Hank Williams Jr. | |
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 Williams in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Randall Hank Williams |
| Born | (1949-05-26)May 26, 1949 (age 75) Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1963–present |
| Labels |
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| Spouse | [a] |
| Website | hankjr |
| Children | 5, includingHank Williams III andHolly Williams |
Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally asHank Williams Jr. orBocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style has been described as a blend ofrock,blues, andcountry. He is the son of country musicianHank Williams and the father of musiciansSam Williams,Holly Williams andHank Williams III, and the grandfather ofColeman Williams. He is also the half-brother ofJett Williams.
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 December 1963 episode ofThe Ed Sullivan Show, in which at the age of fourteen he sang several songs associated with his father. Later that year, he was a guest star onShindig!.[1]
As Williams struggled to define his own voice and place within thecountry music genre, his style began slowly to evolve. His career was interrupted by a near-fatal fall while he was climbingAjax Peak in Montana on August 8, 1975.[2][3] After an extended recovery, he rebuilt his career in both thecountry rock andoutlaw country scenes.[4] As a multi-instrumentalist, Williams' repertoire of musical instrument skills includes guitar, bass guitar,upright bass,steel guitar,banjo,dobro, piano, keyboards, saxophone,harmonica,fiddle, and drums.[5] In 2020, Williams Jr. was inducted into theCountry Music Hall of Fame.[6]
Williams was born Randall Hank Williams on May 26, 1949, inShreveport, Louisiana. Hisfather nicknamed him Bocephus (afterGrand Ole Opry comedianRod Brasfield's ventriloquist dummy).[7] After his father's death in 1953, he was raised by his mother,Audrey Williams.
While he was a child, Williams was influenced by a number of contemporary musicians who visited his family and taught him various musical instruments and styles.[citation needed] Among these figures of influence wereMerle Haggard,Johnny Cash,Fats Domino,Earl Scruggs,Lightnin' Hopkins, andJerry Lee Lewis. Williams first stepped onto the stage and sang his father's songs when he was eight years old.
He attendedJohn Overton High School inNashville, Tennessee, where he would bring his guitar to music class and play for pep rallies and performances with the choir.
In 1964, Williams made his recording debut with "Long Gone Lonesome Blues", one of his father's many classic songs.[8]
He provided the singing voice of his father[9] in the 1964 filmYour Cheatin' Heart.[10] He also recorded an album of duets with recordings of his father.[9]
Although Williams' recordings earned him numerous country hits throughout the 1960s and early 1970s with his role as a "Hank Williams impersonator", he became disillusioned and severed ties with his mother.
By the mid-1970s Williams began to pursue a musical direction that would eventually make him a superstar. While recording a series of moderately successful songs, Williams began a pattern of heavy drug and alcohol abuse. Upon moving toAlabama, in an attempt to refocus both his creative energy and his troubled personal life, Williams began playing music withSouthern rock andOutlaw country musicians includingWaylon Jennings,Toy Caldwell, andCharlie Daniels.Hank Williams Jr. and Friends (1975), often considered his watershed album, was the product of these then-groundbreaking collaborations.
On August 8, 1975, Williams was nearly killed while mountain climbing in southwesternMontana. While climbingAjax Peak on thecontinental divide (Idaho border) west ofJackson, the snow beneath Williams collapsed and he fell almost 500 feet (150 m) onto rock, causing multiple severe skull and facial fractures.[11][12] Williams spent two years recovering, re-learning how to talk and sing, and undergoing 17 surgeries to repair his skull and reconstruct his face. The accident was chronicled in the semi-autobiographical, made-for-television filmLiving Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story. To hide his scars and disfigurement from the accident, Williams grew a beard and began wearing sunglasses and acowboy hat. The beard, hat, and sunglasses have since become Williams'signature look.[citation needed]
In 1977, Williams recorded and releasedOne Night Stands andThe New South, and worked closely with his old friendWaylon Jennings on the song "Once and For All".[citation needed] In 1980, he appeared on thePBS showAustin City Limits during Season 5, along with the Shake Russell-Dana Cooper Band.[citation needed]
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In 1976,Rolling Stone wrote that Williams' "mainstream country material has always been amongNashville's best".[13]
He was prolific throughout the 1980s, sometimes recording and releasing two albums a year.Family Tradition,Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound,Habits Old and New,Rowdy,The Pressure Is On,High Notes,Strong Stuff,Man of Steel,Major Moves,Five-O,Montana Cafe, and many others resulted in a long string of hits.
