Hank Williams, Jr. is part of country music royalty. The son of Hank Williams, Williams Jr. says it is the people who came into his home that helped kickstart his own musical career, long before he was even aware that it was happening.
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"What influenced my stage show was directly due to the fact that growing up in my mother and daddy's house, everybody who was anybody in country music, bluegrass music and rock and roll came by and paid a visit to my mother and daddy," Williams Jr. says in a 2016 interview with FuseVisual. "In the late '50's and throughout the early '60's, it was a big deal to come to visit Hank Williams' home. It was a pilgrimage that many famous people felt they had to make whenever they were in Nashville."
Williams Jr. goes on to call his mother, Audrey Williams, a "pretty gracious host," which is what also drew people to their home.
"She wouldn't turn any of them away," Williams Jr. recalls. "So I was taught by the finest musicians and greatest artists how to play and sing music. That's when I realized that my calling was to be a musician and a recording artist."
Hank Williams, Jr. Recalls The Singers Who Visited His Home
Artists of all genres visited the Williams' home. It's likely why Bocephus's music is so eclectic.
"It was like we had a revolving door on our house," Williams Jr. recalls. "And nothing but these great stars was coming through day and night. I mean, Hank Snow would be there one night, and the next would be Jerry Lee Lewis. Mean Jerry Lee Lewis would be at mother and daddy's house when I was a little boy. And he'd love showing little Hank how to play the piano. It was like, 'Here's Little Richard. This is Fats Domino, and here's Jerry Lee Lewis.' And they're all teaching little Hank how to play the piano."
Williams Jr. can trace his musical influences all the way back to those early years. It's a foundation he is still grateful for, even decades later.
"Money couldn't buy a musical education like that," he reflects. "And you certainly don't learn things like that in school! I was raised with all of those great artists and legendary musicians around the house all the time. At that time, I thought they were all the greatest. So I listened to everything they taught me. ... That's probably why a lot of my shows are so different, because I had so many different musical influences when I was growing up."
