b. Randall Hank Williams Jnr., 26 May 1949, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. The son of the most famous man in country music, Hank Williams, he was nicknamed Bocephus after a puppet on the Grand Ole Opry. Being the son of a country legend has brought financial security, but it was difficult for him to firmly establish his own individuality. His mother, Audrey, was determined that he would follow in his father’s footsteps. When only eight years old, he was touring, performing with his father’s songs, and even appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. He also had a high school band, Rockin’ Randall And The Rockets. He signed for the same label as his father, MGM Records, as soon as his voice broke. In the 60s, Williams had country hits with ‘Long Gone Lonesome Blues’, ‘Cajun Baby’, a revival of ‘Endless Sleep’, and the only version of ‘Nobody’s Child’ ever to make the country charts. He also recorded an embarrassing narration about his relationship with his father, ‘Standing In The Shadows’. Even worse was his maudlin dialogue as Luke the Drifter Jnr., ‘I Was With Red Foley (The Night He Passed Away)’. He copied his father’s style for the soundtrack of the film biography of his father, Your Cheatin’ Heart (1964), and starred in the inferior A Time To Sing. He was just 15 years old and Connie Francis was 26 when they released a duet about adultery, ‘Walk On By’.
In 1974, Williams Jnr. moved to Alabama where he recorded a hard-hitting album, Hank Williams Jnr. And Friends, with Charlie Daniels and other top-class southern country rockers. Like his father, he has had arguments with Audrey, gone through an unhappy marriage and overindulged in alcohol and drugs. ‘Getting Over You’ relates to his life, and in another song, he explains that it’s the ‘Family Tradition’. On 8 August 1975, Hank Williams Jnr. fell 500 feet down a Montana mountain face. Although close to death, he made a remarkable recovery, needing extensive medical and cosmetic surgery. Half of his face was reconstructed and he had to learn to speak (and sing) all over again. It was two years before he could perform once more. Since 1977, Williams Jnr., who is managed by his opening act Merle Kilgore, has been associated with the ‘outlaw country music’ genre. Waylon Jennings, for example, wrote Williams Jnr.’s country hit ‘Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?’ and produced his album The New South. In 1983, he had eight albums on the US country charts simultaneously, yet was not chosen as Entertainer of the Year in the Country Music Awards. In 1985, Williams released his fiftieth album, Five-O. Williams’ songs often lack distinctive melodies, while the lyrics concentrate on his macho, defiant persona. His best compositions include ‘Montana Cafe’, ‘OD’d In Denver’, the jazzy ‘Women I’ve Never Had’ and his tale of a visit to a gay disco, ‘Dinosaur’. ‘If The South Woulda Won’ was criticized for being racist but, possibly, he was being sardonic. However, there was no mistaking of his tone towards Saddam Hussein in ‘Don’t Give Us A Reason’. Among his other successes are ‘I Fought The Law’, ‘Tennessee Stud’, ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’’ and his cri de coeur, ‘If Heaven Ain’t A Lot Like Dixie’.
Although Williams has shown a determination to move away from his father’s shadow, he still sings about him. Many tribute songs by others - ‘If You Don’t Like Hank Williams’ and ‘Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?’ - gain an extra dimension through his interpretations. Williams himself was the subject of a tribute from David Allan Coe, who insisted that a man of six feet four inches and 15 stone should not be called ‘Jnr’. Williams’ rowdy image did not fit in well with the clean-cut ‘hat acts’ of the early 90s, and his record sales and air play faltered. He remains a sell-out concert draw, although a well-publicized incident during 1992 where he arrived onstage drunk, and spent most of the 20-minute performance insulting his audience, did little for his status in the Nashville community, although his father would have been proud. He has also performed live with his own son, Hank Williams III, and returned to recording in 1999 with the typically forthright Stormy.
