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 South
Hank Williams Jr. Lyrics
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I've got ramblin' in my shoes
Merle, he's a-drinkin' that free bubble-up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
Now Jones ain't playin' no possum
He's the number-one country man
Charlie run the devil out of Georgia, Lord
Yeah, the south's gonna rattle again
Dolly's wrapped up in the movie scene
Tammy's sellin' books in the stores
Waylon's gonna take us to the White House
And Willie's gonna open up the door
And Gilley's sellin' bowls
Everywhere you go
They're made outta wood and tin
The ground's gonna shake like
A big rattlesnake
And the south's gonna rattle again
Yeah, the south's gonna rattle again
Yeah, the south's gonna rattle again
The south's gonna rattle again
We got some big old silver eagles
And we're flyin' all over this land
And you can bet or brag on that rebel flag
You can damn well count me in
The ground's gonna shake like
A big rattle snake
And the south's gonna rattle again
Yeah, we're gonna shake and rattle again
Yeah, the south's gonna rattle again
The south's gonna rattle again
We got some big old silver eagles
And we're flyin' through Dixieland
And you can bet or brag on that rebel flag
You can damn well count me in
The ground's gonna shake like
A big rattlesnake
And the southern man's fightin' again
If the South Woulda Won is a satirical song by Hank Williams Jr. which presents an imagined alternate reality where the Confederate States of America were victorious in the American Civil War, and had succeeded in seceding from the United States. The lyrics suggest that life would be better in such a reality. Williams sings about how the South would have achieved political power in America and the changes he would have made to improve the life of southerners.
The first verse of the song sets the tone for the rest of the track. Williams declares that if the South had won, he himself would have stood for president of the Southern states. He believes that Elvis Presley's passing would become an annual national holiday. The second verse offers solutions to what Williams perceives to be problems with the American judicial system. He would make Texas the seat of the Supreme Court to avoid killers from getting off free. The guilty would be punished quickly rather than being free to write books or smile on television as if they had not committed any crime.
The third verse focuses on the preservation of Southern culture, such as education in Cajun cooking in Louisiana, putting the capital back in Alabama, ridding Florida of drug pushers, and restoring Miami to moral purity. The final verse turns tongue-in-cheek to other classic Southern stereotypes, evoking whiskey from Tennessee, horses from Kentucky, and fiddles from Virginia. Williams concludes on a humorous note, declaring that his alternate Southern nation would be "better off" in every way.
Line by Line Meaning
If the South woulda won, we woulda had it made
The singer believes that if the South had won the Civil War, they would be in a better position today.
I'd probably run for President of the Southern States
The singer believes that he would be suited to hold a political office in the Southern States.
The day Elvis passed away would be our national holiday
If the South had won, they would be able to celebrate more of the things they love, including a national holiday for Elvis Presley.
I'd make my Supreme Court down in Texas
The singer would like to bring the Supreme Court to Texas if the South had won the war.
And we wouldn't have no killers getting off free
The singer thinks that if he were in charge, he would ensure that guilty people are punished for their crimes.
If they were proven guilty, then they would swing quickly
The singer would like to see swift and immediate punishment for those found guilty of a crime.
We'd all learn Cajun cooking' in Louisiana
The singer believes that if the South had won, every resident would be knowledgeable in Cajun cooking from Louisiana.
And I'd put that capital back in Alabama
The singer would like the capital of the Southern States to be Alabama if they had won the war.
We'd put Florida on the right track, 'cause we'd take Miami back
The singer would like to return Miami, Florida to the Southern States and improve the state's overall direction.
And throw all them pushers in the slammer
The singer would like to see drug dealers arrested and imprisoned if the South had won the war.
I'd have all the whiskey made in Tennessee
The singer would like all whiskey to be made in Tennessee if the South had won the war.
And all the horses raised in those Kentucky hills
The singer would like for horses to only be raised in Kentucky hill country if the South had won the war.
The national treasury would be in Tupelo, Mississippi
The singer suggests that if the South had won, Tupelo, Mississippi would be the location of the national treasury.
And I'd put Hank Williams picture on one hundred dollar bill
The singer would like for Hank Williams to be on the one hundred dollar bill if the South had won the war.
I'd have all the cars made in the Carolinas
The singer would like vehicles manufactured only in the Carolinas if the South had won the war.
And I'd ban all the ones made in China
The singer wants to ban vehicles made in China if the South had won the war.
I'd have every girl child sent to Georgia to learn to smile
The singer would like all girls to visit Georgia to learn the beautiful, southern accent if the South had won the war.
And talk with that southern accent that drives men wild
The singer believes that southern accents on women are appealing to men.
I'd have all the fiddles made in Virginia
The singer would want fiddles only created in Virginia if the South had won the war.
'Cause they sure can make 'em sound so fine
The singer acknowledges Virginia's talent for producing beautiful fiddles.
I'm going up on Wolverton Mountain and see ole Clifton Clowers
The singer would like to visit Wolverton Mountain to see Clifton Clowers if the South had won the war.
And have a sip of his good ole Arkansas wine
The singer would like to sample Clifton Clowers' Arkansas wine.
When Patsy Cline passed away, that would be our national holiday
The South would like to celebrate Patsy Cline's life with a national holiday if they had won the war.
Might even be better off
The singer believes that the South could have been better off if they had won the war.
Lyrics © ZELLS MUSIC COMPANY, BOCEPHUS MUSIC INC
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