In 2006, Hank Williams III released his third studio album called Straight to Hell, wherein he paid tribute to the “Country Heroes” that inspired him. This includes Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, David Allan Coe, and of course, his legendary grandfather, Hank Williams Sr., who has given him the high times.
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“I’m drinkin’ that whiskey out of that glass. And if that ain’t country, well, boys, you can kiss my ass. ‘Cause I wanna hear them old songs, nothin’ of the new. ‘Cause this might be the last time I’m gonna see you,” Williams III sings. He truly finds solace in both the bottle and the songs of his country music idols.
Other songs by Hank Williams III found in Straight to Hell are “Dick in Dixie,” “Not Everybody Likes Us,” and “Angel of Sin” – which are a blend of traditional country music, western music, and bluegrass songs that focus on drug use, self-indulgence, and the outlaw life.
A Reverence to Country Heroes That Would Have Made His Grandpa Proud
More than a decade later, Hank Williams III re-recorded “Country Heroes” with metal band DevilDriver off the latter’s album Outlaws’ Til the End: Vol. 1, a collection of reworked outlaw country songs. DevilDriver’s frontman Dez Fafara hurls and screams his way through the lyrics, while Williams III provides a polished, crisp country vocal.
Fafara decided to record the song for being “extremely well-written” and called Williams III “the most authentic and real outlaw country artist out there.”
Make sure to listen to Hank Williams III as he’s getting wasted with all his “Country Heroes” in the video below.
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