Hank Williams Jr. goes by many names, and one of them is Little Thunderhead Hawkins. Turns out Little Thunderhead Hawkins is the one who stopped by The Bobby Bones Show this morning (June 10).
Next week on June 17th, Hank Jr.'s new album Rich White Honky Blues will be released. The project was produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach who also came in the studio with Hank Jr to perform "Georgia Women." When asked about the album, Hank Jr said it was his alter ego Little Thunderhead Hawkins playing on this project. Auerbach recalls Hank Jr. walking into the studio on their first day and explaining that he didn't really want to "mess with any of this crap right now" + a few more expletives, then he went and smoked a cigar. Adding that the project was really fun for him to work on because he's a huge fan of Hank Jr.
Hank Jr. wasn't too big on doing the interview with the show because he really wanted to go smoke his cigar. So Bobby Bones said he would only ask him 3 questions. Hank Jr opened up about his fall down a mountain. He remembers everything about it, and the doctors believe he lived because he remembered everything. When he got rescued, they strapped him to the outside of the helicopter and Hank Jr. said that ride was really rough on him. Then at the hospital they cut off all of his clothes, and they operated on him all night. He woke up a day and a half later, adding that he had to have over 17 operations. The fall made things incredibly hard on Hank Jr., he said he had to start completely over and it wasn't until several years later that he sang again. But Hank Jr. has always had the capability to play "every instrument there ever was," because it's a family tradition, his dad played every instrument.
Fans likely associate him the most with Monday Night Football because of his introduction song for the big game night. His introduction was used for over 31 years. He felt like it put a stamp on America, and it's one he will always perform at his shows. There are a lot of songs for Hank Jr. that remind him of dark moments in his life. "Tears in My Beer" is a song Hank Jr. associates with a time that he thought he wasn't going to be able to keep living.
Watch Hank Williams Jr. perform "Georgia Women" with his band and The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach.