Hank Williams Jr. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hank Williams Jr.
Williams in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Randall Hank Williams
Born	(1949-05-26) May 26, 1949 (age 76) Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Country rock country outlaw country Blues
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter musician
Instruments	Vocals guitar banjo piano keyboards harmonica fiddle drums
Years active	1963–present
Labels	MGM Warner Bros. Curb Bocephus NASH Icon
Children	5, including Hank Williams III and Holly Williams

Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. His music mixes rock, blues, and country styles. He is the son of famous country musician Hank Williams. His children, Sam Williams, Holly Williams, and Hank Williams III, are also musicians. His grandson, Coleman Williams, is also a musician. He is also the half-brother of Jett Williams.

Williams started his career by singing his father's songs and copying his father's style. His first TV appearance was in December 1963 on The Ed Sullivan Show. He was fourteen years old and sang several songs his father was known for. The next year, he was a guest on Shindig!.

As Williams grew, he wanted to find his own unique sound in country music. His career was paused when he had a serious climbing accident on Ajax Peak in Montana on August 8, 1975. After a long time recovering, he restarted his career. He became known in the country rock and outlaw country music scenes. Williams plays many instruments, including guitar, bass guitar, upright bass, steel guitar, banjo, dobro, piano, keyboards, saxophone, harmonica, fiddle, and drums. In 2020, Hank Williams Jr. was added to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Williams was born Randall Hank Williams on May 26, 1949, in Shreveport, Louisiana. His father gave him the nickname Bocephus. This name came from a puppet used by a comedian at the Grand Ole Opry. After his father passed away in 1953, his mother, Audrey Williams, raised him.

When he was a child, many musicians visited his family. These artists taught him how to play different instruments and various music styles. Some of these important musicians included Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Fats Domino, Earl Scruggs, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Williams first sang his father's songs on stage when he was eight years old.

He went to John Overton High School in Nashville, Tennessee. There, he often brought his guitar to music class. He played for school pep rallies and performed with the choir.

Music Career

In 1964, Williams recorded his first song, "Long Gone Lonesome Blues." This was one of his father's famous classic songs.

He also sang for his father's character in the 1964 movie Your Cheatin' Heart. He even recorded an album where he sang duets with his father's original recordings.

Finding His Own Sound

Williams had many country hits in the 1960s and early 1970s. But he felt like he was just copying his father. He wanted to create his own musical style.

By the mid-1970s, Williams started to change his music. He moved to Alabama to focus on his music and personal life. There, he began playing with Southern rock and Outlaw country musicians. These included Waylon Jennings, Toy Caldwell, and Charlie Daniels. Their work together led to his important album, Hank Williams Jr. and Friends (1975).

On August 8, 1975, Williams had a very serious mountain climbing accident in Montana. He was climbing Ajax Peak when the snow gave way. He fell almost 500 feet onto rocks. This caused many severe injuries to his head and face. Williams spent two years recovering. He had to learn how to talk and sing again. He also had 17 surgeries to fix his skull and face.

A TV movie called Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story was made about his accident and recovery. To hide his scars, Williams grew a beard and started wearing sunglasses and a cowboy hat. This look became his signature style.

In 1977, Williams released the albums One Night Stands and The New South. He also worked with his friend Waylon Jennings on the song "Once and For All." In 1980, he appeared on the PBS show Austin City Limits.

Becoming a Country Music Star

In 1976, Rolling Stone magazine said that Williams' country music was among the best. He released many albums in the 1980s, sometimes two in one year. Albums like Family Tradition, Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound, and Born to Boogie brought him many hits.

Between 1979 and 1992, Williams released 21 albums. All of them sold enough copies to be certified at least gold. From 1979 to 1990, he had 30 songs reach the Top Ten on the Billboard Country charts. Eight of these songs reached No. 1. In total, he had 44 Top Ten songs and 10 No. 1 songs in his career.

In 1982, he had nine albums on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart at the same time. These were all new albums, not collections of old songs. In 1987 and 1988, the Country Music Association named Williams Entertainer of the Year. He also won the same award from the Academy of Country Music in 1987, 1988, and 1989. His album Born to Boogie was a huge success.

In the 1980s, Williams Jr. became a country music superstar. He was known for his catchy songs and rock-influenced country style. His songs like "Family Tradition," "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound," and "Born to Boogie" often reached the top spots on the charts.

The hit song "Wild Streak" (1987) was co-written by Houston native Terri Sharp. Both Williams and Sharp received gold records for this song. In 1988, he released "If the South Woulda Won," a song about Southern pride. It refers to a made-up victory for the South in the Civil War.

His 1989 hit "There's a Tear in My Beer" was a duet with his father. They used special technology to combine their recordings. The music video for the song showed old TV footage of Hank Williams performing. Then, Williams' recordings were added, making it look like he was singing with his father. The video was very popular and won Video of the Year from both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. Williams also won a Grammy Award in 1990 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.

He is also famous for his song "A Country Boy Can Survive." He also performed the theme song for Monday Night Football. This song was based on his 1984 hit "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight." From 1991 to 1994, Williams won four Emmy Awards for his Monday Night Football opening themes.

