Hank Williams Jr. :: essays research papers

Hank Williams Jr.     Hank Williams, Jr. was meant to be a superstar from the day he was born.His father, the legendary Hank Williams, and mother, Audrey Sheppard, bothplayed an intricate part in his first stardom. Hank had to overcome manyobstacles in his life including escaping from his fathers shadow and a near end experience in 1975. Hanks many triumphs, and his ability to overcomesetbacks, have propelled him to a legendary status.     Born May 26, 1949, in Shreveport, Louisiana, Randall Hank Williams, Jr.was destined to become a star. Tragically, his father died on New Years day,1953, at the young age on twenty nine ("Official Home Page," Biography).However, his mother, a country vocaliser in her own right, helped Hank Jr. startone of the earliest, and most successful, childhood careers in country musichistory.     Hank appeared on stage for the first time at the young age of eight.Hank appeared on the Grand Ole Opry at the age of eleven, singing his fatherssongs in his fathers style. At the age of fourteen Hank recorded his firstalbum, a meet rendition of his fathers "Lone Gone Lonesome Blues." At an agewhen most young boys are playing Little League baseball or football, Hank wasattainment the piano from Jerry Lee Lewis, appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show, andperforming before crowds of up to twenty thousand.     In 1969, Hank teamed up with Johnny Cash to perform in the largestcountry concert to date. In 1970, Hank signed the biggest recording contract inthe history of MGM Records. As proud as he was of being the son of HankWilliams, Hank got trite of being in his fathers shadow. In high school, knownas "Rockin Randall," Hank played contemporary rock, however, that had to bekept secret from all his traditional country fans. He also liked to listen torhythm and blues, however, these types of music were looked down on by many inNashville. Later in hi s career, Hank even released a coupling of rock singlesunder the name Bo Cephus on Verve Records, a subdivision of MGM. The splitbetween what he wanted to do and what he was expect to do , along with hislong-term alcohol and drug abuse, developed into a downward spiral of his careerthat led to a 1974 suicide attempt.     In early 1975, Hank recorded "Hank Williams, Jr. and Friends," his firsttrue step to escaping his fathers shadow and the past. Although the album wasa success, MGM wanted him to return to the style that would keep his longtime