Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr., is an American singer, songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern rock, blues, and traditional country. He is the son of legendary country music singer Hank Williams and the father of Hank Williams III, Holly Williams, Hilary Williams, Samuel Williams, and Katie Williams.
Williams began his career by following in his famed father 's footsteps, singing his father 's songs and imitating his father 's style. Williams 's own style slowly evolved as he struggled to find his own voice and place within the country music industry. This trend was interrupted by a near-fatal fall off the side of Ajax Peak in Montana on
…show more content…
Williams provided the singing voice of his father[6] in the 1964 film Your Cheatin ' Heart.[7] He also recorded an album of duets with recordings of his father.[6]
A change in appearance and musical direction[edit]
Although Williams 's recordings earned him numerous country hits throughout the 1960s and early 1970s with his role as a "Hank Williams impersonator", he became disillusioned and severed ties with his mother.
By the mid-1970s Williams began to pursue a musical direction that would eventually make him a superstar.[citation needed] While recording a series of moderately successful songs, Williams began a heavy pattern of both drug and alcohol abuse. Upon moving to Alabama, in an attempt to refocus both his creative energy and his troubled personal life, Williams began playing music with Southern rock musicians including Waylon Jennings, Toy Caldwell, and Charlie Daniels. Hank Williams Jr. and Friends (1975), often considered his watershed album was the product of these then-groundbreaking collaborations. In 1977 Williams recorded and released One Night Stands and The New South, and worked closely with his old friend Waylon Jennings on the album Once and For All.
On August 8, 1975 Williams was nearly killed in a mountain-climbing accident. While he was climbing Ajax Peak in Montana, the snow beneath him collapsed and he fell almost 500 feet onto rock. He suffered multiple skull and facial fractures.[8] The
Strait says that his father, John, help him keep his faith through the rough times and that he would not be the man he is today without him (West). Having a famous uncle can be tricky because either no one believes it is true or they ask if he gives special treatment. The truth is I have never met him before, he has let the feud with part of his family get in the way of meeting the rest of them, maybe it will happen one day. It is still pretty cool to be related to a famous person, my mother says that George and I share the talent of music. He is one of the biggest country stars in America. Known as the “King of Country”, George has sold more than 65 million albums with nearly 50 number 1 hits and has performed in front of 104,000 plus people
Son House aka Edward James House, Jr. was a famous American blues singer and guitarist. He was born March 21, 1902 in Lyon, Mississippi on the Mississippi River Delta on a plantation where he lived for a while. He died October 19, 1988 in Detroit, Michigan at age 86 from Alzheimer’s disease. He was known for his “highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing” (BBC 1). He did not start out as a singer and guitarist. He started out as a church pastor and then when he was twenty-five years old he turned to performing blues. It was not easy for Son house to sell records at first. This is because it was around the time of The Great Depression, which plagued many
Have you ever wondered who the best country music artist is? Well the answer is simple, George Strait King of Country. George Strait should win Best Country Music Artist of all Time.
Even though Hank was pushed/encourages to become a country music performer, he enjoys what he does. In result, he is one of the most well known “rock” country singer. He has several top hits and many awards. Some awards include 4 emmys, 10 #1 singles, 13 #1 albums, 20 gold albums, and 6 platinums. Also, he won a grammy award for best album/track “There’s a tear in My Beer”, which was released in 2002.
Waylon Jennings left a big impact on the country music industry. His journey to fame and meeting Buddy Holly started everything. Buddy Holly gave Waylon Jennings his first hit, resulting in Jennings become an unforgettable country music artist. The Highwaymen was a country supergroup consisting of 4 of the biggest country music artist of that decade. The Highwaymen produced many hits that Waylon was a part of, making his fame rise even more. Waylon Jennings ending of career happened too soon. Waylon played until he didn’t have the health to play anymore.
Hank Williams Jr always knew, even from the beginning, he was going to be just like his late father and be a country music singer.
B.B. King or ‘The King of Blues’ was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi. His young parents unfortunately divorced, and his mother passed away when he was 9 years old which left him to be raised by his grandmother. King attended school until the 10th grade when he dropped out of school and started to work at a cotton gin near his hometown. Despite dropping out of school he continued to teach himself math and different languages well into his later life. He worked at the cotton gin earning a penny a pound and singing gospel music on street corners. His musical career started when he was studying under his cousin Bukka White. King met a woman and was married at 17 years old. “I guess I was looking for love, because I never had anybody I believed truly loved me” (B.B. King). The marriage quickly came to end when they got a divorce months later. “Since my early childhood, I had a problem trying to open up. Please open me up. Look inside!
