Shelton Hank Williams (born December 12, 1972), known as Hank Williams III, is an American musician, singer and multi-instrumentalist, known for his unique fusion of traditional

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

, heavy metal and punk rock. He was the drummer of

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

band

Arson Anthem Arson Anthem was an American hardcore punk band formed in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2006. The lineup comprised singer Mike Williams of Eyehategod, guitarist Phil Anselmo (best known as the vocalist for Pantera and Down), country musician, p ...

, and former bassist of Phil Anselmo's band

Superjoint Ritual Superjoint, formerly known as Superjoint Ritual, was an American heavy metal band. History The band was formed by Phil Anselmo, Joe Fazzio, and Jimmy Bower in the early 1990s, later to be joined by Hank Williams III and Kevin Bond. They were ...

. He has released eleven studio albums, including five for Curb Records. Williams is the grandson of Hank Williams, the son of

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 ...

, the nephew of

Jett Williams Jett Williams (born Antha Belle Jett; January 6, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. Early life Born Antha Belle Jett, she is the daughter of country music icon Hank Williams and Bobbie Jett (1922–1974), whose brief relationship with H ...

, the half-brother of Holly Williams, and the father of Coleman Williams.

Music career

Early career

Williams spent much of his early career playing drums in punk rock bands during the late 1980s and early-to-mid-1990s. During this time frame, Williams was informed that he had fathered a son, Coleman Finchum, who was five years old by that time; a family court judge ordered Williams to find more stable employment so that Finchum could receive

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...

. Williams later played bass guitar in the heavy metal band Superjoint Ritual, now renamed as

Superjoint Superjoint, formerly known as Superjoint Ritual, was an American heavy metal band. History The band was formed by Phil Anselmo, Joe Fazzio, and Jimmy Bower in the early 1990s, later to be joined by Hank Williams III and Kevin Bond. They were ...

for legal reasons, led by former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo. Williams also played drums for

, formed with Anselmo and Mike Williams of the sludge metal band

Eyehategod Eyehategod (also abbreviated and referred to as EHG) is an American sludge metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana who formed in 1988. They have become one of the better known bands to emerge from the NOLA metal scene. Their core lineup has r ...

Recordings for Curb Records (1996-2010)

Capitalizing on his family name and resemblance to his grandfather, he signed a contract with Nashville music industry giant Curb Records. '' Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts'' was issued shortly thereafter, which spliced together recordings to make it seem that three generations of Williams men were singing alongside one another. In the late 1980s, upon first meeting Hank Williams III,

Minnie Pearl Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (October 25, 1912 – March 4, 1996), known professionally as her stage character Minnie Pearl, was an American comedian who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) and on the television ...

, a friend of the late Hank Williams Sr., reportedly said "Lord, honey, you're a ghost", as she was astonished by his striking resemblance to his grandfather. Williams' first solo album, ''

Risin' Outlaw ''Risin' Outlaw'' is the debut studio album by American country music singer Hank Williams III. It was released on September 7, 1999, by Curb Records. The album was produced by Chuck Howard and Bob Campbell-Smith. Williams has stated that he de ...

'', was released in September 1999 to respectable sales and strong reviews, despite Williams's own hatred of the record. In 2003, Williams recorded ''This Ain't Country'' for Curb, who chose not to release it. On May 17, 2011, Curb released the album under the title ''

Hillbilly Joker ''Hillbilly Joker'' is an unauthorized release of recordings by Hank Williams III, released on May 17, 2011. The album marks a departure from Williams' previous country albums, instead featuring a cowpunk sound which incorporates elements of rock ...

