Hank Williams , Jr . Randall Hank Williams ( born May 30 , 1949 ) , better known as Hank Williams , Jr . and Bocephus , is an American country singer - songwriter and musician . His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern rock , blues , and traditional country . He is the son of country music singer Hank Williams and the father of Hank Williams III , Holly Williams , Hilary Williams , Samuel Williams , and Katie Williams . Williams began his career by following in his famed father ' s footsteps , singing his father ' s songs and imitating his father ' s style . Williams ' s own style slowly evolved as he struggled to find his own voice and place within the country music industry . This trend was interrupted by a near - fatal fall off the side of Ajax Mountain in Montana on August 8 , 1975 . After an extended recovery , he challenged the country music establishment with a blend of country , rock , and blues . Williams enjoyed much success in the 1980s , from which he earned considerable recognition and popularity both inside and outside the country music industry . As a multi - instrumentalist , Williams ' s repertoire of skills include guitar , bass guitar , upright bass , steel guitar , banjo , dobro , piano , keyboards , harmonica , fiddle , and drums . From 1989 until October 2011 , a version of his song " All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight " was used as the opening for broadcasts of Monday Night Football . Biography . Early life and career . Williams was born on May 26 , 1949 , in Shreveport , Louisiana . His father nicknamed him Bocephus ( after Grand Ole Opry comedian Rod Brasfield ' s ventriloquist dummy ) . After his father ' s untimely death in 1953 , he was raised by his mother , Audrey Williams . While he was a child , a number of contemporary musicians visited his family , who influenced and taught him various music instruments and styles . Among these figures of influence were Johnny Cash , Fats Domino , Earl Scruggs , and Jerry Lee Lewis . Williams first stepped on the stage and sang his father ' s songs when he was eight years old . In 1964 , he made his recording debut with " Long Gone Lonesome Blues " , one of his father ' s many classic songs . Williams ' early career was guided , and to an extent some observers say outright dominated , by his mother , who is widely claimed as having been the driving force that led his late father to musical superstar status during the late 1940s and early 1950s . Audrey , in many ways , promoted young Hank Jr . as a Hank Williams impersonator , even to the extent of having stage clothes designed for him that were identical to his father ' s , and encouraging vocal styles very similar to those of his father . A change in appearance and musical direction . Although Williams ' s recordings earned him numerous country hits throughout the 1960s and early 1970s with his role as a " Hank Williams impersonator " , he became disillusioned and severed ties with his mother . By the mid - 1970s , Williams began to pursue a musical direction that would eventually make him a superstar . While recording a series of moderately successful songs , Williams began a heavy pattern of both drug and alcohol abuse . Upon moving to Alabama , in an attempt to refocus both his creative energy and his troubled personal life , Williams began playing music with Southern rock musicians , among them Jake Lovendahl , Waylon Jennings , Toy Caldwell , Charlie Daniels , and others . " Hank Williams , Jr . and Friends " , often considered his watershed album , was the product of these then - groundbreaking collaborations . In 1977 , Williams recorded and released " One Night Stands " and " The New South " , and worked closely with his old friend Waylon Jennings on the album " Once and For All " . On August 8 , 1975 , Williams was nearly killed in a mountain - climbing accident . While he was climbing Ajax Peak in Montana , the snow beneath him collapsed and he fell almost 500 feet onto rock . He suffered multiple skull and facial fractures . To hide the scars and the disfigurement from the accident , Williams grew a beard and began wearing sunglasses and a cowboy hat . The beard , hat , and sunglasses have since become his signature look , and he is rarely seen without them . Acceptance into the country music establishment . Williams ' s career began to hit its peak after the Nashville establishment gradually — and somewhat reluctantly — accepted his new sound . His popularity had risen to levels where he could no longer be overlooked for major industry awards . He was prolific throughout the 1980s , sometimes recording and releasing two albums a year . " Family Tradition " , " Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound " , " Habits Old and New " , " Rowdy " , " The Pressure Is On " , " High Notes " , " Strong Stuff " , " Man of Steel " , " Major Moves " , " Five - O " , " Montana Cafe " , and many others resulted in a long string of hits . Between 1979 and 1992 , Williams released 21 albums that were all , at least , certified gold by the RIAA . Between 1979 and 1990 , Williams enjoyed a string of 30 Top Ten singles on the Billboard Country charts , including eight No . 1 singles , for a total of 44 Top Ten singles , including a total of 10 No . 1 singles , during his career . In 1982 , he had nine albums simultaneously on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart , none of which was greatest hits or live . In 1987 and 1988 , Williams was named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association . In 1987 , 1988 , and 1989 , he won the same award from the Academy of Country Music . The pinnacle album of his acceptance and popularity was " Born to Boogie " . During the 1980s , Williams became a country music superstar known for catchy anthems and hard - edged , rock - influenced country . During the late 1970s and into the mid - 1980s , Hank Jr ' s songs constantly flew into the number one or number two spots , with songs such as " Family Tradition " , " Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound " , " Old Habits " , " Ain ' t Misbehavin , " Born to Boogie " , and " My Name Is Bocephus " . The 1987 hit single Wild Streak was cowritten by Houston native Terri Sharp , for which Williams and Sharp both earned gold records . In 1988 , he released a Southern pride song , " If the South Woulda Won " . The reference is to a Southern victory in the Civil War . The song proposes Southern holidays , honoring Elvis Presley , Lynyrd Skynyrd , and Patsy Cline . Hank Williams Jr . would run for president of the South . He would place the capital in Montgomery , Alabama , honoring his father , Hank Williams Sr . , with his image on the $ 100 bill . He also implies that in the current United States drug dealers are not prosecuted and killers get off free and calls for swift executions instead . His 1989 hit " There ' s a Tear in My Beer " was a duet with his father