Nashville, TN (Top40 Charts /Webster & Associates) Hank Williams Jr., a five-time Entertainer of the Year recipient and the only country artist to ever win an Emmy award (multiple, by the way), has been named #13 of Billboard Magazine�s Top 25 Country Artists from 1985-2011. Earlier this summer, Billboard ranked the top 25 country artists of the last twenty-five years, combing their Country Songs and Country Album charts since 1985.
Anyone who thinks country music didn�t attract a sizeable youth audience before te early 90�s must have slept through Hank Williams Jr.�s chart run during the previous decade. He first appeared on Country Songs in 1964 with a cover of his legendary father�s 1950 smash �Long Gone Lonesome Blues,� but found a new, youthful following starting in the mid-70�s. He reosnited with rebellious young fans via songs like �Family Tradition� and �Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound� and notched successful version of his father�s hits, such as �Honky Tonkin�.� At one point in the mid-80�s, the younger Williams simultaneously had six titles on Billboard�s Country Albums chart.
Williams� raw creativity and passion has shaped the history of country music for over five decades. Williams boasts three multi-platinum albums, eight platinum albums and has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. Williams holds the distinction of being the first country artist to ever win an Emmy, a feat he repeated 1990 through 1993 for his Monday Night Football anthem, �Are You Ready for Some Football?�
A true visionary on all fronts, Williams paired up with friend Waylon Jennings in 1983 for his first music video �The Conversation.� The following year he called on some more famous friends to create the video for his 1984 signature hit �All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight,� which featured a �who�s who� of country music names including George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and George Thorogood. Williams went on to conceptualize dozens of music videos, including the 1989 duet with his late father �There�s a Tear in My Beer,� which used cutting-edge production techniques to appear as if the father and son duo were actually performing together in the video.
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