Between 1979 and 1992, Williams released 21 albums—18 studio albums and three compilations—that were all certified at leastgold by theRIAA. Between 1979 and 1990, he enjoyed a string of 30 Top Ten singles on the Billboard Country charts, including eight No. 1 singles, for a total of 44 Top Ten singles, including a total of 10 No. 1 singles, during his career.
In 1982, he had nine albums simultaneously on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, all of which were original works and not compilations. In 1987–88, Williams was named Entertainer of the Year by theCountry Music Association. In 1987, 1988, and 1989, he won the same award from theAcademy of Country Music. The pinnacle album of his acceptance and popularity wasBorn to Boogie.
During the 1980s, Williams Jr. became a country music superstar known for catchy anthems and hard-edged, rock-influenced country. During the late 1970s and into the mid-1980s, Williams' songs constantly flew into the number one or number two spots, with songs such as "Family Tradition", "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound", "Old Habits", "Ain't Misbehavin'", "Born to Boogie", and "My Name Is Bocephus".
The hit single "Wild Streak" (1987) was co-written byHouston nativeTerri Sharp, for which Williams and Sharp both earned gold records. In 1988, he released a Southern pride song, "If the South Woulda Won". The reference is to a notional Southern victory in theCivil War.
His 1989 hit "There's a Tear in My Beer" was a duet with his father created using electronic merging technology. The song was written by his father, and had been previously recorded with Hank Williams playing the guitar as the sole instrument. The music video for the song combined existing television footage of Hank Williams performing, onto which electronic merging technology impressed the recordings of Williams, which then made it appear as if he were actually playing with his father. The video was both a critical and commercial success. It was namedVideo of the Year by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. Williams would go on to win aGrammy Award in 1990 forBest Country Vocal Collaboration.
He is well known for his hit "A Country Boy Can Survive" and as the performer of the theme song forMonday Night Football, based on his 1984 hit "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight". In 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994, Williams' opening themes forMonday Night Football earned him fourEmmy Awards.
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In 2000, he provided the voice of Injun Joe inTom Sawyer. In 2001, Williams Jr. co-wrote his classic hit "A Country Boy Can Survive" after 9/11, renaming it "America Can Survive". In 2004, Williams was featured prominently onCMT Outlaws. In 2006, he starred at the Summerfest concert.
He has also made a cameo appearance along withLarry the Cable Guy,Kid Rock, andCharlie Daniels inGretchen Wilson's music video for the song "All Jacked Up". He and Kid Rock also appeared in Wilson's "Redneck Woman" video. Hank also had a small part of Kid Rock's video "Only God Knows Why", and "Redneck Paradise".
In April 2009, Williams released a new single, "Red, White & Pink-Slip Blues", which peaked at number 43 on the country charts. The song was the lead-off single to Williams' album127 Rose Avenue. The album debuted and peaked at number 7 on theBillboard Top Country Albums chart. Also in July 2009,127 Rose Avenue was announced as his last album for Curb Records.[14]
As a multi-instrumentalist, Williams' repertoire of skills includes guitar, bass guitar,upright bass,steel guitar,banjo,Resonator guitar, piano, keyboards, saxophone,harmonica,fiddle, and drums.[5] Williams began his recording career performing covers of his father's songs. Despite catering to the country music market, Williams preferred to listen torhythm and blues.[15] Williams also recorded singles under the name Luke the Drifter Jr.[16] (a reference to his father's alias "Luke the Drifter"),rock and roll singles under the aliases Rockin' Randall[17] and Bocephus[16] (a nickname given to him by his father), andblues under the name Thunderhead Hawkins.[15] Williams' music has been categorized ascountry rock,[4]blues rock,[18]southern rock,[19]outlaw country,[20]rockabilly[18] androck and roll.[18]
Artists who have cited Hank Williams Jr. as an influence include Delta Generators,[21]Walker Hayes,[22]Sam Hunt,[23] Davin James,[24]Shooter Jennings,[25]Wayne Mills,[26] The Sickstring Outlaws[27] andGretchen Wilson.[28]
On April 10, 2006,CMT honored Williams with theJohnny Cash Visionary Award, presenting it to him at the 2006CMT Music Awards. On November 11, 2008, Williams was honored as aBMI 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".[29]
In 2015, Williams was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. On August 12, 2020, Williams was selected to be inducted into theCountry Music Hall of Fame.[6]
