Hank Williams, Jr.

(Q)- Do you notice that, in addition to your older fans, the younger rock and country music fans are now attending your live performances?

(A)- I am starting to see some third generation fans coming out to the shows. It’s really great. It’s amazing to me to be honest, my longevity is really amazing to me. I’m kind of a practical guy, and I’ve been doing this a long time. Everything today has to be, new country, new wave, or whatever that’s supposed to mean.

You know I’ll give you a prime example of what I’m talking about. My 24 year old son called me the other day. Hank Williams III. He’s doing his own thing now. And he had the blues because he had gone into the recording studio and his producer said during the first sessions,’Oh,this music sounds great.’ Then a couple of days later the producer said to Hank III,’Now, we go by what the consultants are saying and we need more songs that have to be the new wave country’, or whatever they call it. And Shelton,as a writer and a musician kind of got dejected. He said to me,’Hey,I don’t really go for that. I just do my own type of music.’ I said,’Well, this is pretty interesting. I’ve had the same thing happen to me sonny boy(he laughs).’ You know,for several years now I’ve been hearing from folks in Nashville,’Well, Hank, this song should have been done this way or this song should have been done that way.’ The more I thought about what was happening I realized that he’s going through the very same thing that I had to go through. I’ve heard things like,’Well, we’ve checked with the consultants and they don’t like this and they don’t like that.’ I hope country music doesn’t turn into a consulting business,but it kind of already has.

(Q)- Does that continue to amaze you?

(A)- Yes. It’s pretty amazing how the fans still come out to see me. I was talking to Travis Tritt the other day and he made me feel real good by saying to me,’I don’t know how you’ve kept sane through all of this.’ Then Travis said to me,’There’s a few people in this business,who when they walk into a room, the folks in the room stop doing whatever it is that they’re doing. And Hank Williams Jr. is definitely one of those people.’ And I thought,’Well that’s a pretty nice thing to say about me(he laughs). I wonder why they stop doing what they’re doing? Do they say,’I wonder why he’s got that ugly hat one(he laughs)?’ or,’What’ll he do next?’.The bottom line with this tour is that we’ve made some really good numbers with the box office draw. It’s really amazing to me whenever we’re in the top box office gross and the top this and top that,for a guy like me who is not exactly all over the radio charts anymore. I have a fan base, and that fan base is always there and always expanding for the last few years.

(Q)- Why?
(A)- I think that a big part of why my fans are so loyal to my music and live shows is because a lot of them think about me whenever they’re working 9 to 5 and they say,’he’s not all over TV or country radio all the time. So Hank’s probably out fishing right now. Or he’s out hunting.’ They know from my songs that I mean what I’m singing about. After all, I live in Montana and Tennessee and I live way out there in the country and I am a country boy at heart. Now my manager can call me up and ask me to do certain things and he knows that I’m not going to do them all. He knows that I’m not going to go to New York or LA for some special business meeting. I’m not going to do that because I’m here with my family. But, I’ve been there and done that before. I don’t exactly wake up every morning and think to myself about increasing my chances for stardom this year(he laughs). Some other folks these days in country music have got to do that. I don’t. I’ve got my family, my little ones and my land. I don’t need to worry about that. That’s one of the keys to why I am still sane after all these years. I know when to draw the line and when to say no.

(Q)- You’ve mellowed a bit since your”rodwdy days”. Why?

(A)- Family. I’m sitting here playing with my boy(Samuel Weston) right now as we’re talking. He’s really brought me closer then ever to my wife and family. He’s pretty neat. On May 30th,he was born and he’s got a lot of hair(he laughs). Samuel has been a wonderful time for all of us. I’ve been really happy with my family now for quite a while. My family is the most important thing in my life now and they have been for quite a few years now. Without a doubt,all those years I was out there going wild, I was always really in secret wanting to settle down. I love the fact that I have a family of my own. You know, I was in Houston the other day with one of the big DJ’s down there, Dean Hallan (correct spelling?) and when he met Mary Jane and myself he said to Mary Jane,’So, you’re the lady who really brought this guy around.’ That was pretty nice of him, but it’s really true. She has really helped me a whole lot. Then he said,’Well, you must be some really special gal.’ That’s true. She’s so special to me and the kids are really important to me. I have learned that I need to spend more time with my family then I did years ago. And that’s important because I didn’t really realize that years ago. Being with my family gives me a sense of balance and purpose in my life. Wheneever you’re on-stage well, that’s one thing, but whenever the show is over and those spotlights grow cold, I love returning to my home and my family. That’s why I play only select concert dates, many of them are on weekends, because I want to make sure I am with my wife and the little ones as much as possible. Years ago I had to work a whole lot to keep thigs going on track. Now, that’s a little bit different.

