Happy 50th Birthday Hank Williams III, Wherever You Are

50 years ago today on December 12th, 1972, Randall Hank Williams Jr. and his wife Gwyn Yeargain welcomed their first and only child into the world. Keeping with the family tradition, they gave him the middle name of Hank, with his full christening taking shape as Shelton Hank Williams III. Five years later, the couple would be divorced, and Hank Jr. would mostly be out of the life of Shelton, except for occasional hunting trips and visits. But a new member of the Hank Williams legacy was born.

First making his way in punk bands and installing garage doors to make a living, it appeared perhaps the third—and at that time—final member of the Williams clan who could indisputably adopt the “Hank” name may not perform country music at all. But when a paternity suit had a judge telling him to “get a real job,” Shelton acquiesced, and signed a deal with Mike Curb of Curb Records who’d been in the hospital when he was born.

Just like his father Hank Jr., at first they tried to dress Hank3 up as a Hank Williams tribute act and had him playing tourist shows in Branson, MO theaters, covering his grandfather’s songs and refining his chops. He opened for Charlie Louvin, and appeared on an episode of Crook & Chase with Mel Tillis and Glen Campbell. The first time Minnie Pearl saw the young Hank she remarked, “Lord honey, you’re a ghost” from the striking resemblance in both sight and sound to the original Hank Williams.

But shortly thereafter, Hank3 rebelled, finding his inspiration in punk music and from modern day throwback hillbillies such as Wayne “The Train” Hancock. Similar to Hancock, Dale Watson, and the throwback band BR-549, Hank3 embraced the roots of country music in a neotraditionalist approach, while also pursuing a harder style of “hellbilly” music on the side. He ran afoul of Mike Curb and Curb Records, who tried to restrict both his creativity and output, and through that action, Hank3 sowed the seeds of a country music revolution.

After the release of his 2006 magnum opus Straight to Hell, Hank Williams III inspired an underground in country music that previously had only existed in spirit. Turning thousands of punk and metal kids onto the virtues of country, and establishing a DIY attitude that stood apart from the Music Row industry, the legacy Hank3 forged and the doors he opened directly resulted in this massive success independent country artists such as Sturgill Simpson, Cody Jinks, Tyler Childers, and Zach Bryan enjoy today.

But Hank Williams III has been mostly dormant since 2014. After finally breaking free from his contract with Curb Records, he released a succession of independently released and produced albums, including his last full country album, 2013’s Brothers of the 4X4, and toured behind it into the following year. Then after he was forced to move out of his home/headquarters/recording studio called The Haunted Ranch, and shortly thereafter his favorite pooch Trooper died, Hank3 was forced to regroup, and since has been almost completely out of the public eye, and has not released any new music or performed
publicly.

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