Hank Williams, Jr.

Hank debuted on the Grand Ole Opry at the age of 11 and at 14 made his first record, a rendition of his father's "Long Gone Lonesome Blues," which became a hit. In 1970, he signed the biggest recording contract in the history of MGM Records. Hank's instincts led to his phenomenal success. "Family Tradition," released in 1979, went gold, kicking off a long string of gold and platinum efforts. In October 1982, he had nine albums on the Billboard music charts at the same time, a feat unequaled by any other living artist. Hank has received 16 songwriting honors from Broadcast Music, Inc., had 10 number one singles, 13 number one albums, 20 gold and five platinum albums and a double platinum. (Greatest Hits vol. I) In 1987, Hank won the first of five straight Entertainer of the Year awards voted to him by his peers and won his first ever Grammy. And let's not forget about ABC's Monday Night Football. Hank composed the theme for Monday Night Football for four straight seasons, which won him Emmy's in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993 (giving him the distinction of being the first country music artist eve r to win an Emmy.) After a brief hiatus from the "Monday Night" airwaves, the public outcry for Hank's return was so great that he returned to an exclusive three year contract.