(Q)- You’re pretty much different every time you take the stage. it is never a precitable event. Why is that the case Hank?

(A)- As far as my live show goes, I’ve always done an unpredictable and at times wild show. That’s just the way it is. How many times have I toured the country from North to South, from East Coast to West Coast, a bunch! I mean since the early ’60’s. So, I’m going to go out there and do the same thing and sing the same songs and do the same stage show over and over year in and year out,? No way! Man,these folks who think I’m a bit too wild or unpredictable at times with my show don’t realize that there’s always all kinds of different great things that are always happening with my show. Maybe there’s a new song I’ve got out or maybe there’s a song on a soundtrack to a movie. Maybe there’s a new Monday Night Football theme, which is still my song with a different twist. I don’t like a fixed,predictable set. I never have and evidently, it’s worked really well for me over the years. On the road, I might want to pick up the guitar and play some pretty strong rock and roll, or I might want to play some bluegrass on the fiddle. You never know what I’ll do next and I think that’s part of the reason why people keep on coming out to see me year after year.

(Q)- Who influenced you as a performer?

(A)- You know what influenced my stage show was directly due to the fact that growing up in my mother and daddy’s house, everybody who was anybody in country music, bluegrass music and rock and roll came by and paid a visit to my mother and daddy. In the late ’50’s and throughout the early ’60’s, it was a big deal to come to visit Hank Williams home. It was a pilgrimage that many famous people felt they had to make whenever they were in Nashville. And a lot of people did that. I mean all types of folks and all types of music. Mother was a pretty gracious host and she wouldn’t turn any of them away. So I was taught by the finest musicians and greatest artists how to play and sing music. That’s when I realized that my calling was to be a musician and a recording artist. Man, folks would want to come and visit us so they could say later,’Man, I was in Hank Williams den. I saw his song titles,I saw his couch and his desk. I saw Hank Williams guitar’. I mean it was like we had a revolving door on our house and nothing but these great stars was coming through day and night. I mean Hank Snow would be there one night and the next would be Jerry Lee Lewis(he laughs). Mean Jerry Lee Lewis would be at mother and daddy’s house when I was a little boy. And he’d love showing little Hank how to play the piano. It was like, here’s Little Richard, this is Fats Domino, and here’s Jerry Lee Lewis. And they’re all teaching little Hank how to play the piano. Money couldn’t buy a musical education like that. And you certainly don’t learn things like that in school! I was raised with all of those great artists and legendary musicians around the house all the time. Man at that time I thought they were all the greatest. So I listened to everything they taught me. I mean Sonny Osbourne or Earl Scruggs would come by and teach me banjo. Everyone imaginable came by and taught me guitar. I was blessed with all those great teachers. That’s probably why a lot of my shows are so different,because I had so many different musical influences when I was growing up.

(Q)- Through it all your fans seem to still matter to you. Why?

(A)- That’s another thing I find to be real interesting. I’ll be reading about some country singer and they won’t mention a word about their fans whenever they’re being asked how they made it to the top. You know how that makes me a bit upset. Because the fans are who the ones who who support me and they’re the ones I’m working for. I think the fans I have are absolutely amazing. On that Jeff Foxworthy album, “Rednecks Two”(spelling?). Where he says,’You might be a redneck if you own more things with Hank Williams Jr’s name on it then yours.’ When I look back on my career,there again the fans I have continue to amaze me. They’re so loyal to me and for that I’m exceptionally grateful. Maybe they realize that this guy has really been around this business a long time.