Johnny Cash was the stage name of J. R. Cash that he began using after being signed with Sun Records. Cash was born as J.R. Cash on February 26, 1932 in Kingsland, Arkansas. He was one of seven children and was raised by his parents Roy Cash and Carrie Cloveree. When Cash was three years old, his family moved to Dyess, Arkansas. Then when he turned five, he began working on a cotton farm. Cash began singing while working in the fields to pass the time with his family. He was inspired from his family farm being flooded to write his song “Five Feet High and Rising.” Many of his music was about his real life experiences that he and his family had been through. Many people can relate to his music because they may have been through similar circumstances. Cash lost his oldest brother, Jack, in 1944, to a head saw at the mill his brother worked at, which Jack, died a week later from, which caused Cash to blame himself. Cash 's inspiration to sing began with gospel music. He began listening to his mother with folk songs and singing gospel hymns. She also taught him to play guitar. He began singing and writing his own music at twelve years old. He sang gospel in high school and was aired on a local radio station.
In George’s background, he faced many challenges beginning with his mother leaving leading up to loosing his daughter. Born on May 18, 1952, George Harvey Strait was welcomed by his mother Doris Couser Strait and father John Byron Strait. His father and brother raised him in Pearsall, Texas when his mother left them and took their sister with her (Dukes). George went to Pearsall High school with his father being a teacher there. Once he graduated he eloped with his high school sweetheart Norma strait (The Famous People). After he eloped, he joined the military and was stationed in Hawaii. He sang in the army inspired band called Rambling Country. When his daughter was 13 George lost her to an accident. George’s background has had many
Scott Joplin, commonly known as the "King of Ragtime" music, was born on November 24, 1868, in Bowie County, Texas near Linden. Joplin came from a large musical family. His father, Giles Joplin was a musician who had fiddled dance music while serving as a slave at his master's parties. His mother, Florence Givens Joplin, born free and out of slavery, sang and played the banjo, and four of his brothers and sisters either sang or played strings.
The contribution to music demonstrated by the career of Luke Bryan proves beyond a doubt that the country music singer should be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His worthiness of this award is shown in his, charity work, the awards he has won and all the achievements he has made, and everyone who has inspired him to become a country music singer in the first place. Bryan would not be where he is today with the support of his wife and 2 kids. Bryan’s parents are peanut farmers and he used to help them when he was in high school. His brother died in a car accident 2 years ago and Bryan and his sister went through a tuff time when that happened. Luke Bryan was born July 17, 1976 in Leesburg, Georgia. Bryan got his first guitar at the age of fourteen and by the age of fifteen he was able to entertain a small crowd. It was all uphill from there. ("Luke Bryan Biography.")
Artist like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Jimmie Rodgers, George Jones, Willie Nelson and many more were are crucial parts in shaping the genre of country music. Each one of these artists had their own spin on country music making it diverse but managed to keep country music as country music. Their influence can be felt today. Country music was born from artists that were able to write anything from heartache to happiness. Patsy Cline was also an important musician who was named the most influential email country artist of all time. Elvis Presley was one of the most iconic artists who mixed gospel, R&B, and country tunes and produced legendary music that will be around
Troyal Garth Brooks (also know as Garth Brooks) is the world’s greatest country singer of all time. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on February 7, 1962. He was raised in the small town of Yukon with country music in his blood. He was the youngest child in his family that consisted of six children. His Mother, Colleen Carroll, was a Professional country singer while she raised Garth and his five other siblings with her husband, Troyal Carroll. Troyal worked as a engineer for Unocal, an oil company located outside of Oklahoma. (Book, garth brooks) He played guitar and taught Garth how to play. Both of Garths parents were a huge part of making him who he is today. Garth did things that Elvis, and Michael Jackson never even
King’s celebrated music career emerged from very modest beginnings. At the age of 18, King started to perform his renditions of traditional Delta blues music at churches around local areas in Mississippi; but his talents saw him gradually travel further up north over the years, as many blues musicians, and many other African-Americans
While stationed in Hawaii, he began playing country music with his Army-sponsored band, Rambling Country. This began his lifelong love affair with country music, and in 1975 he was honorably discharged from the Army