Hank Williams Jr.

Induction Year: 2007

Birth Name: Randall Hank Williams Jr.

Birth Date: 05-26-1949

Place of Birth: Shreveport, Louisiana

Never has the child of a country music legend captivated mass audiences like Hank Williams Jr., the only son of the great Hank Williams. Born Randall Hank Williams but called Hank Jr. from an early age, the son would never escape his father's shadow, but he would grow to headline sold-out arena shows far bigger than his father had ever dreamed of playing.

"I knew that I would never grow up to be a cowboy or a fireman or the president of the United States," Hank Jr. wrote in his Living Proof autobiography. "I knew I'd grow up to be a singer. That's all there ever was. The only option, from the beginning."

Still, he became much more than a singer. Hank Jr. became a songwriter who put his own truth down in verse and rhyme, and who often wrote of the struggles inherent in being the progeny of the man many people consider to be the single greatest artist in the history of country music. Hank Jr.'s five Entertainer of the Year awards — three from the Academy of Country Music and two from the Country Music Association — are evidence that Hank Williams Jr. has been much more than a pale imitation of his father's original artistry.

For years, he floundered, attempting to work as a 2.0 version of Hank Williams. But in 1975, he released Hank Williams Jr. and Friends, an album of distinction and originality, and one that embraced Southern Rock sounds that seemed far removed from his father's honky-tonk.

That album was released after he nearly died in a fall off a Montana mountain. Once he recovered, Hank Jr. determined he would forge a truly original path. His million-selling 1979 album, Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound, was his first platinum calling card, and he became a superstar in the 1980s, scoring hits including "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight," "Texas Women," "Dixie on My Mind," "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)" and "Born to Boogie."

Hank Jr. wound up with 15 Gold albums, 42 Top 10 hits, eight Platinum albums and nine #1 country albums. He also served as the voice of Monday Night Football for 22 years, as each gridiron broadcast began with Hank Jr. hollering, "Are you ready for some football?" The Monday Night Football relationship ended in 2011, but Hank Jr. remained a ticket-selling, songwriting, original force.

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Song Catalog

"A Country Boy Can Survive"

Hank Williams Jr.1982 #2 country, #75 pop
Kid Rock1994 
Hank Williams Jr. (reissue)2007 #47 country

"All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)"

Hank Williams Jr.1981 #1 country
The Marshall Tucker Band2003 
 

"All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight"

Hank Williams, Jr.1984 #10 country
Trick Pony2003 
 

"Angels Are Hard To Find"

Hank Williams Jr.1974 #19 country
Hank Williams Jr. (remake)1991 #59 country
 

"Are You Ready For Some Football?"

Hank Williams Jr.1989 ABC-TV Monday Night Football theme
 

"Attitude Adjustment"

Hank Williams Jr.1984 #5 country

"Born to Boogie"

Hank Williams Jr.1987 #1 country
Lynyrd Skynyrd2003 
 

"Country State of Mind"

(written with Roger Wade)

Hank Williams Jr.1986 #2 country
 

"Dixie on My Mind"

Hank Williams Jr.1981 #1 country

"Family Tradition"

Hank Williams Jr.1979 #4 country
Cracker2003 
Aaron Tippin2003 
 

"Finders Are Keepers"

Hank Williams Jr.1989 #6 country
 

"Good Friends, Good Whiskey, Good Lovin'"

Hank Williams Jr.1990 #10 country
 

"Heaven Can't Be Found"

Hank Williams Jr.1987 #4 country
Dusty Drake2003 
 

"I Don't Have Any More Love Songs"

Merle Haggard1980 
 

"I'm for Love"

Hank Williams Jr.1985 #1 country
 

"If It Will It Will"

Hank Williams Jr.1991 #26 country
.38 Special2003 
 

"If The South Woulda Won"

Hank Williams Jr.1988 #8 country
 

"Major Moves"

Hank Williams Jr.1985 #10 country
John Michael Montgomery2003 
 

"Man of Steel"

Hank Williams Jr.1984 #3 country
 

"Old Habits"

Hank Williams Jr.1980 #6 country
Andy Griggs2003 
Travis Tritt2004 
 

"Queen of My Heart"

Hank Williams Jr.1983 #5 country
 

"Standing in the Shadows"

Hank Williams Jr.1966 #5 country
 

"Stoned at the Jukebox"

Hank Williams Jr.1975 #19 country
Katy Moffatt1999 
 

"Texas Women"

Hank Williams Jr.1981 #1 country
Alan Jackson2007 
 

"The American Dream"

Hank Williams Jr.1982 #5 country

"The Blues Man"

Hank Williams Jr.1980 
Alan Jackson2000 #37 country
George Jones2005 
 

"This Ain't Dallas"

Hank Williams Jr.1985 #4 country
 

"Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound"

Hank Williams Jr.1979 #2 country
Dan Baird2003 
 

"Women I've Never Had"

Hank Williams Jr.1980 #5 country
Montgomery Gentry2003 
 

"Young Country"

Hank Williams Jr. & Others1988 #2 country
Blake Shelton, Trick Pony & Darryl Worley2003 

Other Media

Hank Williams Jr.

Induction Year: 2007