Tragedy is nothing new to the family of the late country-music legend Hank Williams.
You could even say that it's a “family tradition”.
Hank Sr. passed away from a drug overdose when he was just 29 years old.
His son Hank Jr aka Bocephus, would later follow in his father's footsteps and also
get caught up in drugs and alcohol.
After a failed suicide attempt, he would eventually find his reason for living, but tragically
right after he found his own voice, he would experience a catastrophic accident that almost
claimed his life.
Then you have his son Shelton, who goes by the name Hank III when performing his riveting
brand of country-punk hybrid music.
Taking a few pointers from his father and granddad, Hank III has also had a lifelong
battle with substance abuse and has found himself on the wrong end of the long arm of
the law more than a few times.
Last but not least, we have Colemon Williams, otherwise known as Hank Williams IV.
It must be hard being the son of a hell-raiser like Hank III, and although he's probably
the one Hank that hasn't completely gone off the deep-end yet, he has also had to contend
with quite a bit of hardship throughout his life so far.
Join Facts Verse as we take a look at the tragic Hank Williams Family legacy while detailing
how each Hank has gone to hell and back while simultaneously finding success in the music
industry.
Hank Williams Sr.
Born Hiram “Hank” Williams on September 17, 1923, Hank Sr is widely regarded as one
of the most popular and influential American singer-songwriters of all time.
He grew up in rural Mount Olive, Alabama, and came from very little means.
His father worked as a logger before being hospitalized at a VA hospital when he was
just six years old.
Hank saw very little of his dad over the next decade or so as he was severely ill and didn't
want visitors.
Hank's mother, who had to take over the duties of running the family, ran boarding houses
and eventually moved the family to Montgomery, Alabama.
Hank Sr's childhood was largely shaped by his spinal condition, spina bifida, which
made him different from the other children his age and led him to develop a sense of
being separated from the world around him.
He felt like some kind of outcast, and that theme could clearly be heard in the lyrics
of his later music.
After discovering his love for music listening to the radio and hearing church choirs deliver
their gospel melodies, Williams taught himself how to play folk and country music.
He also received a helping hand from African American street musician Rufus Payne, who
taught him how to play the blues.
Hank made his radio debut when he was just 13 and would later enter talent shows with
his band Hank Williams and his drifting Cowboys.
His mother supported his musical dreams and would often drive him around throughout southern
Alabama to play shows.
In the 40s, he was discovered by music executives in the recording studio capital of the world,
Nashville.
But as he continued to find success doing what he loved most, he also became increasingly
dependent on alcohol to relieve his crippling back pain.
As a result of this, he was often regarded as being unreliable.
In 1943, he met the love of his life, Audrey Mae Shepherd, who was a mother of a daughter
and had just exited a tumultuous marriage.
After she joined Hank Sr's band playing the bass, Audrey and Williams got married in 1944.
The couple would welcome their son, Hank Williams Jr, into the world in 1949.
In 1946, Williams signed with MGM, and a year later he released his first hit single, “Move
it On Over'.
In 1948, he wowed the music world once more with a second Billboard chart-topping hit
“Honky Tonkin”.
But as he continued to find more and more success in the music business, Hank's behavior
became increasingly erratic.
He would often show up to gigs drunk, but he managed to keep things together long enough
to release a series of other hit singles, including 'Louisiana Hayride', 'Your Cheatin'
Heart', and 'Honky Tonk Blues'.
In 1952, he and Sheppard divorced shortly after the Grand Ole Opry had fired him.
Hank then proceeded to become increasingly reliant on painkillers and alcohol to ease
his ails.
His physical appearance diminished.
His hair started falling out, and his weight ballooned.
On New Year's Day 1953, while riding in the back seat of his blue Cadillac, Hank Sr passed
away.
It's generally agreed upon that he likely died from a lethal combination of painkillers
and alcohol.
But instead of his death putting an end to his stardom, it arguably only added to his
legendary status.
Posthumously, Hank Sr's music would go on to take on a life of it's own, thus immortalizing
him as one of the most cherished and revered country stars of all time.
Hank Williams Jr.
Following in his father's footsteps, Hank Williams Jr would likewise become one of the
most beloved stars of country music.
But even though bearing the same name as his father clearly helped him find success in
the music world, for the longest time, he felt as if he was simply riding on his dad's
coattails.
Escaping the shadow of his famous father was no easy task, but ultimately he was able to
find his own voice and pave out his own unique path.
Hank Jr was born Randall Hank Williams, and on the insistence of his mother Audrey, he
started performing when he was just eight years old.
His 1964 recording of his father's tune “long Gone Lonesome Blues” climbed to number 5
on the country charts before he was even in high school.
