For most young men, becoming their own man is one of the most important, if not the most important, part of growing up. Now, as difficult as that is already, imagine if you’re the son of a celebrity. It’s a journey from the past that no one seems to be able to escape due to the enormous shadow they have to overcome. On the face of it, this seems like an impossible feat. Well, that’s the exact feat that Hank Williams Jr. overcame as the son of Hank Williams.
For the longest time, Hank Williams Jr. and his father were inseparable. Everyone wanted Williams to be his father, sing like his father, and live his life like his father. However, Williams concluded that if he wanted to be recognized for his own talents, he would have to undergo a complete transformation. Which he accomplished in his early twenties.
Hank Williams Jr.’s need for freedom
Of the many times Williams has spoken about his father, it was one of the interviews in which he became the most transparent the The David Letterman Show in 1982. In context, Williams was 33 years old and had eight albums in the country charts. However, prior to this solo success, he had spent most of his previous career imitating his father and appeasing the fans who wanted him to do so. Thus, Williams Letterman said, “Hank Williams Jr. That’s the name that gets you started well in some ways” and “closes doors in other ways.”
“It was fun for a little kid to do Hank Williams,” Williams said when recalling his years as a child musician, “but it was just as much fun for the man.” Moreover, when Williams Sr. died, Hank Williams believed that audiences “wanted any part of him they could get back.”
Given this idea, Williams believed that he owed it to his father’s fans. Thus, he would continue his legacy by performing his music and imitating his ways until his early twenties. That’s when he decided to free himself and become his own man.
Achieving Musical Independence
In typical Hank Williams fashion, he gave a simple answer as to how to achieve this freedom. Telling Letterman that all it takes is to “write songs, play shows and show off”. Although Williams and fans know it’s much more complicated than that. Williams testified to this fact, noting that his success is largely due to people like the Marshall Tucker Band, the Allman Brothers, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings, who paved the way for the kind of music he wanted to make.
When this wave of music became popular, Williams knew he didn’t have to sing “Your Cheatin’ Heart” sadly and slowly anymore. Instead, he could pick up an electric guitar and write songs like “Dinosaur” and “A Country Boy Can Survive,” and as a result, become one of the greatest country music outlaws of all time.
Photo by Terry White/Getty Images of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
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