Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style has been described as a blend of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

. He is the son of country musician

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

and the father of musicians Sam Williams, Holly Williams and Hank Williams III, and the grandfather of Coleman Williams. He is also the half-brother of

Jett Williams Jett Williams (born Antha Belle Jett; January 6, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. Early life Born Antha Belle Jett, she is the daughter of country music icon Hank Williams and Bobbie Jett (1922–1974), whose brief relationship with H ...

. 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 of ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'', in which at the age of fourteen he sang several songs associated with his father. Later that year, he was a guest star on ''

Shindig! ''Shindig!'' is an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles,country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

genre, his style began slowly to evolve. His career was interrupted by a near-fatal fall while he was climbing Ajax Peak in Montana on August 8, 1975. After an extended recovery, he rebuilt his career in both the

country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...

and outlaw country scenes. As a multi-instrumentalist, Williams' repertoire of musical instrument skills includes guitar, bass guitar,

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

, piano, keyboards, saxophone,

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

, and drums. In 2020, Williams Jr. was inducted into the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

Early life

Williams was born Randall Hank Williams on May 26, 1949, in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

. His

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

nicknamed him Bocephus (after

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

comedian Rod Brasfield's ventriloquist dummy). 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. Among these figures of influence were

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its li ...

, and

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

. Williams first stepped onto the stage and sang his father's songs when he was eight years old. He attended John Overton High School in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, where he would bring his guitar to music class and play for pep rallies and performances with the choir.

Career

In 1964, Williams made his recording debut with " Long Gone Lonesome Blues", one of his father's many classic songs. He provided the singing voice of his father in the 1964 film '' Your Cheatin' Heart.'' He also recorded an album of duets with recordings of his father.

A change in appearance and musical direction

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 to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, in an attempt to refocus both his creative energy and his troubled personal life, Williams began playing music with

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

and Outlaw country musicians including

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

Toy Caldwell Toy Talmadge Caldwell Jr. (November 13, 1947 – February 25, 1993) was an American musician who was most notable as the lead guitarist and main songwriter of the 1970s Southern Rock group The Marshall Tucker Band. A founding member of the b ...

, and

Charlie Daniels Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, and was a pioneering contribution to Southern rock and progressive country. He was ...

. '' 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 southwestern

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. While climbing

Ajax Peak Ajax Peak is a mountain summit located in San Miguel County of southwest Colorado, United States. It is situated on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest, and is the iconic landmark visible three miles east of the community of Telluride ...

on the

continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

(

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

border) west of Jackson, the snow beneath Williams collapsed and he fell almost onto rock, causing multiple severe skull and facial fractures. 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 film '' Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story''. To hide his scars and disfigurement from the accident, Williams grew a beard and began wearing sunglasses and a

cowboy hat The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, C ...

. The beard, hat, and sunglasses have since become Williams' signature look. In 1977, Williams recorded and released ''One Night Stands'' and ''The New South'', and worked closely with his old friend

on the song "Once and For All". In 1980, he appeared on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

show ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...

'' during Season 5, along with the Shake Russell- Dana Cooper Band.

Country music career

In 1976, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' wrote that Williams' "mainstream country material has always been among

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

s best". 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 ''High Notes'' is the thirty-fourth studio album by American musician Hank Williams Jr. It was released by Elektra Records, Elektra/Curb Records in April 1982, making it Williams' eighth studio album for Elektra/Curb and his ninth overall for the ...

'', '' 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 least

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. 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 the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...

. In 1987, 1988, and 1989, he won the same award from the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

. The pinnacle album of his acceptance and popularity was '' Born 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 by

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

native Terri 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 the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. 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 named ''Video of the Year'' by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. Williams would go on to win a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

in 1990 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration. He is well known for his hit " A Country Boy Can Survive" and as the performer of the theme song for ''

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

'', based on his 1984 hit " All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight". In 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994, Williams' opening themes for ''Monday Night Football'' earned him four

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s. In 2000, he provided the voice of Injun Joe in '' Tom 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 on ''CMT Outlaws''. In 2006, he starred at the Summerfest concert. He has also made a cameo appearance along with

Larry the Cable Guy Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally as Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian, actor, and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a ...

