The songs that made Hank Williams, Jr., a Country Music Hall of Famer are just part of the conversation. The songs that kept him out for so long deserve as much consideration.
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0:58 - A new artistic statement
1:48 - A southern boy’s anthem
3:06 - The song that made Hank Jr. an icon
3:51 - Hank’s jazz standard
4:40 - Country radio’s hardest rocking hit ever
5:18 - Flags up for the Confederacy
6:08 - A duet with dad
6:49 - An attack on the president
7:51 - Bad timing?
Not that any should have. Williams has spent the last four decades of his career playing by his own rules so, sure, he was going to upset the establishment. Beginning with the 'Family Tradition' album, he found an original road to travel, but never lost connection to the music his father recorded in giving birth to popularized country music. Like the Outlaw generation before him, he was bold and honest and unwilling to compromise. At times he was offensive, but he never let his focus stray from his true blue fan base.
Williams celebrated smoking, drinking, womanizing and boasting about it all, and never made cartoons out of rural America. At a time when so much of what came from Music City was looking for polish and commercial appeal, he snarled and stared forward behind dark sunglasses and a thick beard that hid scars from a near-fatal fall from Ajax Peak in 1975.
Williams catalog and this song list show his depth of knowledge about music of all sorts. He could croon or simply recite country lyrics while playing acoustic or electric guitars and fiddle. He was known for endless covers and hearty banter on stage, and occasionally for going too far. There are several songs mentioned below that are beyond politically incorrect by 21st century standards. The degree to which this kept him out of the Hall of Fame for so long may never be known, but through the years, the Hall has made it clear that the warmer the personality, the better the chances.
Hank Williams, Jr., Marty Stuart and Dean Dillon were named 2020 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees on Wednesday morning (Aug. 12). It's not clear how or when the medallion ceremony will take place due to the pandemic but for his part, Williams - who had long said he didn't care if he was ever inducted - called it an honor.
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