History Music / HankWilliamsJr

'''Randall Hank Williams''' (born May 26, 1949), better known as Hank Williams, Jr., is a CountryMusic artist. Obviously, he's the son of the legendary Music/HankWilliams. Defying the common pattern for sons of famous musicians, Williams Jr. managed to establish a career at least as fruitful as his father's, in terms of chart and sales success, but did so on his own terms; whereas the elder Hank did so with pure honky tonk, Hank Jr. fused his father's music with Southern rock to create a sound and movement that few have equalled. His son [[Music/HankWilliamsIII Hank III]] and daughter Holly are country music artists in their own right.

** His cover of [[HankWilliams his father's]] "Mind Your Own Business" had Music/RebaMcEntire, Music/TomPetty, Reverend Ike, and Music/WillieNelson.

Randall Hank Williams, known better as Hank Williams, Jr., is a CountryMusic artist. Obviously, he's the son of the legendary Music/HankWilliams. Defying the common pattern for sons of famous musicians, Williams Jr. managed to establish a career at least as fruitful as his father's, in terms of chart and sales success, but did so on his own terms; whereas the elder Hank did so with pure honky tonk, Hank Jr. fused his father's music with Southern rock to create a sound and movement that few have equalled. His son [[Music/HankWilliamsIII Hank III]] and daughter Holly are country music artists in their own right.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:
** 1981: "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)" is full of {{Shout Out}}s to what many of his contemporaries were doing at the time: Music/GeorgeJones is "getting straight", Music/WaylonJennings "is staying home and loving Jessi [Colter] more these days", and Music/JohnnyCash "don't act like he did back in '68".
** 1984's "Video Blues" describes the novelty of buying a VCR and being able to own home copies of movies.
** 1985's "This Ain't Dallas," which [[ShoutOut makes several references]] to then popular primetime soap operas as ''{{Series/Dallas}}'' and ''{{Series/Dynasty}}'' and their characters.
** The [=Y2K=] version of "A Country Boy Can Survive".

** 1981: "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)" is full of {{Shout Out}}s to what many of his contemporaries were doing at the time: Music/GeorgeJones is "getting straight", Music/WaylonJennings "is staying home and loving Jessi more these days", and Music/JohnnyCash "don't act like he did back in '68".

* BreakthroughHit: Even though his actual breakthroughs came in the mid-1960s, with songs like "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" (a cover of one of his father's songs) and "Standing in the Shadows" (where he speaks about being compared to the elder Hank), and many of his early songs are included on "various artists" compilations, just about everything prior to the late 1970s is forgotten, at least as far as radio and the mainstream is concerned. His breakthrough to many is considered to be the 1979 anthematic "Family Tradition."

** His 1988 single "Young Country" featured several up-and-comers and also-rans: Butch Baker, Steve Earle, Highway 101, Dana [=McVicker=], Marty Stuart, Keith Whitley, and T. Graham Brown.

* RearrangeTheSong: "A Country Boy Can Survive", twice. He released a [=Y2K=] version in late 1999 (featuring Chad Brock and GeorgeJones), a re-written patriotic version ("America Will Survive") after 9/11, and re-released the original recording in 2007.

* SequelSong: "All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down"

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Just about anything before the late 70s — he hadn't yet found his Southern rock and outlaw influences, so most of his earlier stuff is more mainstream countrypolitan and/or covers of his dad. Even though he had early #1 hits with "Eleven Roses" and "All for the Love of Sunshine", they are at total odds to his signature sound.

Randall Hank Williams, known better as Hank Williams, Jr., is a CountryMusic artist. Obviously, he's the son of the legendary Music/HankWilliams. Defying the common pattern for sons of famous musicians, Williams Jr. managed to establish a career at least as fruitful as his father's, in terms of chart and sales success. His son [[Music/HankWilliamsIII Hank III]] and daughter Holly are country music artists in their own right.

Despite what you might have read on some websites, Hank Williams, Jr. is '''''not''''' the father of Music/KidRock. This rumor was based on a misinterpretation of a lyric sung by Williams in his collaboration with the latter. Williams' real son, Hank III, addressed this rumor in his song "Not Everybody Likes Us".

%%Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1312676143002200100
%%Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.

!!Tropes present:

* PosthumousCollaboration: "There's a Tear in My Beer", which incorporated a vocal track recorded by his father. The video digitally inserted Hank Jr. into a performance of Sr.'s.
** Not only that, but he recorded an entire album called ''Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts'', using Hank Sr.'s vocal tracks, and newly recorded vocals by Hank Jr. and Hank III.

* SignatureStyle: He likes to write about the South, a lot. Usually in the form of thumping uptempos.

* SunglassesAtNight: It's ''rare'' that you see Hank without sunglasses, regardless of what time it is.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: 1984's "Video Blues" describes the novelty of buying a VCR and being able to own home copies of movies.

* FanNickname: "Bocephus," a nickname his father gave him. Hank Jr. also recorded some songs as "Luke the Drifter Jr." as an homage to his father's alter ego of Luke the Drifter.

* RoleEndingMisdemeanor: He was then fired from MNF for some rather...unflattering words on President Obama which the RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment does not allow us to reprint here.

** On the other side, he at least had the presence of mind to remove "groovy" from his cover of "Wild Thing."

* SignatureSong: "A Country Boy Can Survive." This song is so ingrained with his sound that he released a [=Y2K=] version in late 1999, a re-written patriotic version ("America Will Survive") after 9/11, and re-released the original recording in 2007.

* TotallyRadical: Come January 2000, the [=Y2K=] version of "A Country Boy Can Survive" (which featured GeorgeJones and Chad Brock) was suddenly very, very dated.

** RoleEndingMisdemeanor: He was then fired from MNF for some rather...unflattering words on President Obama which the RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment does not allow us to reprint here.

* RepurposedPopSong: "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" was repurposed by {{ABC}} for ''Monday Night Football''.

Early in his career, Hank Jr. sang most of his dad's material, but he eventually grew tired of imitating his father and decided to forge a sound of his own, taking cues from Southern rock. Not surprisingly, the demons hit him pretty hard as well -- pills and booze nearly drove him to suicide in 1974, but he soon regrouped. In 1975, he fell 442 feet off a Montana mountain and seriously damaged his skull, re-emerging in 1977 after re-learning how to sing and talk.

Randall Hank Williams, known better as Hank Williams, Jr., is a CountryMusic artist. Obviously, he's the son of the legendary HankWilliams. Defying the common pattern for sons of famous musicians, Williams Jr. managed to establish a career at least as fruitful as his father's, in terms of chart and sales success. His son [[HankWilliamsIII Hank III]] and daughter Holly are country music artists in their own right.

Despite what you might have read on some websites, Hank Williams, Jr. is '''''not''''' the father of KidRock. This rumor was based on a misinterpretation of a lyric sung by Williams in his collaboration with the latter. Williams' real son, Hank III, addressed this rumor in his song "Not Everybody Likes Us".