Iconic country boy Hank Williams Jr. does more than just survive in music business

Hank Williams Jr. notched one of his signature hits (he’s got more than just one or two) all the way back in 1982 with “A Country Boy Can Survive.”

Three decades later — and more than half a century after launching his music career — the singer and songwriter known as Bocephus is doing much more than surviving in show business. Like his legendary father before him, he has become a country music icon.

Not only did Hank Williams’ only son, 66, recently ink a deal with Nash Icon Records, the new label home of Chockie native Reba McEntire, former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn and Martina McBride, but the Louisiana native also has become the linchpin of an ongoing musical dynasty, with his daughter Holly Williams making beautiful music as an Americana singer-songwriter and his son Hank3 — or “Shelton,” as his dad prefers to call him by his first name — raising hell as a country, punk and metal musician.

Bocephus will play his well-known hits along with the fiddle, piano, electric guitar and a full acoustic set Saturday night at the second annual OKCFest in downtown Oklahoma City. In advance of the festival gig, the ever-colorful Williams discussed in an email interview his family’s legacy, his plans for new music and his childhood influences.

Q: What is it about your family that draws you all to making music?

Williams: Well, it’s a family tradition! Daddy was the original rock star in the family where artists of all genres looked up to him for his writing and singing. It was very hard after he died, because everyone looked at me like I was supposed to fill his shoes and be just like him. Mother put me on stage at 8 years old singing daddy’s songs, and as I grew older, I realized I needed to do something different. 

Now as my son and daughter are making their own way in the business, they have to create their own sound and identity like I did. Holly performs amazingly acoustic while Shelton goes a bit edgier, but remember, he did all Daddy’s stuff early on, too.

Music tells a story, and in every song I write, I hope there is something in it that connects with the fans. If that happens, then the music did what it was supposed to do.

Q: Where did the name “Bocephus” come from anyway?

Williams: Bocephus is a nickname that my dad gave me after seeing a ventriloquist on the Grand Ole Opry. I guess he thought that I looked like the puppet and the name just stuck

Q: You’ve influenced many current well-known artists, from Brad Paisley to Kid Rock. Besides your father, who influenced you musically growing up?

Williams: That is a tough one, you know, because growing up on Franklin Road in Nashville we would have lots of people over at the house. Everyone from Fats Domino to Jerry Lee Lewis to Earl Scruggs and Johnny Cash were over at mother’s house, so my childhood was not an ordinary childhood. I had lots of good teachers.

Q: Your music has always blurred the lines between genres, especially between country and rock. So what music do you like to listen to these days?

Williams: I really don’t listen to the radio much. I am either in a deer stand or at a fishing hole. And both of those places, you need quiet time.

Q: You released a new album, “Old School, New Rules” three years ago on your own independent Nashville-based record label, Bocephus Records. Why was it the right time of your career to start your own label?

Williams: Starting my own label was the suggestion of my manager. Today, music gets shared around the Internet so quickly that the days of selling gold and platinum albums are slim.  Having my own label allows me to have total creative control on the music that I make, and in this case, I was able to license my music to another label with Warner Bros. distribution. After a certain amount of time, those recordings revert back to me to do with them as I want, which also creates a catalog of masters for my kids and grandchildren to own. 

But now I am on one of the most influential labels of all music — Nash Icon! That is part of the Big Machine Label Group, which is home of my dear friends (and an Oklahoma native, I must add in) Reba as well as Martina. But they are most known for Taylor Swift and Florida Georgia Line. So get ready for some amazing things from ole Bocephus and his new fearless label leader Scott Borchetta. Yesssaaa Behold!

Q: You’ve made dozens of albums, the music industry has changed drastically, and you’ve dealt with controversy in recent years: What keeps you making albums and playing shows?

Williams: I only do about 25 shows a year, so I am a lucky guy. I get to play when I want to and where I want to because I have some of the most loyal, hardcore fans in the music business.  It’s those fans that give you the drive to get out there and do what we do. 

When I make an album, the creative process really gets me going, and sometimes I just wake up and there is a song, or I could be driving and I have to pull over to write down a melody or lyric to a song. So making music and doing shows is part of fulfilling that creative process.

I am actually in the studio making a new album that might come out later this year. Just remember this one phrase, “You’ve Got To Dress Like An Icon!” When you hear what I am recording, you will totally understand. It’s some pretty good stuff, I must say!