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter. After establishing himself in the Music of Detroit#Hip-hop, Detroit hip-hop scene, he broke through into m ...

, and

in Gretchen 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' album '' 127 Rose Avenue''. The album debuted and peaked at number 7 on the ''Billboard'' Top Country Albums chart. Also in July 2009, ''127 Rose Avenue'' was announced as his last album for Curb Records.

Musical style

As a multi-instrumentalist, Williams' repertoire of skills includes guitar, bass guitar,

Resonator guitar A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar (often generically called a " Dobro") is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar' ...

, piano, keyboards, saxophone,

, and drums. Williams began his recording career performing covers of his father's songs. Despite catering to the country music market, Williams preferred to listen to

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

. Williams also recorded singles under the name Luke the Drifter Jr. (a reference to his father's alias "Luke the Drifter"),

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

singles under the aliases Rockin' Randall and Bocephus (a nickname given to him by his father), and

under the name Thunderhead Hawkins. Williams' music has been categorized as

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

, outlaw country,

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

and

Legacy

Artists who have cited Hank Williams Jr. as an influence include Delta Generators, Walker Hayes,

Sam Hunt Sam Lowry Hunt (born December 8, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt played American football, football in his high school and college years and once attempted to pursue a professional sport ...

, Davin James, Shooter Jennings, Wayne Mills, The Sickstring Outlaws and Gretchen Wilson. On April 10, 2006, CMT honored Williams with the

Visionary Award, presenting it to him at the 2006

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The ceremony launched in 1967 as Music City News Awards; it is the oldest award show currently airing under Paramount Global. The ceremony ...

. 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 2015, Williams was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. On August 12, 2020, Williams was selected to be inducted into the

Personal life

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. His son Shelton performs as Hank Williams III; his other children include Holly Williams who is also a musician, Sam Williams, also a musician, as is his grandson Coleman 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. 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.

Politics

Williams is a registered Republican and been politically involved with the party for decades. In the 2000 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 in

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...

for Republican presidential nominee

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

, he performed "McCain-Palin Tradition", a song in support of McCain and his running mate,

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...

. He has contributed to federal election campaigns, mostly to Republicans, including

Michele Bachmann Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican P ...

's 2012 presidential campaign. However, he has donated to some Democrats in the past, most notably

Jim Cooper James Hayes Shofner Cooper (born June 19, 1954) is an American lawyer, businessman, professor, and politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for (based in Nashville and containing parts of Davidson ...

and John S. Tanner. In November 2008, Williams considered a run for the 2012 Republican nomination as a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from Tennessee for the seat held by GOP incumbent Bob Corker, although his publicist said regarding Williams "no announcement has been made". Williams ultimately did not run.

2011 ''Fox and Friends'' controversy

In an October 3, 2011, interview with

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...

's '' Fox & Friends'', Williams discussed a June golf game where President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and Republican House Speaker

John Boehner John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. representative ...

had teamed against Vice President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

and Ohio Governor

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

, 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 with Netanyahu ... in the shape this country is in?" He also said that the President and Vice President were "the enemy" and compared them to "the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

". Later, anchor

Gretchen Carlson Gretchen Elizabeth Carlson (born June 21, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist, writer, and television personality. Carlson was born and raised in Minnesota. A talented youth violinist, Carlson competed in a number of music contests befor ...

