Hank Williams, Jr.
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Hank Williams, Jr. (born May 26, 1949) is a country singer, son of country music pioneer Hank Williams, Sr. and father of Hank III and Holly Williams.
Born Randall Hank Williams in Shreveport, Louisiana and known by the nickname Bocephus, he was raised by his mother Audrey after his father's death in 1953. He began performing when eight years old, and in 1963 made his recording debut with Lone Gone Lonesome Blue, a staple of his father's career.
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, and he became best known for hits like Family Tradition and Born to Boogie.
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 with Southern rock musicians like Toy Caldwell, Marshall Tucker Band and Charlie Daniels.
In 1975, he was severely injured in a mountain-climbing accident in Montana. Upon his recovery (which took two years), Williams worked with Waylon Jennings on The New South. He didn't reach the charts again until the late 1970s, with I Fought the Law (Bobby Fuller), Family Tradition and Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound. During the 1980s, Williams became a country music superstar known for catchy anthems and hard-edged rock-influenced country. By the end of the decade, however, the hits had dried up, with his last major success being There's a Tear in My Beer, a duet with his father created using electronic dubbing techniques.
He is probably best known today as the performer of the theme song for Monday Night Football, based on All My Rowdy Friends, and also for recording the "unofficial theme song of Operation Desert Storm", Don't Give Us A Reason, whose most well-remembered lyrics were, "Hey Ol' Saddam you figured wrong, when you thought the whole world would back down/You can take your poison gas and stick it up your sassafras."
Discography
- 1963 - Songs of Hank Williams
- 1964 - The Era of Hank Williams
- 1965 - Ballads of the Hills & Plains
- 1966 - Blues My Name
- 1966 - Country Shadows
- 1967 - My Own Way
- 1968 - My Songs
- 1969 - Luke the Drifter, Jr.
- 1969 - Luke the Drifter, Jr., Vol. 2
- 1969 - Songs My Father Left Me
- 1970 - Luke the Drifter, Jr., Vol. 3
- 1970 - Sunday Morning
- 1972 - 11 Roses
- 1972 - Finders Are Keepers
- 1973 - After You/Pride's Not Hard to Swallow
- 1973 - Just Pickin', No Singin'
- 1974 - Living Proof
- 1974 - The Last Love Song
- 1975 - Bocephus
- 1976 - Hank Williams, Jr. and Friends
- 1977 - One Night Stands
- 1977 - The New South
- 1979 - Family Tradition
- 1979 - Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound
- 1980 - Habits Old and New
- 1981 - Rowdy
- 1981 - The Pressure Is On
- 1982 - High Notes
- 1983 - Man of Steel
- 1983 - Strong Stuff
- 1984 - Major Moves
- 1985 - Five-O
- 1986 - Montana Cafe
- 1987 - Born to Boogie
- 1988 - Wild Streak
- 1990 - Lone Wolf
- 1991 - Maverick
- 1991 - Pure Hank
- 1993 - Out of Left Field
- 1994 - The Real Deal
- 1995 - Hog Wild
- 1996 - AKA Wham Bam Sam
- 1999 - Stormy
- 2002 - The Almeria Club Recordings
- 2003 - I'm One of You