Shelton Hank Williams, also known as Hank Williams III and Hank 3, is an American musician,
singer and multi-instrumentalist, including guitar, bass, drums, banjo and vocals.
In addition to his honky tonk recordings, Williams' style alternates between country,
punk and metal.
He is the principal member of the punk metal band Assjack, the drummer for the Southern
hardcore punk band Arson Anthem, and was the bassist for Pantera singer Phil Anselmo's
band Superjoint Ritual.
He has released seven studio albums, including five for Curb Records.
Williams is the grandson of Hank Williams, Sr., son of Hank Williams, Jr., and the half-brother
of Holly 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.
He signed a contract with Nashville, Tennessee, 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, 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.
Risin' Outlaw and contract issues Williams' first solo album, Risin' Outlaw,
was released in September 1999 to respectable sales and strong reviews.
While his name could have guaranteed Williams a thriving country audience, he had little
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 his songs "Trashville" and "Dick in
Dixie."
Williams' live shows typically follow a Jekyll and Hyde format: a country music set featuring
fiddle player David "DaveyMac" McElfresh and steel guitar player Andy Gibson, followed
by a hellbilly set, and then an Assjack set.
He plays both the country and the psychobilly with his "The Damn Band."
Assjack produces a very different sound than either, mixing heavy doses of metalcore, psychobilly,
and hardcore punk.
The lineup for Assjack includes the addition of supplemental vocalist Gary Lindsey, bassist
Zach Shedd switching from upright to electric bass, and the departure of his fiddle and
steel guitar players.
DaveyMac'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
plugging his instrument into an amplifier and distortion unit for later sets.
Fiddleboy passed away in 2003.
Another former band member was guitarist Duane Denison, previously with The Jesus Lizard,
who left The Damn Band and Assjack in January 2001 and later that year formed Tomahawk.
Williams has had significant contractual conflicts with Curb Records.
He expressed dissatisfaction with his debut, and reportedly the label was unwilling to
release his appropriately named This Ain't Country LP, nor to allow him to issue it on
another record label.
In response, Williams began making t-shirts stating "Fuck Curb."
Also during this era, Williams played bass guitar in heavy metal band Superjoint Ritual,
a now-defunct band led by former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo.
Thrown out of the Bar and Straight to Hell In late 2004 Thrown Out of the Bar was slated
for release, but Curb opted not to issue it.
Williams and label executive Mike Curb would be in and out of court for the next year before
a judge ruled in favor of Williams in the spring of 2005, demanding that Curb release
the album.
Shortly thereafter Williams and Curb came to terms, and Williams dropped his "Fuck Curb"
campaign.
Bar was reworked into Straight to Hell, released on Curb’s rock imprint, Bruc.
Battles with Wal-Mart delayed the appearance of this album, which was released on February
28, 2006 as a two-disc set in two formats: a censored version, and an uncensored version
that was the first major-label country album ever to bear a parental advisory warning.
One of the songs, "Pills I Took", was written by a little-known Wisconsin group called Those
Poor Bastards, who originally released the song on their 2004 CD Country Bullshit.
Independent releases Williams recently played drums for Arson Anthem,
formed with Phil Anselmo and Mike Williams of the sludge band Eyehategod.
Williams released his long awaited punk-metal album AssJack on August 4, 2009.
His next album, Rebel Within, was released in May 2010.
It charted at number 20 in Billboard magazine.
Williams' former label Curb Records released This Ain't Country under the title Hillbilly
Joker on May 17, 2011 without the consent or input from Williams after his contract
with the label had been terminated.
Williams told his fans, "Don’t buy it, but get it some other way and burn the hell out
of it and give it to everyone."
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, speed metal with cattle callin' on the releases.
Entitled Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town, 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin' and Attention Deficit
Domination, these new albums will be released on Williams's own record label Hank3 Records
through Megaforce Records, and feature guest appearances by Tom Waits, Les Claypool, Alan
King, Ray Lawrence Jr., Troy Medlin, Dave Sherman and Williams' dog, Trooper.
On April 17, 2012, Curb released a Hank III album titled Long Gone Daddy, marking the
second album the company has released under his name since his departure.
On March 4, 2013, On Hank 3's web site, it was announced that he is working on two new
albums.
Its been confirmed that there are at least 25 new songs.
On May 3, 2013, Hank 3 released the names of his two new albums; a country album Brothers
of the 4×4 and punk album A Fiendish Threat, under the band name "3".
On January 1, 2014 it was announced that Williams will be working on a new side project as well
releasing two new videos; one for Brothers of the 4x4 & A Fiendish Treat.
They are to be released sometime early February 2014.
Personal life Unlike his father, Williams does not discuss
politics publicly.
When asked about his thoughts on his dad being ousted from singing the theme to Monday Night
Football in 2011, Williams mentioned to TMZ.com that most musicians, including his dad, are
"not worthy" of a political discussion.
When asked about his own political views in the same interview, Williams mentioned that
he's a musician, not a politician.
Discography
Studio albums Risin' Outlaw
Lovesick, Broke and Driftin' Straight to Hell
Damn Right, Rebel Proud Rebel Within
Hillbilly Joker Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town
3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin' Attention Deficit Domination
Brothers of the 4×4 A Fiendish Threat
References
External links Official website
Official Facebook Hank Williams III at the Internet Movie Database