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 Same Old Story
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've just got to find someone to tell my story to
You've heard it all before now here it is once more
And please kiss away my tears when I am through
It's just the same old story once again with a sweet beginning and a bitter end
A love affair that didn't turn out right
And the world has one more broken heart tonight
Would you like to dance oh you know it's been a long time
But you know it never works a false love won't take away hurt
But just pretend I'm him and I'll pretend you're her
And it'll be just the same old story
And the world had one more broken heart tonight
The lyrics of Hank Williams Jr.'s song The Same Old Story is a reflection of a man's troubled love life. The song starts with the man finding a lonely girl and asking if he can sit with her to tell his story, in the hope that she can give him some solace. He then proceeds to reveal his story, highlighting how it's a repeated experience of how he falls in love with a woman, only for it to end up in a bitter disappointment. In the midst of his narration, he finds himself attracted to the girl he's talking to, and he tries to lure her into dancing with him. He recognizes that the attraction may not turn into anything, but he's willing to pretend that she's the girl he's always desired, and she can pretend that he is the man of her dreams. In the end, the song suggests that the cycle of heartache and disappointment will continue, and the world would have one more broken heart to deal with.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey there lonely girl can I sit with you
The singer is asking a girl to sit with him, implying his loneliness and need for someone to talk to.
I've just got to find someone to tell my story to
The singer is looking for someone to confide in, to share his story with.
You've heard it all before now here it is once more
The singer acknowledges that the girl may have heard similar stories before, but he's going to share his anyway.
And please kiss away my tears when I am through
The artist is suggesting that he may end up emotional while telling his story, and he's hoping the girl will comfort him.
It's just the same old story once again with a sweet beginning and a bitter end
The artist's story is a common one - a relationship that started off well but ended badly.
A love affair that didn't turn out right
The singer's story is about a failed romantic relationship.
And the world has one more broken heart tonight
The singer's broken heart is just one of many in the world.
Would you like to dance oh you know it's been a long time
The artist is changing the subject, and asking the girl if she'd like to dance.
Since I had a woman satisfy my urge
The artist is expressing his desire for physical intimacy.
But you know it never works a false love won't take away hurt
The artist recognizes that using physical intimacy to mask emotional pain is not a solution.
But just pretend I'm him and I'll pretend you're her
The singer suggests they pretend to be someone else, which can be seen as a coping mechanism to escape his pain.
And it'll be just the same old story
Regardless of what happens next, the core of his story will remain the same - a love affair that didn't end well.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB ELGIN, EDDIE SNYDER, KAY ROGERS, LUTHER DIXON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Stanko386
Without knocking Hank, Jr's rocking side, he was THE BEST ballad singer. Songs like this one and "I'll Think Of Something", "The Last Love Song", "Old Habits", "Queen Of My Heart", etc are my favorites!!
Wayne Harvey
@Stanko386 thank you for listening
Shirlee Clark
One of his best I can listen to over and over again.
Joe Postove
This is his last single before the "Friends" album in 1976. Sounds like Hank is gearing up for a cowboy vibe.
Jeffrey Roberts
I just bought the acetate to this song here in Nashville at an estate sale. If anyone is interested in it drop me an email.