Hank 3

Hank Williams III
Williams performing at Roskilde Festival 2012.
Background information
Birth name	Shelton Hank Williams
Also known as	Hank 3
Born	(1972-12-12) December 12, 1972 (age 44) Nashville, Tennessee
Genres	Country
Occupation(s)	Musician singer multi-instrumentalist
Instruments	Vocals guitar bass drums keyboards banjo yodeling
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Hank3 Curb
Associated acts	Assjack The Damn Band Melvins Arson Anthem Superjoint Ritual
Website	hank3.com

Shelton Hank Williams (born December 12, 1972), known as Hank Williams III and Hank 3, is an American musician, singer and multi-instrumentalist. Williams' style alternates between outlaw country, punk rock and metal. He is the principal member of the punk metal band Assjack, the drummer for the Southern hardcore punk band Arson Anthem, and was the bassist for Pantera singer Phil Anselmo's band Superjoint Ritual. He has released seven studio albums, including five for Curb Records. Williams is the grandson of Hank Williams, the son of Hank Williams, Jr., and the half-brother of Holly Williams.

Williams spent much of his early career playing drums in punk rock bands during the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s. He signed a contract with Nashville, Tennessee, music industry giant Curb Records. Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts was issued shortly thereafter, which spliced together recordings to make it seem that three generations of Williams men were singing alongside one another. In the late 1980s, upon first meeting Hank Williams III, Minnie Pearl, a friend of the late Hank Williams Sr., reportedly said "Lord, honey, you're a ghost", as she was astonished by his striking resemblance to his grandfather.

Williams' first solo album, Risin' Outlaw, was released in September 1999 to respectable sales and strong reviews. While his name (and his uncanny vocal and physical resemblances to his grandfather) could have guaranteed Williams a thriving country audience, he had little patience for the often predictable Nashville sound, nor for even the minimal constraints on behavior his promoters required. His opinions on this subject are well summed up in his songs "Trashville" and "Dick in Dixie".