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Shelton Hank Williams III (born December 12, 1972) is a musician.
The grandson of Hank Williams and the son of Hank Williams Jr, he spent much of his early years playing drums in punk rock bands. In 1996 child support payments helped Hank III to make the decision to sign a contract with Music City giant Curb. Three Hanks: Men With Broken Hearts was issued shortly thereafter, which brought the voices of all three generations of Williams men together. While this may seem to be a nice beginning, it was quite different from what Hank III himself desired musically. Despite having been born in Nashville, Tennessee, Hank III has never had a preference for mainstream country. While his name, face, and uncanny vocal resemblance to his grandfather could have guaranteed him a thriving country audience, he had no patience for the often predictable Nashville sound, nor for even the minimal constraints on behaviour his promoters required. His opinions on this subject are well summed up in the song "Trashville".
His first album on his own, titled Risin' Outlaw, was released in September 1999. Lovesick, Broke & Driftin' was released in 2002. He had a great deal of trouble with his label Curb Records, with incidents as extreme as their unwillingness to either release his appropriately named This Ain't Country LP, nor allow him to issue it alone, and his selling of "F*** Curb" T-shirts.
He plays country with his "damn band" and produces a rather different sound with AssJack, which is almost a death metal band. He is also the Bass guitarist in Superjoint Ritual, with former Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo.
A number of "sub-sub-genres" have been coined describing his original sound, such as hard-twang, punkabilly, cowpunk, alternacountry, slacker swing, hellbilly, and honky punk.
Hank III has recorded the tracks "87 Southbound" and "Thunderstorms and Neon Signs", which were penned by Wayne Hancock, a musician who is often compared to him.
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