Biography of Hank Williams, Jr.

Hank Williams, Jr.'s 1966 recording of "Standing in the Shadows (Of a Very Famous Man)" told us how tough it is to be the son of country music's greatest legend. Up to this point, this enormous talent in his own right had made something of a career doing his father's old songs, and doing them well. When in the mid-'70s he embarked on his own musical journey, with his own sound of country, country/rock, and rockabilly, he attracted a following that would have astonished even his famous father. In 1975 he left Nashville for Alabama to prepare the Hank Williams Jr. and Friends album, the first of his unique Southern-rock albums. In spite of a terrible climbing accident in Montana, Williams went on to bigger and more frequent hits. When "My Rowdy Friends" reached #1 in 1981, it was his sixth chart-topper. In the late '80s he was the biggest draw of any country music star or act, packing them in coast to coast, to the degree that he had eight albums on the Billboard charts simultaneously. Like his father, Williams is a cult figure, enjoying the limelight created by his own talent and opening for Monday Night Football over the past three years. ~ David Vinopal

Biography of Hank Williams, Jr.

Hank Williams, Jr.'s 1966 recording of "Standing in the Shadows (Of a Very Famous Man)" told us how tough it is to be the son of country music's greatest legend. Up to this point, this enormous talent in his own right had made something of a career doing his father's old songs, and doing them well. When in the mid-'70s he embarked on his own musical journey, with his own sound of country, country/rock, and rockabilly, he attracted a following that would have astonished even his famous father. In 1975 he left Nashville for Alabama to prepare the Hank Williams Jr. and Friends album, the first of his unique Southern-rock albums. In spite of a terrible climbing accident in Montana, Williams went on to bigger and more frequent hits. When "My Rowdy Friends" reached #1 in 1981, it was his sixth chart-topper. In the late '80s he was the biggest draw of any country music star or act, packing them in coast to coast, to the degree that he had eight albums on the Billboard charts simultaneously. Like his father, Williams is a cult figure, enjoying the limelight created by his own talent and opening for Monday Night Football over the past three years. ~ David Vinopal