Williams in 2006

In 2000, he was the voice of Injun Joe in the movie Tom Sawyer. In 2001, Williams Jr. rewrote his hit "A Country Boy Can Survive" after the events of 9/11. He renamed it "America Can Survive." In 2004, Williams was featured on CMT Outlaws. In 2006, he performed at the Summerfest concert.

He has also appeared in music videos for other artists. He was in Gretchen Wilson's video for "All Jacked Up" with Larry the Cable Guy, Kid Rock, and Charlie Daniels. He and Kid Rock also appeared in Wilson's "Redneck Woman" video. Hank also had small parts in Kid Rock's videos "Only God Knows Why" and "Redneck Paradise."

In April 2009, Williams released a new song, "Red, White & Pink-Slip Blues." It reached number 43 on the country charts. This song was the first single from his album 127 Rose Avenue. The album reached number 7 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. In July 2009, it was announced that 127 Rose Avenue would be his last album for Curb Records.

Musical Style and Influences

Williams is a multi-instrumentalist. He plays guitar, bass guitar, upright bass, steel guitar, banjo, Resonator guitar, piano, keyboards, saxophone, harmonica, and drums. He started his career by covering his father's songs. Even though he played country music, Williams also enjoyed listening to rhythm and blues.

Williams also recorded songs under different names. He used "Luke the Drifter Jr." (a nod to his father's alias). He recorded rock and roll songs as "Rockin' Randall" and "Bocephus." He also recorded blues music as "Thunderhead Hawkins." Williams' music is known for mixing country rock, blues rock, southern rock, outlaw country, rockabilly, and rock and roll.

Legacy and Awards

Many artists have said that Hank Williams Jr. influenced their music. These include Delta Generators, Walker Hayes, Sam Hunt, Davin James, Shooter Jennings, Wayne Mills, The Sickstring Outlaws, and Gretchen Wilson.

On April 10, 2006, CMT honored Williams with the Johnny Cash Visionary Award. He received it at the 2006 CMT Music Awards. On November 11, 2008, Williams was honored as a BMI Icon. This award is given to artists and songwriters who have had a "unique and lasting influence on generations of music makers."

In 2015, Williams was added to the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. On August 12, 2020, Williams was chosen to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Personal Life

His daughter, Katherine Williams-Dunning, passed away in a car crash on June 13, 2020. She was 27 years old and was the only one of his five children who did not become a musician. His son, Shelton, performs as Hank Williams III. His other children include Holly Williams, who is also a musician, and Sam, also a musician. His grandson, Coleman Williams (Hank III's son), performs as "IV." His wife, Mary Jane Thomas, passed away on March 22, 2022, at age 58, due to complications from a medical procedure. On September 9, 2023, Williams married Brandi, who had been his friend since 2003. They got engaged on Mother's Day earlier that year.

Political Views

Williams is a registered Republican. He has been involved in politics with the party for many years. In the 2000 U.S. presidential election, he changed his song "We Are Young Country" to "This is Bush-Cheney Country." On October 15, 2008, he performed "McCain-Palin Tradition" at a rally for Republican presidential candidate John McCain. He has given money to federal election campaigns, mostly to Republicans. However, he has also donated to some Democrats in the past.

In November 2008, Williams thought about running for a U.S. Senator seat from Tennessee in 2012. He decided not to run in the end.

2011 Fox and Friends Discussion

On October 3, 2011, Williams was interviewed on Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends. He talked about a golf game that happened in June. President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner played against Vice President Joe Biden and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Williams said the game was "one of the biggest political mistakes ever." When asked why it bothered him, Williams said it was like "Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu... in the shape this country is in?" He also said the President and Vice President were "the enemy" and compared them to "the Three Stooges."

Later, anchor Gretchen 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." Because of his comments, ESPN removed Williams' opening song from its Monday Night Football broadcast. They played the national anthem instead.

Williams later said his comparison was "extreme – but it was to make a point." He added, "some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood... I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me – how ridiculous that pairing was. They're polar opposites, and it made no sense. They don't see eye to eye and never will." Williams also said he has "always respected the office of the president." He explained, "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 they were "extremely disappointed" in Williams' comments. They pulled his opening from that night's broadcast.

Three days later, ESPN announced that Williams and his song would not return to Monday Night Football. This ended the use of the song that had been part of the broadcast since 1989. Williams said he was the one who made the decision. He wrote on his website, "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." Williams' son, Hank Williams III, did not take sides in the discussion. He told TMZ.com that most musicians, including his father, are "not worthy" of a political discussion.

After his song was removed from Monday Night Football, Williams recorded a song called "Keep the Change." It criticized Obama, ESPN, and Fox & Friends. He released the song on iTunes and as a free download on his website. The song was downloaded over 180,000 times in two days.

Williams continued to share his opinions about Obama. During a performance at the Iowa State Fair in August 2012, he said to the crowd, "We've got a president who hates farming, hates the military, hates the U.S. and we hate him!"

Discography

Awards and Nominations

Images for kids

• 

  Williams performing at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, 2006

See also

In Spanish: Hank Williams Jr. para niños