'', without the consent or input from Williams after his contract with the label had been terminated. In 2006, after resolving a contractual dispute with Curb Records, Williams released '' Straight to Hell'' on Curb's rock imprint, Bruc. Battles with

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

delayed the appearance of this album, which was released on February 28, 2006, as a two-disc set in two formats: a censored version (for Wal-Mart), and an uncensored version that was the first major-label country album ever to bear a

parental advisory Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profan ...

warning. ''Straight to Hell'' was also the first release through Curb's Bruc Records imprint. However, the uncensored version was released through Bruc, and the clean version was released through Curb. One of the songs, "Pills I Took", was written by a little-known Wisconsin group called

Those Poor Bastards Those Poor Bastards are an American gothic country band based in Madison, Wisconsin. Since 2004 they have released ten full-length studio albums, six EPs and have toured in both North America and Europe. The band is composed of Lonesome Wyatt ...

, who originally released the song on their 2004 CD ''Country Bullshit''. Williams released

Assjack Assjack is an American heavy metal band led by Hank Williams III and Garrett Bremer. The band is one of the three incarnations of Williams' live show. Career For Assjack's long-anticipated 2009 self-titled studio debut, only Williams sang and p ...

's self-titled debut album on August 4, 2009, through Curb. His next album, '' Rebel Within'', was released in May 2010, and was his last album with Curb Records. It charted at number 20 in ''Billboard'' magazine. Between 2012 and 2017, Curb would release a series of unauthorized compilations of Williams' music. On April 17, 2012, Curb released a Williams album titled ''

Long Gone Daddy ''Long Gone Daddy'' is an unauthorized compilation of recordings by Hank Williams III, released on April 17, 2012, through Williams' former record label Curb Records. The album, distributed without Williams' approval or knowledge, is a collection ...

'', marking the second album the company has released under his name since his departure. In April 2014, Curb Records released a new album under Hank Williams III's name titled ''Ramblin' Man''. The album contains previously unreleased material that Williams recorded while on their label. The following year, Curb released another Williams album of previously unreleased songs titled ''Take As Needed for Pain''. The album is mostly a rock album but the single released was a country song titled "Ruby Get Back to the Hills". On August 18, 2017, Curb released a ''Greatest Hits'' album featuring select tracks from Williams' first four albums, mostly from ''Straight to Hell''.

Independent releases (2011–2014)

On June 23, 2011, it was revealed through Williams' personal Facebook that he would be releasing four new CDs on September 6, 2011. It said to expect country, doom-rock, and speed metal with cattle callin' on the releases. Entitled '' Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town'' (a 2-disc country record with some ambient and folk influences), ''3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin (a metal record in the newly anointed cattle core genre) and '' Attention Deficit Domination'' (a doom-rock record), these new albums were released on Williams's own record label Hank3 Records through

Megaforce Records Megaforce Records is an American independent record label founded in 1982 by Jon Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula to release the first works of Metallica, and devoted primarily to hard rock and heavy metal. It has offices in New York City (w ...

, and feature guest appearances by

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

Les Claypool Leslie Edward Claypool (born September 29, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and author. He is best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the ro ...

( Primus), Alan King (Hellstomper), Ray Lawrence Jr., Troy Medlin (Sourvein), Dave Sherman (Earthride) and Williams' dog, Trooper. On March 4, 2013, on Williams's web site, it was announced that he is working on two new albums. It has been confirmed that there are at least 25 new songs. On May 3, 2013, Williams released the names of two new albums: a country album ''

Brothers of the 4×4 ''Brothers of the 4×4'' is the ninth studio album by American country music artist Hank Williams III, released on October 1, 2013, along with ''A Fiendish Threat''. Williams is credited as "Hank 3" on the cover. Clocking in at 89 minutes and 17 ...

'' and punk album ''A Fiendish Threat'', under the band name "3". On January 1, 2013, it was announced that Williams was working on a new side project as well as the release of two new videos; one for ''Brothers of the 4x4'', the other for ''A Fiendish Threat''. The albums were released in the fall of 2013. On July 6, 2018, Williams was featured on

DevilDriver DevilDriver is an American heavy metal band from Santa Barbara, California, formed in 2002, consisting of vocalist Dez Fafara, lead guitarist Mike Spreitzer, drummer Davier Pérez, bassist Jon Miller and rhythm guitarist Alex Lee. The band was ...

