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 Conversation
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well just break out a bottle hoss I'll tell you bout the driftin' cowboy band
We won't talk about the habits just the music and the man
Now Hank you just got to tell me did your daddy really write all them songs did he
That don't deserve no answer hoss let's light up and just move along
Do you think he wrote 'em about your mama or about the man who done her wrong
You know that
Well back then they called him crazy now days they call him a saint
Now the ones that called him crazy are still ridin' on his name
Well if he was here right now Bocephus
Would he think that we were right do you think he might
Don't you know he would Watasha be right by our side
If we left for a show in Provo he'd be the first one on the bus and ready to ride
Wherever he is I hope he's happy you know I hope he's doin' well yes I do
He is cause he's got one arm around my mama now
And he sure did love Miss Audrey and raisin' hell
I wont ask you no more questions to the stories only Hank could tell
Back then they called him crazy now a days they call him a saint
Most folks don't know that they fired him from the Opry
And that caused his greatest pain
I loved to tell you about lovesick how Miss Audrey loved that man
You know I've always loved to listen
To the stories about that driftin' cowboy band and the man
You know when we get right down to it still the most wanted outlaw in the land
The lyrics of Hank Williams/Hank Williams Jr.'s song The Conversation depict a conversation between two men, one of whom is Hank Williams Jr. The other man is curious about Hank Jr.'s father, Hank Williams, and asks him to talk about his father's life. The first man breaks out a bottle of alcohol and starts talking about Hank Sr.'s music and his band, the Drifting Cowboys. He avoids talking about Hank Sr.'s habits and personal life. The conversation then moves on to whether Hank Sr. wrote his songs about his mother or someone who wronged her. Hank Jr. refuses to answer that question and suggests they light up and move along.
The second half of the conversation relates to Hank Sr.'s legacy. The first man makes a comment about how people who once called Hank Sr. crazy now consider him a saint, and that the ones who called him crazy are still using his name. Hank Jr. imagines Hank Sr. being pleased to know that they were talking about him and believes he would have been happy to join them in a show. He then talks about how Hank Sr. loves his mother and Miss Audrey, and how they fired him from the Opry, which caused his greatest pain. The song concludes with the two men discussing how much they love listening to the stories of Hank Sr.'s life and his band, the Drifting Cowboys.
Line by Line Meaning
Hank let's talk about your daddy tell me how your mama loved that man
Let's talk about Hank Williams Sr. and his music, rather than his personal life and habits
Well just break out a bottle hoss I'll tell you bout the driftin' cowboy band
I'll share some stories about Hank Sr.'s band and their adventures
We won't talk about the habits just the music and the man
Let's discuss Hank Sr.'s music and his talent as a musician
Now Hank you just got to tell me did your daddy really write all them songs did he
Did Hank Williams Sr. actually write all of his songs?
That don't deserve no answer hoss let's light up and just move along
I'm not going to answer that question, let's move on and smoke a cigarette
Do you think he wrote 'em about your mama or about the man who done her wrong
Do you think Hank Sr. wrote his songs about his personal experiences, like his relationships or people who wronged him?
Well back then they called him crazy now days they call him a saint
In the past, people thought Hank Sr. was crazy, but now he is revered as a legend
Now the ones that called him crazy are still ridin' on his name
Even the people who thought Hank Sr. was crazy still appreciate and admire his music
Well if he was here right now Bocephus / Would he think that we were right do you think he might
If Hank Sr. were here, would he agree with our conversation and opinions?
Don't you know he would Watasha be right by our side / If we left for a show in Provo he'd be the first one on the bus and ready to ride
If we were to go to a show, Hank Sr. would be with us, eager to perform and share his music
Wherever he is I hope he's happy you know I hope he's doin' well yes I do
I hope Hank Sr. is at peace and happy, wherever he may be
He is cause he's got one arm around my mama now / And he sure did love Miss Audrey and raisin' hell
Hank Sr. is happy and at peace because he's reunited with his loved ones, like his wife and Audrey Williams, and no longer struggling in this world
I won't ask you no more questions to the stories only Hank could tell
I won't ask any more personal questions about Hank Sr., but only enjoy the stories and songs he left behind
Most folks don't know that they fired him from the Opry / And that caused his greatest pain
Many people don't know that Hank Sr. was fired from the Grand Ole Opry, which was a major hurt for him
I loved to tell you about lovesick how Miss Audrey loved that man
I enjoyed sharing stories about Hank Sr.'s love life, especially how Audrey Williams cared for him
You know I've always loved to listen / To the stories about that driftin' cowboy band and the man
I've always enjoyed hearing about Hank Sr.'s band, their travels, and the man himself
You know when we get right down to it still the most wanted outlaw in the land
Even today, Hank Sr.'s music remains highly prized and highly regarded, making him an outlaw, albeit a beloved one
Lyrics © BOCEPHUS MUSIC INC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Hank Williams, Jr., Richie Albright, Waylon Jennings
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind