Hank Williams Jr. doesn’t do writer sessions

Outspoken country icon Hank Williams Jr. talked about his legendary lineage and the inspiration behind some of the new songs on his 37th album It’s About Time during an exclusive subscriber event held at the SiriusXM studios in New York City. … Continued

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SiriusXM Editor

January 20, 2016

The son of the country pioneer he referred to as the “king of the hillbillies,” Hank treated an audience of his rowdy friends to an intimate acoustic performance, backed by longtime sidemen Jimmy Hall (Wet Willie, Jeff Beck) on harmonica and Tony Bowles on guitar.

In addition to the songs Just Call Me Hank and Dress Like an Icon from the new album (on the Nash Icon label), he also laid down a pair of vintage Bocephus classics (Old Habits, Country Boy Can Survive) and a bluesey take on his daddy’s song My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It.

He also shared the stories behind songs such as Born to Boogie and Just Call Me Hank.

“Good gosh. When I wrote that song, ‘Went on the road when I was eight years old…turned fifteen…” [my stories] are all pretty much true,” he said of Born to Boogie and his writing in general.

He also talked about the somber and reflective Just Call Me Hank, recalling how he wrote it at 7:15 am while in his truck on his way to his farm in west Tennessee because the words just came to him. When his daughter couldn’t believe that such great lyrics came so quickly, he told her, “Yeah, Holly, we don’t have writer sessions at 3 o’clock like y’all do.” Everyone he showed the song to, including his daughter, was brought to tears upon hearing it, so he knew it was something special.