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Hank Williams III
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Shelton Hank Williams III (December 12, 1972) is an American country musician. The grandson of country legend Hank Williams, Sr. and the son of Hank Williams, Jr., also a renowned musician, the younger Williams' neotraditional country-meets-alternative country philosophy on country was made clear early on: "the older you sound, the punker you are." His style alternates between music that touches on cowpunk and straight-ahead traditional country music and honky tonk.
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Encyclopedia
Shelton Hank Williams III (December 12, 1972) is an American country musician. The grandson of country legend Hank Williams, Sr. and the son of Hank Williams, Jr., also a renowned musician, the younger Williams' neotraditional country-meets-alternative country philosophy on country was made clear early on: "the older you sound, the punker you are." His style alternates between music that touches on cowpunk and straight-ahead traditional country music and honky tonk. He also is a member of the punk metal band Assjack, and was the bassist for Superjoint Ritual. In his career, he has released five studio albums, including three for Curb Records.
Biography
Williams spent much of his early career playing drums in punk rock bands.
In 1996, mounting child support payments led Williams to capitalize on his family name and sign a contract with Nashville, Tennessee music industry giant Curb Records. Three Hanks: Men With Broken Hearts was issued shortly thereafter, which spliced together recordings to make it seem that three generations of Williams men were singing alongside one another. Upon first meeting Hank III, Minnie Pearl, a friend of Hank Williams Sr., reportedly said "Lord, honey, you're a ghost," as she was astonished by his striking resemblance to his grandfather.
Williams' first solo album, Risin' Outlaw, was released in September 1999 to respectable sales and strong reviews. While his name (and his uncanny vocal and physical resemblances to his grandfather) could have guaranteed Williams a thriving country audience, he had little patience for the often predictable Nashville sound, nor for even the minimal constraints on behavior his promoters required. His opinions on this subject are well summed up in his songs "Trashville" and "Dick in Dixie."
Williams' live shows typically follow a "Jekyll and Hyde" format: a country music set, featuring fiddle player Adam McOwen and slide guitar player Andy Gibson followed by a hellbilly set, and then an Assjack set. He plays country and hellbilly with his "Damn Band" and produces a very different sound with Assjack, which is a punk rock band. The lineup for Assjack includes the addition of supplemental vocalist Gary Lindsey, bassist Zach Shedd switching from upright to electric bass, and the departure of his fiddle and slide guitar players. McOwen's predecessor was fellow-fiddle-player extraordinaire Michael "Fiddleboy" McCanless, who would play all three sets, adding traditional violin for the country set of the concert before plugging his instrument into an amplifier and distortion unit for later sets. Another former band member was guitarist Duane Denison, previously with The Jesus Lizard, who left The Damn Band and Assjack in January 2001 and later that year formed Tomahawk.
Williams had a great deal of trouble with Curb Records. He expressed dissatisfaction with his debut, and reportedly the label was unwilling to release his appropriately named This Ain't Country LP, nor to allow him to issue it on another record label. In response, Williams began selling t-shirts stating "Fuck Curb." Also during this era, Williams played bass guitar in Superjoint Ritual, a now defunct band led by with former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo. Joe Fazzio, former drummer for Superjoint Ritual, has toured with Hank III as well as contributing to his album Lovesick, Broke and Driftin' (2002).
In late 2004, Thrown Out of the Bar was slated for release, but Curb opted not to issue it. Williams and label executive Mike Curb would be in and out of court for the next year before a judge ruled in favor of Williams in the spring of 2005, demanding that Curb release the album. Shortly thereafter Williams and Curb came to terms, and Williams dropped his "Fuck Curb" campaign. Bar was reworked into Straight to Hell, released on Curb’s rock imprint, Bruc. Battles with Wal-Mart delayed the appearance of this album, which was released on February 28, 2006 as a two-disc set in two formats: a censored version (for Wal-Mart), and an uncensored version that was the first major-label country album ever to bear a parental advisory warning. One of the songs, "Pills I Took", was written by a little-known Wisconsin group called Those Poor Bastards, who originally released the song on their 2004 CD Country Bullshit.
