Hank Williams, Jr., The Outlaws, and John Foster

Williams' early career definitely seemed to centre around his father's music. Williams first performed on stage by singing one of 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 provided the singing voice of his father in the 1964 film 'Your Cheatin' Heart' and also recorded an album of duets with his father.

Williams' early career was guided, and to an extent dominated, by his mother, who is widely claimed as being the driving force that led his late father to musical superstar status during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Audrey promoted young Hank Jr. as a Hank Williams tribute act, 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.

This all became too much for the young musician who eventually severed the ties with his mother in an attempt to find his own musical voice. By the mid-1970s Williams began to pursue a musical direction that would eventually make him a superstar. At the time of 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 including Waylon Jennings, Toy Caldwell, and Charlie Daniels.

He has achieved huge commercial success on the US Country charts over his career, most notably a run of six albums released between 1984 and 1988 which all topped the chart. He has had countless wins and nominations at Academy of Country Music and the Grammy Awards.

The group formed in Tampa, Florida, United States in 1972 and originally consisted of Hughie Thomasson (vocals/guitar), Henry Paul (vocals/guitars), Frank O’ Keefe (bass), and Monte Yoho (drums). They added Billy Jones (guitars) a year later and in 1975 they signed to the label Artista, releasing their self-titled studio debut, which yielded the Top 40 hit “There Goes Another Love Song”.

The Outlaws experienced a creative outpour in the 70s and early 80s. From 1975 to 1980 they averaged an album a year. Their sophomore effort “Lady in Waiting” came out in 1976 and entered the pop charts at No. 36 and featured the single “Breaker-Breaker”, which managed to break into the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 94. A year later they put out “Hurry Sundown”, which was followed by both an additional studio album “Playin’ to Win” and the live release “Bring It Back Alive” in 1978. Their 5th album “In the Eye of the Storm” did not contain any major hits for the group; however, it showcased their versatility, introducing unexpected tracks such as their cover of Elvis Costello’s “Miracle Man”.

The Outlaws welcomed the 80s with the release of “Ghost Riders”, proclaimed by many fans to be the group’s last album that exemplified their classic old-fashioned country rock sound. It produced two singles “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and also peaked at No. 25 on the Pop Album charts. The Outlaws slowed down their album output significantly by this time and released only two more albums throughout 80s “Los Hombres Malo” (1982) and “Soldier Fortune” (1986). Their next album “Diablo Canyon” did not come out until eight years later. In 1996 they issued their 2nd greatest hits compilation “Best of the Outlaws: Green Grass and High Tides”.

The 90s proved to be a trying year for the group as they lost both O’Keefe and Jones, the latter due to a suicide. The group continued to fracture throughout the 90s and 2000s with Thomasson opting out to join Lynyrd Skynyrd and Henry Paul leaving to form the country rock band Black Hawk.

Though the band’s line up changed incessantly, cycling through 30+ members, they still managed to tour and release the occasional album such as “So Low” (2000), “It’s About Pride” (2012), and “A Matter of Pride” (2015).