Hank Williams III

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This article is about Hank Williams III. For his grandfather, see Hank Williams. For his father, see Hank Williams, Jr..

Hank Williams III
Hank III performing in 2006 at The Loft in Atlanta, Georgia.
Background information
Birth name	Shelton Hank Williams
Also known as	Hank III, III
Born	December 12, 1972 Nashville, Tennessee (age 34) in Nashville, TN
Genre(s)	Country Cow punk Punk rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter Bassist
Instrument(s)	Singer Guitar Bass Drums
Years active	1996-present
Label(s)	Curb Bruc
Associated acts	The Damn Band Assjack Superjoint Ritual
Website	Official Website
Members
The Damn Band JoeBuck Andy Gibson Adam McOwen Munash Sami Gary Lindsey

Shelton Hank Williams (December 12,1972 ) is an American musician. He is sometimes credited as Hank III or even III. The three is often represented by a modified version of Raymond Pettibon's Black Flag logo.

The grandson of Hank Williams, Sr. and the son of Hank Williams Jr, he spent much of his early years playing drums in punk rock bands. In 1996, child support payments led Hank III to sign a contract with Nashville, Tennessee giant Curb Records. Three Hanks: Men With Broken Hearts was issued shortly thereafter, which brought the voices of all three generations of Williams men together. While this may seem to be a nice beginning, it was quite different from what Hank III himself desired musically. Despite having been born in Nashville, Tennessee, Hank III has never had a preference for mainstream Country.

While his name (and his uncanny vocal and physical resemblances to his grandfather) could have guaranteed him a thriving Country audience, he had no patience for the often predictable Nashville sound, nor for even the minimal constraints on behavior his promoters required. His opinions on this subject are well summed up in the songs "Trashville" and "Dick in Dixie."

His first album on his own, titled Risin' Outlaw, was released in September 1999. Lovesick, Broke and Driftin' was released in 2002. He had a great deal of trouble with his label. Reportedly the label was unwilling to release his appropriately named This Ain't Country LP, nor allow him Hank III to issue it alone. The label was also upset that he sold t-shirts that read "Fuck Curb.".

In late 2004, Thrown Out of the Bar was slated for release but Curb opted not to release it. Hank III and label executive Mike Curb would be in and out of court for the next year, and the judge ruled in favor of Hank III in the spring of 2005, demanding that Curb release the album. Shortly thereafter, Hank III and Curb came to terms, and Hank III dropped his "Fuck Curb" campaign. Bar was reworked into Straight to Hell.

Battles with Wal-Mart had delayed the release of his third studio album, titled Straight To Hell, which was released on February 28, 2006 as a two-disc set in two formats: a clean version (for Wal-Mart), and an uncensored version, which was the first major-label Country album to bear a parental advisory warning.

Currently, Hank III is touring in support of Straight To Hell, and has been overheard claiming that a rock record (presumably under the moniker of Assjack) will finally see the light of day in less than a year, followed by a new country album.

1 Notable facts
2 Discography
3 External links

[edit] Notable facts

Hank III's sound is difficult to classify, and has been described as hard-twang, punkabilly, cowpunk, alternacountry, hellbilly, and honky punk.[1]

Hank III enjoys an extremely loyal grassroots fan base and much of his success can be attributed to his taper-friendly stance regarding the audio/videotaping of his frenetic live shows, which have been his main promotional vehicle with the lack of attention paid to his promotion by the Curb label.

Live shows follow a "Jekyll and Hyde" format of a country set followed by a hellbilly set, and then an Assjack set. He plays country and hellbilly with his "Damn Band" and produces a very different sound with Assjack, which is a punk rock band. The lineup for Assjack, includes the addition of supplemental vocalist, Gary Lindsey, bassist JoeBuck switching from upright to electric bass, and the departure of his fiddle and slide guitar players.

Hank III was the bassist in the now-defunct Superjoint Ritual, with former Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo.