His daughter Katherine Williams-Dunning, the only one of his five children to not pursue a music career, died in a car crash on June 13, 2020, at age 27.[30] His son Shelton performs asHank Williams III; his other children includeHolly Williams[31] who is also a musician,Sam Williams, also a musician,[32] as is his grandsonColeman Williams (Hank III's son), who performs under the sobriquet "IV". His wife Mary Jane Thomas died on March 22, 2022, aged 58, after complications from a medical procedure.[33][34] On September 9, 2023, Williams married his long-time friend since 2003, Brandi. The couple became engaged on Mother's Day of that same year.[35][36]
Williams is a registeredRepublican and been politically involved with the party for decades. In the2000 U.S. presidential election, he rerecorded his song "We Are Young Country" to "This is Bush-Cheney Country". On October 15, 2008, at a rally inVirginia Beach for Republican presidential nomineeJohn McCain, he performed "McCain-Palin Tradition", a song in support of McCain and his running mate,Sarah Palin.[37] He has contributed to federal election campaigns, mostly to Republicans, includingMichele Bachmann's 2012 presidential campaign. However, he has donated to some Democrats in the past, most notablyJim Cooper andJohn S. Tanner.[38]
In November 2008, Williams considered a run for the 2012 Republican nomination as aU.S. Senator from Tennessee for the seat held by GOP incumbentBob Corker, although his publicist said regarding Williams "no announcement has been made".[39] Williams ultimately did not run.
In an October 3, 2011, interview withFox News Channel'sFox & Friends, Williams discussed a June golf game where PresidentBarack Obama and Republican House SpeakerJohn Boehner had teamed against Vice PresidentJoe Biden and Ohio GovernorJohn Kasich, saying the match was "one of the biggest political mistakes ever". When asked why the golf game troubled him, Williams stated, "Come on. That'd be like Hitler playing golf withNetanyahu ... in the shape this country is in?" He also said that the President and Vice President were "the enemy" and compared them to "theThree Stooges". Later, anchorGretchen Carlson said to him, "You used the name of one of the most hated people in all of the world to describe,I think, the president." Williams replied, "Well, that is true. But I'm telling you like it is." As a result of his statements,ESPN dropped Williams' opening song from itsMonday Night Football broadcast of theTampa Bay Buccaneers versus theIndianapolis Colts and replaced it with Ken Block and Andrew Copeland ofSister Hazel singing thenational anthem.[40][41]
Williams later said his analogy was "extreme – but it was to make a point", and "some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood ... I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me – how ludicrous that pairing was. They're polar opposites, and it made no sense. They don't see eye to eye and never will". Additionally, Williams said he has "always respected the office of the president ... Working-class people are hurting – and it doesn't seem like anybody cares. When both sides are high-fiving it on the ninth hole when everybody else is without a job – it makes a whole lot of us angry. Something has to change. The policies have to change". ESPN later said it was "extremely disappointed" in Williams' comments, and pulled his opening from that night's broadcast.[42]
Three days later, ESPN announced Williams and his song would not return toMonday Night Football, ending the use of the song that had been part of the broadcast on both ABC and ESPN since 1989.[43] Williams expressed defiance and indifference on his website, and said he was the one who had made the decision. "After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision," he wrote. "By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It's been a great run."[44] Williams' son,Hank Williams III, stayed neutral in the debate, tellingTMZ.com that most musicians, including his father, are "not worthy" of a political discussion.[45]
After his song was pulled fromMonday Night Football, Williams recorded a song criticizing Obama, ESPN andFox & Friends, titled "Keep the Change". He released the track oniTunes and via free download at his website.[46] The song garnered over 180,000 downloads in two days.[47]
Williams continued to make his opinions of Obama known and during a performance at the Iowa State Fair in August 2012,he called Obama a Muslim telling the crowd, "We've got a Muslim president who hates farming, hates the military, hates the U.S. and we hate him!"[48][49]
| This section of abiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Hank Williams Jr." – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Year | Award | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee | Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum |
| 2017 | No. 50 inRolling Stone's 100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time | Rolling Stone[50] |