But by the time he was 18, Hank Jr found himself desperately unhappy with life and fell into
drug and alcohol abuse.
After severing ties with his mother, Hank Jr tried to kill himself in 1974.
Fortunately, he survived this attempt and was able to rediscover his passion for music.
After moving away from Nashville and finding a new home in Alabama, Hank Jr began collaborating
with Southern rock musicians such as Charlie Daniels, Waylon Jennings, and the band members
of the Marshall Tucker Band.
Eventually, these collaborations would lead him to release his album Hank Williams Jr
and Friends, which is generally considered to be the record that saw Hank coming into
his element and finding his voice.
However, tragedy struck just a year later when he was climbing Ajax Mountain in Montana.
After losing his footing, Willaims fell over 400 feet, smashing his face and crushing his
skull as he tumbled.
It took him two years and numerous surgeries for him to fully recover, and at first, it
wasn't clear even if he was ever going to be able to talk again – let alone sing.
Fortunately, after recovering from his injuries, he began the slow process of rebuilding his
career.
After re-branding himself primarily as a southern rock musician, Hank Jr would go on to release
dozens of albums And throughout his career, he would earn numerous awards and accolades
for his contributions to the world of music while challenging the establishment with his
unique blend of country, rock, and blues.
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Stay tuned to learn all about Hank III and his son, Colemon.
Hank III
While his granddaddy sang about Cheatin' Hearts and feeling lonesome, Shelton Hank Williams
has spent his life battling very different demons - namely, hard drugs and record executives.
Hank III, as he goes by on stage, was born on December 12, 1972, and he spent much of
his early career living a semi-nomadic lifestyle while playing drums in a punk band in the
late 80s and early 90s. Williams would later play bass in the heavy metal group Superjoint
Ritual, led by former Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo.
In 1996, he signed a contract with the Nashville label Curb Records hoping to capitalize on
his family name and his uncanny resemblance to his grandfather.
That same year, he would appear on the critically-panned record Three Hanks: Men with Broken hearts,
which pieced together recordings of the three generations of Hanks to make it seem as if
they were singing alongside each other.
Hank III hated having to do that album, but he had to do it anyway since he signed his
name on that dotted line.
Hank III put out his first solo album, Risin' Outlaw in 1999, and went on to release the
album Lovesick, Broke, and Driftin' in 2002.
As he continued to find more and success as an unorthodox country musician who didn't
mind dabbling in heavy metal and punk music, Hank III would begin to succumb to his party-hardy
lifestyle.
He turned to hard drugs like crystal meth, crack, and painkillers to ease his troubled
mind, but inevitably this began to cause him a great deal of trouble in his personal life.
And while he was actively spiraling, his relationship with Curb began to deteriorate.
In 2006, he released the album Straight to Hell, which dealt heavily with his drug use
and outlaw persona.
Two years later, he put out the album Damn Right, Rebel Proud after temporarily patching
things up with Curb.
But after a series of disputes, Williams decided to put together his own label, Hank3 Records.
He would go on to release several critically applauded albums, including A Ghost to a Ghost/Guttetown
and Cattle Callin – the latter of which was credited to 3 Bar Ranch and consisted
of recordings of cattle auctioneers overlaid with speed metal.
In 2013, Hank III put out his most recent album, A Fiendish Threat, and largely he has
fallen off the map since then, leading fans to speculate that he has been continuing to
fight with addiction in the eight years since.
While he has managed to stay out of the spotlight for quite some time, it would seem likely
that his demons haven't magically relented – and it's well documented that he has spent
multiple stints in rehabilitation centers since then.
Hopefully, the world has not seen the last of Hank III.
Hanks Williams IV
Sometime in the mid-90s, Hank III learned that he had fathered a son, Colemon Finchum.
In 2021, it was confirmed that Colemon, who has since adopted the alias Hank Williams
IV, or just IV for short, would pursue a musical career of his own.
His debut single, Son of Sin, was released on April 20, 2021.
The 30-year-old, who has spent most of his life estranged from his father, has since
released his debut EP.
After learning that he had a son, Hank III was hit with a paternity suit when Coloemon
was five-years-old.
He was ordered by a judge to get a 'real job' to help pay his child support.
To pay his dues, Hank III signed with Cumusicrb and went on to become the outlaw nontraditional
country singer and songwriter that he is today.
Did you know that Hank Williams Sr was such a deeply troubled man?
And did you know that these troubles only seemed to be passed down his musically-talented
bloodline?
Let us know in the comments section what you know about the family tradition of pain and
misery that seems to haunt the Williams family name.
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recording industry as well as the stage and screen.