''Habits Old and New'' is the thirty-first studio album by

Hank Williams Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

and was released under

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of ...

in June 1980. ''Habits Old and New'' was Williams' third full-length album in a fourteen-month span, following '' Family Tradition'' and ''

Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound ''Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound'' is the thirtieth studio album by American country music artist Hank Williams Jr. and his fourth on the Elektra/Curb labels. The full-length album was Williams' second of 1979, with '' Family Tradition'' released in ...

'' that were released in April and November 1979. It was also his fifth album on the Elektra/Curb label.

Reception

The album was not as critically acclaimed or commercially successful as ''Family Tradition'' and ''Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound''. It peaked at number 4 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales a ...

chart and produced two Top 20 singles. The first single released was a modern and up tempo version of "

Kaw-Liga "Kaw-Liga" ( ) is a country music song written by Hank Williams and Fred Rose. Background "Kaw-Liga" is one of just a handful of songs that Williams wrote with Fred Rose, who produced his records and published his songs through his company Acu ...

", a song written by

Hank Williams, Sr. Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

and Fred Rose. It was released as a single after Hank, Sr.'s death in January 1953 and spent fourteen weeks at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' country singles chart. Hank, Jr.'s version wasn't as successful, eventually peaking at number 12 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart. The follow up single was an original song of Hank, Jr. titled "Old Habits" that fared better, peaking at number 6 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. ''Habits Old and New'' would eventually be certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, making it his fourth career Gold album and his third consecutive Gold while signed with Curb.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Hank Williams Jr.; except where indicated #" Old Habits" – 3:02 #"Dinosaur" (Hank Williams Jr., Bob Corbin) – 3:17 #"

" (

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

, Fred Rose) – 4:21 #"Here I Am Fallin' Again" – 3:37 #"The Blues Man" – 4:18 #"All In Alabama" – 4:01 #"The American Way" – 3:04 #" Move It On Over" (

) – 3:05 #"Won't It Be Nice" (Hank Williams Jr.,

Merle Kilgore Wyatt Merle Kilgore (August 9, 1934 – February 6, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and manager. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, he was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. At the time of his death, he was the personal manager of Hank Wil ...

) – 3:08 #"If You Don't Like Hank Williams" (

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...

) – 2:51

Personnel

*Hank Williams, Jr. - vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, keyboards *Leo Jackson, Rock Killough,

Randy Scruggs Randy Lynn Scruggs (August 3, 1953 – April 17, 2018) was an American music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13. He won four Grammy Awards and was named Musician of the Year at the Country Music ...

- acoustic guitar *Rock Killough,

Sonny Throckmorton James Fron "Sonny" Throckmorton (born April 2, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Known primarily for his songwriting, Throckmorton has had more than 1,000 of his songs recorded by various country singers. He has also had ...

, Dennis Wilson - backing vocals * Bobby Thompson - banjo *

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Jerry Carrigan Jerry Kirby Carrigan (September 13, 1943 – June 22, 2019) was an American drummer and record producer. Early in his career he was a member of the original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and later worked as a session musician in Nashville for over ...

Larrie Londin Ralph Gallant (October 15, 1943 − August 24, 1992), better known by the stage name Larrie Londin, was an American drummer and session musician. According to journalist James Byron Fox, "If not the best known, Larrie is one of the most listene ...

- drums *Dan Eckley,

Reggie Young Reggie Grimes Young Jr. (December 12, 1936 – January 17, 2019) was an American musician who was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studio house band, The Memphis Boys, and was a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with ...

- electric guitar *Lisa Silver,

Rufus Thibodeaux Rufus Thibodeaux (January 5, 1934, Ridge, Louisiana – August 12, 2005, Nashville, Tennessee) was an American Cajun music fiddler. Thibodeaux played guitar from age six and fiddle from age twelve. He played in local dance halls at 13, and joined ...

- fiddle *Muscle Shoals Horns - horns *

Bobby Emmons Bobby Gene Emmons (February 19, 1943 – February 23, 2015) was an American keyboard player and songwriter. He was an active session musician in Memphis, Tennessee, and was the keyboardist of The Memphis Boys, playing keyboards on tracks by E ...

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon ...

Shane Keister Shane Keister is an American musician. He is known for his work as a studio musician, writer, arranger and producer. He plays synthesizer, piano, Hammond B3, Synclavier, Fairlight CMI, Fender Rhodes, and others. History Keister was born in Hunti ...

- keyboards *

Kieran Kane Kieran Kane (born October 7, 1949) is an American country music artist, as well as the owner of Dead Reckoning Records, an independent record label. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Jamie O'Hara comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven si ...

- mandolin *Dicky Overbey - steel guitar, percussion

Chart performance

References

Hank Williams Jr. albums 1980 albums Albums produced by Jimmy Bowen Warner Records albums {{1980s-country-album-stub