(Q)- Could you explain how the lyrics and/or music, for your songs come to you?

(A)- In different ways and at different times. Like one time when I was sitting in a deer stand in South Alabama last January hunting. I was sitting in a deer stand while I was there I wrote two songs with no pen and no paper. I wrote two songs in my mind in the rain and the drizzle waiting for a white tailed deer to approach. One with a big enough rack that I’d care about. And I wrote two songs right there sitting in that deer stand. One is called,”Where Would We Be Without Yankees” and “Southern Thunder”. I mean the spirit moved me in Granddaddy’s land (Alabama) and I wrote those two songs. You see I just can’t sit down and be told to go and write some new songs. That just don’t work. You can’t go and write a good country song. It sounds forced and it’s no good. That’s one thing ,people always are asking me,Where’d you get that idea?’ And I tell them,”Oh I was just thinking about something while I was hunting.’ I mean that new song I’ve written for my next album,”Where Would We Be Without Yankees?” Well, where would we be without Yankees? There surely wouldn’t be the USA, or something called the American Revolution. We won’t have cars or a lot of things. The lyrics go like this, ‘Where would we be without Yankees? No Alfalfa and no Spunky. No Honeymooners” and no “Three Stooges”.’ See, it’s a comedy. But it’s still all true. My daughter Katie had been watching “Three Stooges” on TV earlier that week, and when I was sitting up there in that tree stand waiting for that deer, I thought of that and made up the lyric. I’ve sang a lot of songs about the South and about how great we are and how wonderful we have it, well now I’m going to set the record straight about the North. Because can you name one country song about the North? There ain’t one period. So I said it’s time that somebody wrote something about the North. It’s a funny song but it’s true.

(Q)- How did that whole outlaw come about in your opinion, Hank?

(A)- The outlaw thing was a big thing in the early ’70’s. I mean take a look at it now. Listen to a country radio station today and you’re not sure if it’s a country station or a mild rock station. Boy, back then I was called an outlaw. But, I’m proud today to have people say that I was one of the ground breakers. I’m proud that I’m one of the folks who didn’t really change country music completely from the traditional roots , and still made hits and won awards while I was doing it on my own. I was doing stuff my way even back then. You know, we country singers are not even close to these guys who are playing professional sports these days income wise. I mean football, baseball and basketball. I mean today, the folks at Luchessee(spelling) are making me some boots. Michael Jordan (the basketball star)was there. He said,”Whose boots are these?’ Because he looked at the boots they’re custom making for me. And then Michael said,’Well there’s a dude who knows how to order boots. I’m a big fan of Hank’s’. And these boots are not really flashy. Well, the folks at that boot company just called me today and they told me that Michael Jordan was asking about my custom boots and he was saying he was a fan of mine. I mean it’s like someone might be a fan of yours and well you just never,never know. David Madley (correct spelling?) with the Yankees, he is like a Hank Jr. Freak! That other guy Will Clark(correct spelling?) he’s a big hitter with the Giants, he wears a Hank Jr. shirt around town all the time! And these guys are really heavy duty players. When I heard about this, I couldn’t believe it! So you never know who is listening to your stuff. But these athletes are making a whole lot of money more then us country folks(he laughs). I’m just a poor hillbilly compared to them(he laughs).

(Q)- “Country State of Mind”is a special so almost a definitive Hank Williams JR. song.

(A)- Yes it is in a way isn’t it? The song “Country State of Mind” is about a country state of mind is a very good state of mind to be in. When I sing,’I’m, laid up here in a country state of mind’, that’s a very good state of mind to be in. The singer is catching fish and enjoying himself. He doesn’t want to be laid up on some concrete or waiting in some traffic jam, he’s enjoying himself on the banks of the Tennessee River or the big Missouri breaks, catching trout or catfish like there’s no tomorrow. And if the guy passes away and the sun don’t shine tomorrow, he’s happy.” That’s the best way I feel a country state of mind could be.