Hank III is playing drums for Arson Anthem, formed with Anselmo and Mike Williams from EYEHATEGOD.[2]

Hank III has recorded the tracks "87 Southbound" and "Thunderstorms and Neon Signs", which were penned by Wayne Hancock, a musician who is often compared to him.

The song titled "Pills I Took" on Straight to Hell is a cover of a song originally by Those Poor Bastards.

On the self-titled - and single - release of Rebel Meets Rebel, a side project by David Allan Coe and Pantera's Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul, and Rex Brown, Hank III is featured on "Get Outta My Life".

In the past, The Damn Band/Assjack also featured fiddle-player extraordinaire Michael "Fiddleboy" McCanless, who would play both sets, the traditional country set of the concert and then come back and plug his fiddle into a distortion box and saw away during the metal set.

Upon first meeting Hank III, Minnie Pearl, a friend of Hank Williams Sr., said "Lord, honey, you're a ghost," as she was astonished by his striking resemblance to his grandfather.

Hank III appears in the film Southlander: Diary of a Desperate Musician (2001) [3]

Joe Fazzio, former drummer for Superjoint Ritual, has toured with Hank III as well as contributing to his album Lovesick, Broke and Driftin'.

Hank III has written liner notes for all three studio albums by grindcore band Brujeria.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Three Hanks: Men With Broken Hearts (Vocals and Background Vocals) (1996)
Risin' Outlaw (1999)
Lovesick, Broke and Driftin' (2002)
Superjoint Ritual: A Lethal Dose of American Hatred (Bass) (2003)
Straight to Hell (2006)

[edit] Other releases

Hank III Says Fuck You (cassette) (2000)
Bootleg No.1|Bootleg #1 (2000)
Life Of Sin/Hellbilly 7" (2000)
Bootleg No.2|Bootleg #2 (2001)
Live In Scotland (2001)
This Ain't Country (bootleg) (2001)
Bootleg No.3 Pre-Release|Bootleg #3 Pre-Release (2002)
Bootleg No.3 (2005)
Pills I Took Split 7" Vinyl With Those Poor Bastards (2006)
Ruby Get Back To The Hills Split 7" Vinyl With ANTiSEEN (2006)

[edit] Other appearances

Badlands: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska (contributing track: "Atlantic City") (2000)
Driven Soundtrack (contributing track: "Hang On") (2001)
Timeless: A Tribute To Hank Williams (contributing track: "I'm A Long Gone Daddy") (2001)
Sharp Dressed Man: A Tribute To ZZ Top (contributing track: "Fearless Boogie") (2002)
The Crybaby (The Melvins, Vocals and Guitar on Ramblin' Man, Vocals on Okie From Muskogee) (2000)
Dressed In Black: A Tribute To Johnny Cash (contributing track: "Wreck Of The Old 97") (2002)
Live In London... England (Dale Watson Backing Vocals on Country My Ass) (2002)
Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three (No Values) (2002)
Stars & Guitars (Willie Nelson and Friends Vocals on Dead Flowers and Move It On Over) (2003)
Touch My Heart: A Tribute To Johnny PayCheck (contributing track: "I'm The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised") (2004)
Rebel Meets Rebel (Rebel Meets Rebel (David Allan Coe and Pantera), Vocals on "Get Outta My Life") (2006)
50 Years Too Late (Joey Allcorn, Vocals on This Ain't Montgomery) (2006)
Everybody Loves ANTiSEEN: A Loving Tribute To The Boys From Brutalsville (contributing track: "Ruby, Get back to the hills") (2006)
For the Sick: A Tribute To EyeHateGod (contributing tracks: "Take as Needed for Pain" and "Torn Between Suicide and Breakfast"; credited as The Unholy 3) (2007)

[edit] External links

Concert Photos

Interviews

Reviews

Fans

Misc.

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Hank Williams III

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] Notable facts

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Other releases

[edit] Other appearances

[edit] External links

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