Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essay about hank williams jr
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Essay about hank williams jr
Hank Williams, Jr. Born on May 26, 1949, in Shreveport, Louisiana, Hank Williams, Jr. used his natural talent for singing to follow in his father’s footsteps. By the age of 8, Hank made his stage debut and made his first appearance at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry at age 11. Then, puberty changed him. Once his voice changed, he signed with MGM Records and subsequently recorded his father’s hit “Long Gone Lonesome Blues” in 1964 (about.com). His very first album, Songs My Father Left Me, was an instant hit. Hank performed throughout his teens to sold-out crowds on national television. “Went on the road when I was eight years old, when I turned 15 I was stealing the show,” stated Williams. He was …show more content…
scarred and disfigured, he was somehow inspired. He used this tragic event -- that was meant to be a setback -- as a catapult to launch the new Hank Williams, Jr. into the challenge of stardom (encyclopedia.com). The music world caught on to this change around 1979, the year he released his first million-selling album, Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound. This album began a streak of 30 Top Ten hits that continued until 1990. From 1982 to 1990, Hank had numerous awards for Entertainer of the Year and Best Country Vocal Collaboration. In 1989, he even had a version of his song, “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight”, used as the theme song for Monday Night Football! By the early ‘90s, however, Williams wasn’t hitting the Top Ten like he used to, and by the mid-’90s he was even having trouble cracking the Top 40 (http://countrymusic.about.com/). He still continued making music and maintained a popular concert draw for the next decade. His music-making came to a halt in 2003 with I’m One of You. He has only come out with new music a few times since then.
Today, Hank Williams, Jr. currently lives in a number of places, including Paris, Tennessee. He is still traveling and performing strong at the age of 67! Although some think Hank is reckless, he will go down in history as one of the greatest country artists of all time. It is difficult to make your own legacy when you have a legendary musician as a family member. However, Hank, Jr managed to forge a career just as successful as his father’s.t day, as McCormick was
The “king of Western swing,” Bob Wills, was a prominent figure from the 1930s through 1950s. At at a young age he learned to play the fiddle and he and his father performed at dances and other social gatherings. He was exposed to other genres of music as a young boy such a blues, conjunto and mariachi, but it was the new sounds of jazz that inspired him to experiment with traditional country music. In 1929 Wills moved to Fort Worth, Texas, were he formed a band, the Wills Fiddle Band, which would soon change to Light Crust Doughboys. Their music was played was played on the Fort Worth radio station, KFJZ radio, and their unique sound quickly spread which is what the radio advertisers needed during the economic downfall. However, in 1933 Wills left the band and formed a new one called Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys and they toured together over the next forty years. In 1945 Wills appeared at the Grand Ole Opry and insisted that there be a horn and drum section on stage. The audience was surprisingly pleased with this unwanted change by the directors. Despite his somewhat strained relationship with Nashville, the local country music establishment formally recognized Wills and his important overall impact on country music when the Country Music Association Hall of Fame inducted him in 1968 (Hartman, 146). Bob Wills died in 1975, but was still a major influence in up and coming young country artists like Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, George Strait and Lee Ann Womack.
He was born in Mobile, Alabama called “Down the Bay” on February 5, 1934. His real name was Henry Louis Aaron. He was the third of eight children. His mother’s name was Estella and his father’s name was Herbert. His dad was a tavern owner and a dry dock boilermaker’s assistant. His mother did not have a job until Hank was older. He lived in a town where there was segregation. Hank lived where it was rural and it was a lowly populated town. The town was fueled by a migration of farm workers looking for city work. Hank took an early interest in sports. Although the family had little money, and Hank took several jobs to try to help out, he spent a lot of time playing baseball at a neighborhood park. He had jobs such as mowing lawns, picking potatoes, and delivering ice. He started to love the game when his father’s local team formed out of the tavern he opened next to the family house called The Black Cat Inn. He played baseball with the local kids in the wide open fields. Until too many children to take care of at home, his mother worked in one of Mobile’s white households, where work was available for blacks as maids and cooks. Hank and his family moved to Toulminville, right outside of Mobile, at the age of eight.
He received the Male Vocalist of the year award from the Academy of Country Music in the years of 1984- 85, 1988, and 1997. Strait acquired the Album of the year award in 1985 for “ Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” and in 1997 for “ Carrying Your Love with Me”. He achieved Entertainer of the Year in 1989 and Top Male Country Vocalist of the year in 1991. George earned the Tex Ritter Award for Single of the year for “ Pure Country,” in 1993. He won the Single of the year in 1996 for “ Check Yes or No”.
On the other hand, Luke Bryan had a pretty great life growing up as a child. Thomas Luther Bryan was born on July 17, 1976 (Student Resources). Everyone calls him Luke because that’s what he has preferred since he was a little boy. Luke was into country music ever since he was born. Tons of memories he made with his family, like sitting in a truck singing country music at the top of their lungs. As he grew up and got older he started to play in front of people and start...