's cover of his song "Country Heroes", which appears on their album '' Outlaws 'til the End: Vol. 1''. On May 24, 2021 he released a cover of the David Allan Coe song "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" on his YouTube channel. On July 31, 2021 Williams shut down his online store. In 2021, Williams' son, Coleman Finchum, changed his last name to Williams began recording and releasing music under the moniker "IV". He formed a band known as "IV and the Strange Band". Their debut album, ''Southern Circus'', was released in June 2022. On Sunday, September 18, 2022, he released a number of new songs on his YouTube channel.

Music style

Williams' music is a mixture of traditional

and punk rock. His songs have been classified as country,

cowpunk Cowpunk (or country punk) is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s - early 1980s. It combines punk rock or New wave music, new wave with country music, country, folk music, folk, and b ...

and

psychobilly Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ram ...

. They fuse the "tempo and structure of bluegrass" with the "attitude and swagger of heavy metal". Williams' lyrical themes include drug use, hedonism and the outlaw life, as well as criticism of the mainstream country music industry. Williams' live shows typically follow a

Jekyll and Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

format: a country music set featuring fiddle player David McElfresh and steel guitar player Dan Johnson, followed by a "hellbilly" set of cowpunk and psychobilly songs, and then an

set, which consists of

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

and

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

songs. The lineup for Assjack includes the addition of supplemental vocalist Gary Lindsey and the departure of his fiddle and steel guitar players. McElfresh's predecessor was fellow-fiddle-player Michael "Fiddleboy" McCanless, who would play all three sets, adding traditional violin for the country set of the concert before turning on different effect pedals for later sets. Fiddleboy died on February 1, 2003. Another former band member was guitarist

Duane Denison Duane Denison (born January 21, 1959) is an American guitarist best known for work with the avant-garde rock band The Jesus Lizard. He is also a founding member of super-group Tomahawk. Biography Denison began his musical career by studying c ...

, previously with

The Jesus Lizard The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas and based in Chicago, Illinois. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground… hoturned out a series of independent records filled with s ...

, who left The Damn Band and Assjack in January 2001 and later that year formed

Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

'' (1999) * ''

Lovesick, Broke and Driftin' ''Lovesick, Broke and Driftin is the second studio album by American country music artist Hank Williams III, released on January 29, 2002. Hank III has stated that he considers this album as his real solo debut and despises his previous album '' ...

'' (2002) * '' Straight to Hell'' (2006) * ''

Damn Right, Rebel Proud ''Damn Right, Rebel Proud'' is the fourth studio album released by American country music artist Hank Williams III. It was released on October 21, 2008. The album was released in two separate versions, one being a censored release for major retaile ...

'' (2008) * '' Rebel Within'' (2010) * ''

'' (2011) * '' Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town'' (Hank3 Records, 2011) * '' 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin''' (Hank3 Records, 2011) * '' Attention Deficit Domination'' (Hank3 Records, 2011) * ''

'' (Hank3 Records, 2013) * ''A Fiendish Threat'' (Hank3 Records, 2013) * ''Weekend Star'' (2022)https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/hank-williams-iii-releases-grandiose-delusions-side-project-album/

References

External links

*
Official Facebook
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Hank, III Living people 1972 births 20th-century American drummers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American drummers 21st-century American bass guitarists American people of English descent American alternative country singers American country guitarists American male guitarists American country singer-songwriters American heavy metal bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American heavy metal singers American punk rock bass guitarists American punk rock drummers American male drummers American punk rock guitarists American punk rock singers Assjack members Cowpunk musicians Curb Records artists Country musicians from Tennessee Hank Williams Guitarists from Tennessee People from Nashville, Tennessee Psychobilly musicians Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Superjoint members