Hank Williams, Jr., Marshall Tucker Band, 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.

Formed in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA, it might surprise you to learn that the original line up which came together in the late 60s/70s, did not contain a single member by the name of Marshall Tucker. Instead their slightly misleading name was accidentally borrowed from a local piano tuner and was set in stone when their album of the same name was released in 1973 and certified gold just two years later.

The band followed up their album with the start of a relentless, decade-long touring schedule which saw them playing more than 300 shows a year. They began to impress fans and fellow musicians on the road including the likes of fiddler Charlie Daniels and blues guitarist Elvin Bishop.

The band soared through the 70s, finding huge commercial success for albums like ‘Searchin’ for a Rainbow’ and ‘Carolina Dreams’ however the 80s brought hard times for the band. Their bass player and co-founder Tommy Caldwell was killed in a car accident and whilst a replacement was bought in, the band was never able to recapture the success they experienced in the 70s.

As the band moved into the twenty first century they have continued to release albums and are still a popular live act playing up to 150 and 200 shows a year. They even experienced crossover success when the band were mentioned in Nelly’s remix of the song cruise which eventually went 6 times platinum.