...lliam’s career were 1950and 1951. He was one of the most successful touring acts in country music. Every one of his records charted, except for those issued as “Luke the Drifter” and his religious songs with a female artist named Audrey. His songs had matured greatly since the demos he had submitted to Molly o Day, began finding a wider market than his own recordings of them ever could. Started with “Honky Tonkin” in 1949, his songs had been covered for the pop market, but it was not until Tony Bennett covered “Cold Cold Heart” in 1951 that he had began to recognize as an important popular songwriter. From that point, there was a rush to revise his songs for the pop market. Guy Mitchell, for instance, had a hit with “I Can’t Help It If I’m Still in Love with You”, and the pair of Frankie Lane and Jo Stafford took Hey, Good looking in the pop top ten. (Hank Williams)
Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas on February 26, 1932 (Enslow 19). He began to take an interest to music when his father bought a radio. His mother loved listening to music and his mother and Johnny would sing songs all throughout the house. Taught by his mother and childhood friend, he learned to play guitar (Enslow 19). Working hard and practicing, he became very good at guitar and singing. However, he grew up through the Great Depression and this was very difficult for him and his family. In Edward Enslow’s “The Man in Black” Johnny Cash states, “We were very poor, and I almost died of starvation as a child.” This quote shows how life was a struggle for Cash in his early life. Facing all the many challenges was difficult for him but he found a way through it. Through his older brother Jack, he was able to cope with his life growing up. Jack was a huge role model to Johnny growing up, he would teach...
He was signed by A&M, but that soon fell out due to insufficient sales. He signed under RCA by Chet Atkins, along with Willie Nelson, where Jennings produced multiple successful albums. (Dansby). Jennings with the Kimberleys, won his first grammy in 1969 for Best Country Performance by group. In 1974, Jennings had two songs reach number one on the country music charts; this was Jennings turning point. In 1975, Waylon reached the top of the pop charts. Reaching the top of pop charts for a country singer back then was unheard of. Around the same time Jennings was honored as Country Music Association as Male Vocalist of the year. Jennings soon teamed up with his old friend Willie Nelson. Together, they produced Waylon and Willie in 1978 (Biography). One of their many duets “Mamas don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys,” earned Jennings his second grammy. Jennings being able to appeal to a wide variety of listeners, proved him to be one of country music
Ralph Vaughan Williams was born in The Vicarage, in Down Ampney, on October 12, 1872 to Arthur and Margaret Vaughan Williams. Ralph’s father; Arthur was the vicar of the All Saints Church in Down Ampney in 1868. Through his mothers side Ralph had two famous great-great-grand fathers; Josiah Wedgwood, the founder of the pottery at Stoke-on-Trent, and Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin. In 1875 Ralph’s father suddenly died, when he was only two years old. His mother moved him and his two siblings to the Wedgwood family home: Leith Hill Place, in Surrey.
Hank Williams Jr as we know him was born Hank Randall Williams, born in small town Shreveport, Louisiana, on May 26, 1949. Hank Jr was only three when his father Hank died, but that did not stop his music dream. At just the age of 8 Hank Jr began singing his dad songs on stage. “Williams made his stage debut at the age of 8 and his first appearance at Nashville's famed Grand Ole Opry at age 11. At age 15, Williams had his first Top 5 hit on the country charts. " (http://www.biography.com/) Even though his father was gone, Hank Jr helped carry on his legacy through music. His mother being his biggest supporter, helped him along the way.
Darius Rucker, the former lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish has made the transition from platinum selling pop rock artist to country singer in the past few years. On a recent episode of Oprah, Darius sat on Oprah’s couch as she declared to her audience, “Country music is the real soul music!” Rucker’s solo debut release, Learn to Live reached No. 1 and has remained on the Billboard charts for 30 weeks. The CD’s first two singles, “Don't Think I Don't Think About It" and "It Won't Be Like This For Long,” each hit No. 1, making Rucker the first male artist to get two debut singles atop the Hot Country Songs ch...
According to wikipedia Johnny Cash was born in kingsland arkansas, though he was never given a real name, he was called J.r while a child, then when he got older people called him Johnny.When he turned five Johnny helped out on his fathers farm with his mom, dad, and older brother.Johnny had a rough childhood, not only the untimely death of his brother, but his abusive father made things worse.Johnnyjoined the air force as a radio operator in Landsberg am Lech, Germany.where he joined a band called the Landsberg Barbarians.afterhis term he married Vivian Liberto and moved to Memphis where he was a radio salesman, and studied to be a radio announser. Cash where for a record deal at sun records, where he sung mostly gospil, and Sam Phillips the owner of sun records said " go home and sin, then come back with a song I can sell.", cash won over sun records and relese...
Robert Johnson is more than just another Blues man with a sad story. To sing the blues with as much soul as Robert Johnson did, you know his life was rough. The life of Robert Johnson was memorable but short. Robert Johnson was born on May 8, 1911. Robert was a product of an extramarital affair. He lived with many different father figures before moving 40 miles south of Memphis to Robinsonville, Mississippi, where he would live till his early adulthood.
film music. On the one side there are the purists, who cry foul at the piecing together of
Hiram “Hank” Williams, third child of Lon and Lillie Williams, was born on September 17, 1923 in Mount Olive, Alabama near Georgiana. Hank was raised by his mother because his father was in a veteran’s hospital most of his childhood. Hank’s childhood was shaped by a spinal condition called spina bifida so he could not play sports or do regular activities with the other children. Perhaps his inability to do normal activities sparked his interest in music. Hank got his first guitar at eight years old (Harden).
Hank Williams Jr. was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on May 26, 1949. He originally was named Randall Hank Williams, but took the stage name, Hank Williams Jr. around the age of eight, after he started performing. He wrote in his “Living Proof” autobiography, “Other kids could play cowboys and Indians and imagine that they’d grow up to be cowboys. I couldn’t do that. I knew that I would never grow up to be a cowboy or a fireman or the president of the United States. I knew I’d grow up to be a singer. That’s all there ever was, the only option, from the beginning.”