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 ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

dropped Williams' opening song from its ''

'' broadcast of the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

versus the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

and replaced it with Ken Block and Andrew Copeland of Sister Hazel singing the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

. 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. Three days later, ESPN announced Williams and his song would not return to ''Monday Night Football'', ending the use of the song that had been part of the broadcast on both ABC and ESPN since 1989. 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." Williams' son, Hank Williams III, stayed neutral in the debate, telling TMZ.com that most musicians, including his father, are "not worthy" of a political discussion. After his song was pulled from ''Monday Night Football,'' Williams recorded a song criticizing Obama, ESPN and '' Fox & Friends'', titled " Keep the Change". He released the track on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

and via free download at his website. The song garnered over 180,000 downloads in two days. 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!"

Discography

*'' Your Cheatin' Heart'' (1964) *'' Connie Francis and Hank Williams Jr. Sing Great Country Favorites'' (1964) *'' Ballads of the Hills and Plains'' (1965) *'' Blues My Name'' (1965) *''Country Shadows'' (1966) *'' A Time to Sing'' (1967) *''My Own Way'' (1967) *''My Songs'' (1967) *''Luke The Drifter Jr.'' (1968) *'' Songs My Father Left Me'' (1969) *'' Luke the Drifter Jr. Vol. 2'' (1969) *'' Live at Cobo Hall'' (1969) *''Sunday Morning'' (1969) *''Removing The Shadow'' (1970) *''Luke The Drifter Jr. Vol. 3'' (1970) *''Singing My Songs: Johnny Cash'' (1970) *''I've Got A Right To Cry'' (1971) *''Sweet Dreams'' (1971) *''All For The Love of Sunshine'' (1971) *''Whole Lotta Loving'' (1972) *''Eleven Roses'' (1972) *'' After You, Pride's Not Hard to Swallow'' (1973) *''Living Proof'' (1974) *''The Last Love Song'' (1974) *''Bocephus'' (1975) *'' Hank Williams Jr. and Friends'' (1975) *''One Night Stands'' (1977) *''The New South'' (1977) *'' Family Tradition'' (1979) *'' Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound'' (1979) *'' Habits Old and New'' (1980) *'' Rowdy'' (1981) *'' The Pressure Is On'' (1981) *''

'' (1982) *'' Strong Stuff'' (1983) *'' Man of Steel'' (1983) *'' Major Moves'' (1984) *'' Five-O'' (1985) *'' Montana Cafe'' (1986) *'' Hank Live'' (1987) *'' Born to Boogie'' (1987) *'' Wild Streak'' (1988) *'' Lone Wolf'' (1990) *''

Pure Hank ''Pure Hank'' is the forty-third studio album by American musician Hank Williams Jr. It was released by Warner Bros./ Curb Records in April 1991. "If It Will, It Will" and "Angels Are Hard to Find" were released as singles with the former becomin ...

'' (1991) *'' Maverick'' (1992) *''

Out of Left Field "Out of left field" (also "out in left field", and simply "left field" or "leftfield") is American slang meaning "unexpected", "odd" or "strange". Usage In ''Safire's Political Dictionary'', columnist William Safire writes that the phrase "ou ...

'' (1993) *'' Hog Wild'' (1995) *'' A.K.A. Wham Bam Sam'' (1996) *'' Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts'' (1996) *'' Stormy'' (1999) *'' The Almeria Club Recordings'' (2002) *'' I'm One of You'' (2003) *'' 127 Rose Avenue'' (2009) *'' Old School New Rules'' (2012) * '' It's About Time'' (2016) * '' Rich White Honky Blues'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

References and notes

External links

* * * * (primarily under 'Williams, Hank, 1949–' without 'Jr.') {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Hank Jr 1949 births American country singer-songwriters American country guitarists American country rock musicians American country rock singers American rockabilly guitarists American rock double-bassists American rock guitarists American male singer-songwriters American people of English descent American Southern rock musicians American blues rock musicians Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Country musicians from Louisiana Curb Records artists Emmy Award winners Grammy Award winners Living people Musicians from Shreveport, Louisiana Outlaw country singers People from Henry County, Tennessee Rock and roll musicians Singer-songwriters from Louisiana Southern rock fiddlers Tennessee Republicans Hank Jr.