What Is Hank Williams Jr.’s Relationship to June Carter Cash?
Due to Hank Williams' massive success in country music, his son, Hank Williams Jr., was surrounded by influential country artists starting from a very young age. But he had a particularly special relationship with June Carter Cash.
"June Carter Cash was my godmother, and me and Johnny [Cash] hunted Civil War artifacts all the time," Williams Jr. recalls. "We loved guns -- the old, mostly antique guns. We loved metal detecting when we were looking for stuff. My mother, Audrey Williams, and June Carter were very close friends."
In addition to the Cashes hanging out at Williams Jr.'s home quite a bit, other well-known stars were around, too, and influenced his music at a very young age.
"Well, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino were at the house a lot, and that’s where I learned to boogie woogie on that piano," Williams Jr. says. "Earl Scruggs would come over, as would Johnny and June Carter Cash,"
Even though the "Family Tradition" singer was only three years old when his father passed away, he was loved and cared for by the legend's friends and loved ones, who passed on memories that Williams Jr. didn't get to make.
"Well, I didn’t know Daddy, so I really don’t have any memories," the singer admits. "I know what people have told me about him taking me to the Grand Ole Opry and leaving me in his guitar case on the side of the stage. The best thing we ever did was record the duet for "There’s a Tear in My Beer," and we even won a Grammy for it."
Find out more about Williams Jr., his childhood, his near-death experiences and the growth of his country career in this installment of Taste of Country's You Think You Know Country? series.
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