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 Pressure Is On
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't know what's going on
Thinks I love her and her alone
And the pressure is on
I got a new love, you see
She does new things to me
We sneak our love you's on the phone
And it puts pressure on a man
If he ever lets his heart call his hand
He ain't no rolling stone
But the pressure is on
Feel like your ten thousand feet
Down under the sea
and its crushing all your bones
And the pressure is on
The trains I ride in my dreams
Run on the pressure of the steam
Lord, I could pull one a mile long
'Cause the pressure is on
Lord, I could pull one a mile long
'Cause the pressure is on
The pressure is on
The pressure at home
Hank Williams Jr.'s "The Pressure Is On" portrays a man struggling to reconcile his infidelity with his loyalty to his partner. The song's subject has a lover outside of his relationship, and though he realizes that he is doing something wrong, he is finding it difficult to stop. His guilt is building up, and the fear of getting caught is pressurizing him. He sings about the pressure on a man when he allows his heart to override his better judgement. The singer has reached a point where he feels trapped and suffocated as he is unable to share the depth of his feeling with anyone. The song's familiar refrain reminds us that even in the home where he might find solace, the pressure is still on.
The lyrics present a universal theme of conflicted emotions, guilt, and fear in relationships. It is difficult to reveal our innermost selves to the ones we love for fear of losing them. So we hide parts of ourselves and cheat in secret, but this leads to feelings of self-disgust, anxiety, and feeling trapped. Williams Jr.'s depiction of the pressure that comes with infidelity is candid and relatable to many who have been in similar situations.
Line by Line Meaning
I got someone at home
I have a significant other waiting for me at home
Don't know what's going on
I am uncertain of how to handle my current situation
Thinks I love her and her alone
My significant other believes I am faithful to her only
And the pressure is on
I feel immense pressure to maintain the facade of a monogamous relationship
I got a new love, you see
I have a new lover
She does new things to me
My new lover brings excitement into my life
We sneak our love you's on the phone
We express our love to each other secretly over the phone
And the pressure is on
I feel immense pressure to keep my affair hidden from my significant other
And it puts pressure on a man
Maintaining multiple relationships puts immense pressure on an individual
If he ever lets his heart call his hand
If he ever lets his emotions get the best of him
He ain't no rolling stone
He is not a free spirit who can easily move from partner to partner
But the pressure is on
Despite not being a rolling stone, he still feels immense pressure
Feel like your ten thousand feet
Feeling as though you are under immense pressure
Down under the sea
Feeling trapped and suffocated
and its crushing all your bones
Feeling physically and emotionally drained
And the pressure is on
The pressure is overwhelming
The trains I ride in my dreams
Refers to his fantasies and desires
Run on the pressure of the steam
These fantasies revolve around the pressure he feels
Lord, I could pull one a mile long
Refers to the ability to perform an impressive feat
'Cause the pressure is on
His ability to perform is fueled by the pressure he feels
The pressure is on
The pressure is all-consuming
The pressure at home
The pressure to maintain a facade of fidelity with his significant other
Contributed by Natalie E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Richard Bain
My Top 10 Hank Williams Jr Songs
10. The Ballad Of Hank Williams
9. The Coalition To Ban Coalitions
8. Texas Women
7. A Country Boy Can Survive
6. Buck Naked
5. Country State Of Mind
4. Whiskey Ben And Hell Bound
3. Family Tradition
2. The Pressure Is On
1. All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down
Jim Preece
This is the first 8-track I ever bought. We had a console stereo with lights that flashed to the beat. I wore that tape out and then bought the cassette version. I now own the CD and have most of this album down loaded on my phone. Times have changed . But this is still great music !
Appalachian cooking with Brenda
my 8 t still works--- barley
Freedom Media Productions
Yes sir Jim. They surely have. This is one of the only guarantees you will get in this life. Things will change, constantly and continually. Look at the quality of music produced today. Compared to someone whose a hit machine like Bocephus. Who wrote, sang, played, recorded, and more than like helped produce his records. And still on tour and somewhat kicking tail regularly, after all these years.
Although Kid Rock isn't 1/10 as talented, creative, or musical talented as Jr. And actually being able to talk him into recording a song titled, "Cadillac P*$$y". Really? Makes me wonder, what else could Hank be talked into?nA scary thought to say the. very least. Idk, what's going on anymore for sure. But its really went downhill, since Hanks prime. Is this his attempt at compensating for his old age, and all he would have to miss. SINCE WAS ON FIRE and incapable of being beaten or failure, in any consistancy of his flawlessness and effortlessly writing some of the best music, anyone will ever have the pleasure of consumption. Must have gotten it from the old man. Heard Audrey was a girl who constantly begged him to be able to get on stagehand and perform.
Rod Guitarezz
Yea, can remember listening to this on 8 track in my friend's 79 Trans Am, with whiskey and no ice or chaser. Good days,,
bigbellybubbahaha 3
Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ronnie Ruliffson
I bought this album in vinyl in 1981. I still have it, one of my favorites of HWJ. And it still sounds just as great as the day I bought it. This man has been my idol for years. God bless Bocephus and his music!
itsadryheave
This song is so blues...love it, love Hank Williams, Jr.
Candace Woodgeard
This song stays on repeat for me....
Cody Lewis
This has to be my all time favorite album cover anyone has ever done, Bocephus is the man!!!
ACP
Ha ha dang Cody…. I just left a comment saying the same thing! My favorite Hank album cover.