics © BOCEPHUS MUSIC INC
Written by: HANK JR. WILLIAMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind