By Anne P. Braly
Staff Writer
Are you ready for some music?
When Hank Williams Jr. hits the stage at Riverbend tonight, Duane Shannon, program director at WOGT-FM 107.9 The Duke, predicts he will take the city by storm.
It’s going to be huge, he said. His night will rank in the top three (in festival history), right there with (Lynyrd) Skynyrd and Kid Rock.
Randall Hank Williams, Hank Jr. — or Bocephus, a nickname given to him by his famous father when he was just a toddler — turned 57 years old two weeks ago. But, Shannon said his fan base is one that spans age groups.
It’s interesting, he noted. Young people and old alike request Hank Jr. Take a 60-year-old man or a 19-year-old girl, they’re all wild about him. Very few people in any musical format have that kind of strength.
He’s a strong, interesting human being. I’d love 10 minutes in a room with him to see what kind of stories he would tell.
Joe Varner of Chattanooga, 29, is a big fan of Hank’s, he said, and is looking forward to seeing him live in concert for the first time. He said his favorite Hank Williams’ song is Family Tradition, and can’t wait to hear Country Boy Can Survive.
I think he’s one of the bigger acts that has ever played Riverbend, and it should be a good crowd — possibly bigger than Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mr. Varner said.
Though his father died when Williams was just 3 years old, he left a mark on his young son. At 11, he made his debut on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Three years later, he cut his first hit with a rendition of his father’s famous Long Gone Lonesome Blues. At 15, he was charged with singing the soundtrack of his father’s film biography, Your Cheatin’ Heart.
And the hits kept coming. He teamed with Johnny Cash and other greats, all the while cloning his father’s legacy. In the 1970s, he cut a new path, adopting more of a Southern rock style, according to a news release.
His fall from a Montana mountain in 1975 prompted fans to keep a vigil while he was rescued. He emerged with a new record label in 1979 and the mega hit Family Tradition.
He later turned out hits such as Dixie on My Mind, A Country Boy Can Survive and a duet with Hank Sr.’s vocals from a vinyl record There’s a Tear in My Beer, for which he won his first and only Grammy Award.
His latest album, That’s How They Do It In Dixie, has a song of the same name that’s in the Top 40 on the country music charts.
He has been named Entertainer of the Year five times by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. He was the first country artist to win an Emmy Award three years running for his Monday Night Football theme, Are You Ready for Some Football? Recently, Country Music Television presented Williams with the distinguished Johnny Cash Visionary Award.
Shannon said in spite of his tremendous notoriety and the name Williams carries, he’s never been one to prance around like a flashy superstar.
He connects to that blue collar, hard-working middle class music listener, Shannon said. He sings and talks about what people connect with.
This will be a night for Riverbend to reckon with. And I hope they’re prepared. I’ll bet beer sales are off the hook.
E-mail Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com
Staff Writer
Are you ready for some music?
When Hank Williams Jr. hits the stage at Riverbend tonight, Duane Shannon, program director at WOGT-FM 107.9 The Duke, predicts he will take the city by storm.
It’s going to be huge, he said. His night will rank in the top three (in festival history), right there with (Lynyrd) Skynyrd and Kid Rock.
Randall Hank Williams, Hank Jr. — or Bocephus, a nickname given to him by his famous father when he was just a toddler — turned 57 years old two weeks ago. But, Shannon said his fan base is one that spans age groups.
It’s interesting, he noted. Young people and old alike request Hank Jr. Take a 60-year-old man or a 19-year-old girl, they’re all wild about him. Very few people in any musical format have that kind of strength.
He’s a strong, interesting human being. I’d love 10 minutes in a room with him to see what kind of stories he would tell.
Joe Varner of Chattanooga, 29, is a big fan of Hank’s, he said, and is looking forward to seeing him live in concert for the first time. He said his favorite Hank Williams’ song is Family Tradition, and can’t wait to hear Country Boy Can Survive.
I think he’s one of the bigger acts that has ever played Riverbend, and it should be a good crowd — possibly bigger than Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mr. Varner said.
Though his father died when Williams was just 3 years old, he left a mark on his young son. At 11, he made his debut on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Three years later, he cut his first hit with a rendition of his father’s famous Long Gone Lonesome Blues. At 15, he was charged with singing the soundtrack of his father’s film biography, Your Cheatin’ Heart.
And the hits kept coming. He teamed with Johnny Cash and other greats, all the while cloning his father’s legacy. In the 1970s, he cut a new path, adopting more of a Southern rock style, according to a news release.
His fall from a Montana mountain in 1975 prompted fans to keep a vigil while he was rescued. He emerged with a new record label in 1979 and the mega hit Family Tradition.
He later turned out hits such as Dixie on My Mind, A Country Boy Can Survive and a duet with Hank Sr.’s vocals from a vinyl record There’s a Tear in My Beer, for which he won his first and only Grammy Award.
His latest album, That’s How They Do It In Dixie, has a song of the same name that’s in the Top 40 on the country music charts.
He has been named Entertainer of the Year five times by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. He was the first country artist to win an Emmy Award three years running for his Monday Night Football theme, Are You Ready for Some Football? Recently, Country Music Television presented Williams with the distinguished Johnny Cash Visionary Award.
Shannon said in spite of his tremendous notoriety and the name Williams carries, he’s never been one to prance around like a flashy superstar.
He connects to that blue collar, hard-working middle class music listener, Shannon said. He sings and talks about what people connect with.
This will be a night for Riverbend to reckon with. And I hope they’re prepared. I’ll bet beer sales are off the hook.
E-mail Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com