Currently, Hank III will soon be touring in support of his Damn Right, Rebel Proud album (released Oct. 21, 2008) and has been overheard claiming that a rock record, presumably under the moniker of Assjack, will finally see the light of day in less than a year, followed by a new country album. Also recently he has played drums for Arson Anthem, formed with Anselmo and Mike Williams from EYEHATEGOD.
Musical stylings
Hank III has criticized the musical directions of his father, and instead frequently references his grandfather and other such veteran country musicians.
Self-described as "hellbilly" music, Williams' style is difficult to classify concisely, but has been described as traditional country, 'hard-twang', cowpunk, psychobilly, outlaw country, altcountry, and 'honky punk'. Lyrically, he often sings about running from the law, smoking cannabis, contempt for modern country, alcoholism, depression, and heartbreak, alternating between sombre and menacing themes.
Other activities
- Hank III has recorded the tracks "87 Southbound" and "Thunderstorms and Neon Signs", which were penned by Wayne "The Train" Hancock, a musician with whom he is often compared.
- Hank III appears in the film Southlander: Diary of a Desperate Musician (2001).
- Hank III has written liner notes for all three studio albums by grindcore band Brujeria.
- Hank III played drums on Arson Anthem's eponymous debut.
- Hank III is credited with Guitar and Vocals on 'Ramblin' Man' and Vocals on 'Okie from Muskogee', both on the 2000 album 'the Crybaby' by The Melvins
- Hank III was one of four men chosen to test drive Kawasaki's new Teryx RUVs at the Glen Helen Raceway in Devore, California for Side By Side Action Magazine's Battle of the Builders in October 2008.
Discography
- For a discography as a member of Superjoint Ritual, see Superjoint Ritual#Discography.
Albums
Singles
| Year | Single | US Country | Album |
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| 2000 | "You're the Reason" | — | Risin' Outlaw | | 2001 | "I Don't Know" | 50 | | 2002 | "Mississippi Mud" | — | Lovesick, Broke and Driftin | | "Cecil Brown" | — | | 2006 | "Low Down" | — | Straight to Hell | | 2008 | "Six Pack of Beer" | — | Damn Right, Rebel Proud | |
Other appearances
- Badlands: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska (contributing track: "Atlantic City") (2000)
- Driven Soundtrack (contributing track: "Hang On") (2001)
- Timeless: A Tribute To Hank Williams (contributing track: "I'm A Long Gone Daddy") (2001)
- Sharp Dressed Man: A Tribute To ZZ Top (contributing track: "Fearless Boogie") (2002)
- The Crybaby (The Melvins, Vocals and Guitar on Ramblin' Man, Vocals on Okie From Muskogee) (2000)
- Dressed In Black: A Tribute To Johnny Cash (contributing track: "Wreck Of The Old 97") (2002)
- Live In London... England (Dale Watson Backing Vocals on "Country My Ass") (2002)
- Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three (No Values) (2002)
- Grand Ole Opry at The Ryman Auditorium: Tribute to Hank Williams Sr. (2003)
- Stars & Guitars (Willie Nelson and Friends Vocals on "Dead Flowers" and "Move It On Over") (2003)
- Touch My Heart: A Tribute To Johnny PayCheck (contributing track: "I'm The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised") (2004)
- Rebel Meets Rebel (Rebel Meets Rebel (David Allan Coe and Pantera), Vocals on "Get Outta My Life") (2006)
- Everybody Loves ANTiSEEN: A Loving Tribute To The Boys From Brutalsville (contributing track: "Ruby, Get back to the hills") (2006)
- 50 Years Too Late Joey Allcorn (Vocals on "This Ain't Montgomery")
- For the Sick: A Tribute To EyeHateGod (contributing tracks: "Take as Needed for Pain" and "Torn Between Suicide and Breakfast"; credited as The Unholy 3) (2007)
- Arson Anthem self titled (2008) (featuring Phil Anselmo on guitar, Mike Williams on vocals and Hank 3 on drums)
External links
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