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 River
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky
And the tears I cried for that woman are gonna flood you Big River
Then I'm gonna sit right here until I die
And it tore me up every time I heard her drawl southern drawl
Then I heard my dream was back downstream cavortin' in Davenport
And I followed you Big River when you called
Then you took me to St Louis later on down the river
A freighter said she's been here but she's gone boy she's gone
I found her trail in Memphis but she just walked up the block
She raised a few eyebrows and went on down alone
Now won't you batter down by Boton Rouge River Queen roll it on
Take that woman on down to New Orleans New Orleans
Go on I've had enough dump my blues down in the gulf
Oh she loves you Big River more than me
Yeah I taught the weeping willow how to cry cry cry
And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky
And the tears I cried for that woman are gonna flood you Big River
Then I'm gonna sit right here until I die
The song "Big River" by Hank Williams Jr. is a classic tale of a man's journey along the Mississippi River in search of a lost love. The singer's pain and frustration are palpable as he sings about teaching the weeping willow how to cry and showing the clouds how to cover a clear blue sky. The emotions are raw, and the lyrics are emotive.
The song is divided into different parts, each describing a different chapter in the singer's search for his lost love. He meets her in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is drawn to her Southern drawl. He follows her downstream to Davenport but discovers that she has moved on. He continues his search, tracing her trail to St. Louis and then to Memphis, where he almost catches up with her. Finally, in Baton Rouge, he realizes that she loves the river more than him and decides to dump his blues down in the gulf. The song ends with the singer resigned to his fate, sitting by the river until he dies.
Overall, the song is a testament to the power of love and the pain of loss. The singer's journey along the Big River is a metaphor for the highs and lows of love and the search for meaning in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I taught the weeping willow how to cry
I have experienced great sadness and suffering, to the point where I have become an expert in expressing grief and despair.
And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky
I have gone through so much pain that I have learned how to project my sorrow onto the world around me, making everything seem dark and gloomy.
And the tears I cried for that woman are gonna flood you Big River
My heartbreak and misery are spreading like a river, and they will eventually overcome anyone who comes into contact with them.
Then I'm gonna sit right here until I die
I am so consumed by my sorrow that I have given up hope of ever finding happiness again, and I am resigned to living out my days in solitude.
Oh I met her accidentaly in St Paul Minnesota
I encountered this woman purely by chance, and yet despite having had no prior connection to her, I fell deeply in love with her.
And it tore me up every time I heard her drawl southern drawl
Her accent, which reminded me of the southern roots I had left behind, only made my feelings for her stronger and more painful.
Then I heard my dream was back downstream cavortin' in Davenport
Despite knowing that this woman was causing me pain, I still couldn't resist following her, even when I learned that she was with someone else.
And I followed you Big River when you called
The pull of my emotions was so strong that I felt as though the river itself was leading me towards her.
Then you took me to St Louis later on down the river
As I pursued this woman, I found myself moving further and further downstream, to the point where I was completely lost and directionless.
A freighter said she's been here but she's gone boy she's gone
Even when I found clues pointing to her whereabouts, it was always too late - she had already moved on, leaving me behind once again.
I found her trail in Memphis but she just walked up the block
I was able to track her movements to a certain extent, but ultimately I was always one step behind her, unable to catch up.
She raised a few eyebrows and went on down alone
This woman was independent and unapologetic about her choices, even if they hurt others - including me.
Now won't you batter down by Boton Rouge River Queen roll it on
I am asking the river to continue its destructive path, to batter down anything in its way as it moves towards its final destination.
Take that woman on down to New Orleans New Orleans
I want this woman to be swept away by the river, taken far away from me so that I no longer have to feel the pain of loving her.
Go on I've had enough dump my blues down in the gulf
I am at the end of my rope, with no more energy left to expend on this woman or my feelings. I just want to find some relief from my pain, even if it means letting my emotions wash away like water into the ocean.
Oh she loves you Big River more than me
I realize that this woman will always be in love with the river - that is, she will always be free and unbound, while I remain trapped by my feelings for her.
Yeah I taught the weeping willow how to cry cry cry
I am consumed by grief and sorrow, to the point where even nature has learned how to express these emotions through my example.
And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky
My pain is so great that it is beginning to affect the world around me, making everything seem dark and lifeless.
And the tears I cried for that woman are gonna flood you Big River
I am still carrying around the weight of my feelings for this woman, and they are slowly but surely overwhelming me to the point of drowning.
Then I'm gonna sit right here until I die
I am at the end of my journey, with no more hope of finding happiness or love in this life, and so I will simply sit and wait for the end to come.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tommy Wood
I've never heard this great song before by Hank Jr. Thanks for posting it
Dorothy Angeledes
my favorite hank williams jr. performance
Dorothy Angeledes
i wonder what it would sound like without the echo. I think Mr Williams voice is nice
Daniel Hill
Bad ass song!
Paul Sherlock
I can’t find this song anywhere but here.