created using electronic merging technology . The song was written by his father , and had been previously recorded with Hank Williams playing the guitar as the sole instrument . The music video for the song combined existing television footage of Hank Williams performing , onto which electronic merging technology impressed the recordings of Hank Jr . , which then made it appear as if he were actually playing with his father . The video was both a critical and commercial success . It was named " Video of the Year " by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music . Hank Williams Jr . would go on to win a Grammy Award in 1990 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration . He is well known for his hit " A Country Boy Can Survive " and as the performer of the theme song for " Monday Night Football " , based on his 1984 hit " All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight " . In 1991 , 1992 , 1993 , and 1994 , Williams ' s opening themes for " Monday Night Football " earned him four Emmy Award s . In 2001 , Hank rewrote his classic hit " A Country Boy Can Survive " after 9 / 11 , renaming it " America Can Survive " . In 2004 , Williams was featured prominently on " CMT Outlaws " . In 2006 , he starred at the Summerfest concert . He has also made a cameo appearance along with Larry the Cable Guy , Kid Rock , and Charlie Daniels in Gretchen Wilson ' s music video for the song " All Jacked Up " . He and Kid Rock also appeared in Wilson ' s " Redneck Woman " video . Hank also had a small part of Kid Rock ' s video " Only God Knows Why " . He is also referenced in numerous songs by modern - day country singers , including Kid Rock , Brantley Gilbert , Gretchen Wilson , Alan Jackson , Justin Moore , Trace Adkins , and Aaron Lewis . In April 2009 , Williams released a new single , " Red , White & Pink - Slip Blues " , which charted to number 3 on the country charts . The song was the lead - off single to Williams ' s album " 127 Rose Avenue " . The album debuted and peaked at number 7 on the " Billboard " Top Country Albums chart . Also in July 2009 , " 127 Rose Avenue " was announced as his last album for Curb Records . Notable events . Williams opened for Super Bowl XL on February 5 , 2006 , on ABC and was in the stands as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan . On April 10 , 2006 , CMT honored Williams with the Johnny Cash Visionary Award , presenting it to him at the 2006 CMT Music Awards . On November 11 , 2008 , Williams was honored as a BMI Icon at the 56th annual BMI Country Awards . The artists and songwriters named BMI Icons have had " a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers . " Politics . Williams has been politically involved with the Republican Party . For the 2000 election , he redid his song " We Are Young Country " to " This is Bush – Cheney Country " . On October 15 , 2008 , at a rally in Virginia Beach for Republican presidential nominee John McCain , he performed " McCain – Palin Tradition " , a song in support of McCain and his vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin . He has made many contributions to federal election campaigns , mostly to Republicans , including Michele Bachmann ' s 2012 presidential campaign . In November 2008 , Williams explored a run for the 2012 Republican nomination as a U . S . Senator from Tennessee for the seat held by Bob Corker , though his publicist said Williams " has talked about it , but no announcement has been made " . 2011 " Fox and Friends " appearance . In an October 3 , 2011 , interview with Fox News Channel ' s " Fox and Friends " , Williams referred to a June golf game in which President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner had teamed against Vice President Joe Biden and Ohio Governor John Kasich , saying that match was " one of the biggest political mistakes ever " . Asked about why that golf game disturbed him , Williams said , " Come on . That ' d be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu . . . In the country this shape is in . . . I mean , in the shape this country is in ? " He also stated the President and Vice President are " the enemy " and compared them to " the Three Stooges " . When anchor Gretchen Carlson later said to him , " You used the name of one of the most hated people in all of the world to describe , I think , the president . " Williams replied , " Well , that is true . But I ' m telling you like it is . " As a result of his statements , ESPN dropped Williams ' opening musical number from its " Monday Night Football " broadcast of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers versus the Indianapolis Colts and replaced it with the national anthem . Later , Williams stated his analogy was " extreme – but it was to make a point " , and " Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood . . . I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me – how ludicrous that pairing was . They ' re polar opposites , and it made no sense . They don ' t see eye - to - eye and never will . " Williams went on to claim he has " always respected the office of the president " despite having called the commander - in - chief " the enemy " and in context continued with , " Every time the media brings up the Tea Party , it ' s painted as racist and extremists – but there ' s never a backlash , no outrage to those comparisons . . . Working - class people are hurting – and it doesn ' t seem like anybody cares . When both sides are high - fiving it on the ninth hole when everybody else is without a job – it makes a whole lot of us angry . Something has to change . The policies have to change . " ESPN later announced they were " extremely disappointed " in Williams ' comments , and pulled his opening from that night ' s broadcast . Three days later , ESPN released a statement announcing Williams and his song would not return to " Monday Night Football " , ending the use of the song that had been part of the broadcast on both ABC and ESPN since 1989 . Williams has further expressed defiance and indifference on his website , and said he was the one who made the decision . " After reading hundreds of e - mails , I have made MY decision , " he wrote . " By pulling my opening Oct 3rd , You ( ESPN ) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment Freedom of Speech , so therefore Me , My Song , and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE . It ' s been a great run . " Williams ' son , Hank Williams III , stayed neutral in the debate , telling TMZ . com that most musicians , including his dad , are " not worthy " of a political discussion . After his song was pulled from " Monday Night Football " broadcasts permanently , Williams recorded a song criticizing President Obama , ESPN and " Fox & Friends " titled " Keep the Change " . He released the track on iTunes and via free download at his website . The song garnered over 180 , 000 downloads in two days .