| 2007 | Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee | Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame |
| 2007 | Tennessean of the Year | Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame |
| 2006 | Johnny Cash Visionary Award | CMT Music Awards |
| 2003 | No. 20 inCMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music | CMT |
| 1996 | Top Vocal Duo of the Year nominationwithHank Williams III | Academy of Country Music[51] |
| 1994 | Composed Theme | Emmy |
| 1993 | Composed Theme | Emmy |
| 1992 | Composed Theme | Emmy |
| 1991 | Composed Theme | Emmy |
| 1990 | Video of the Year –There's a Tear in My Beer | TNN/Music City News |
| 1990 | Vocal Collaboration of the Year –There's a Tear in My Beer | TNN/Music City News |
| 1989 | Top Vocal Duo of the Year nominationwithHank Williams | Academy of Country Music[51] |
| 1989 | Video of the Year –There's a Tear in My Beer | Academy of Country Music |
| 1989 | Song of the Year nomination –There's a Tear in My Beer | Academy of Country Music |
| 1989 | Single Record of the Year nomination –There's a Tear in My Beer | Academy of Country Music |
| 1989 | Entertainer of the Year | Academy of Country Music |
| 1989 | Music Video of the Year –There's a Tear in My Beer | Country Music Association |
| 1989 | Vocal Event of the Year –There's a Tear in My Beer | Country Music Association |
| 1989 | Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals –There's a Tear in My Beer | Grammy Awards |
| 1988 | Entertainer of the Year | Academy of Country Music |
| 1988 | Video of the Year –Young Country | Academy of Country Music |
| 1988 | Top Male Vocalist nomination | Academy of Country Music |
| 1988 | Male Vocalist of the Year nomination | Country Music Association |
| 1988 | Album of the Year –Born to Boogie | Country Music Association |
| 1988 | Entertainer of the Year | Country Music Association |
| 1988 | Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male nomination –Born to Boogie | Grammy Awards |
| 1987 | Top Male Vocalist nomination | Academy of Country Music |
| 1987 | Song of the Year nomination –Born to Boogie | Academy of Country Music |
| 1987 | Single Record of the Year nomination –Born to Boogie | Academy of Country Music |
| 1987 | Entertainer of the Year | Academy of Country Music |
| 1987 | Album of the Year nomination –Born to Boogie | Academy of Country Music |
| 1987 | Entertainer of the Year | Country Music Association |
| 1987 | Music Video of the Year –My Name Is Bocephus | Country Music Association |
| 1987 | Male Vocalist of the Year nomination | Country Music Association |
| 1987 | Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male nomination –Ain't Misbehavin | Grammy Awards |
| 1986 | Top Male Vocalist nomination | Academy of Country Music |
| 1986 | Entertainer of the Year nomination | Academy of Country Music |
| 1986 | Male Vocalist of the Year nomination | Country Music Association |
| 1985 | Music Video of the Year –All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight | Country Music Association |
| 1985 | Male Vocalist of the Year nomination | Country Music Association |
| 1985 | Top Male Vocalist nomination | Academy of Country Music |
| 1985 | Single Record of the Year nomination –I'm for Love | Academy of Country Music |
| 1985 | Entertainer of the Year nomination | Academy of Country Music |
| 1985 | Album of the Year nomination –Five-O | Academy of Country Music |
| 1985 | Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male nomination –All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight | Grammy Awards |
| 1985 | Grammy Award for Best Country Song nomination –All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight | Grammy Awards |
| 1984 | Video of the Year –All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight | Academy of Country Music |
| 1984 | Album of the Year nomination –Man of Steel | Academy of Country Music |
| 1984 | Entertainer of the Year nomination | Academy of Country Music |
| 1983 | Entertainer of the Year nomination | Academy of Country Music |
| 1982 | Top Male Vocalist nomination | Academy of Country Music |
| 1981 | Top Male Vocalist nomination | Academy of Country Music |
| 1980 | Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male nomination –Family Tradition | Grammy Awards |
| 1966 | Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Album nomination –Father and son: Hank Williams and Hank Williams Jr. | Grammy Awards |
| 1965 | Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Album nomination –Hank Williams Jr. Sings the Songs of Hank Williams | Grammy Awards |
He began the slow rebuilding of his career, this time entirely in the Southern country-rock genre.
Williams returned the welcome with an inspired set of country-style rock 'n' roll at its best. [...] a full-speed-ahead set of no-holds-barred rock, blues-rock, and rockabilly rock so intense that Williams himself was forced to partially disrobe near the end of the show.
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