'Lovesick, Broke and Driftin'' with Hank Williams III

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Hank Williams III has become accustomed to seeing a concerned look when people realize he's 29.

That was his grandfather's age when he died of a drug and alcohol overdose in the back seat of a Cadillac in 1953. Hank Williams Sr., whose country hits included "Cold, Cold Heart," "Hey, Good-Looking" and "Your Cheatin' Heart," was on his way to a concert in Canton, Ohio.

Hank III has a reputation for drugs and alcohol, hence, the concern. But Williams, the spitting image of Hank Sr., says he isn't headed to an early grave.

"Compared to those guys back then, I'm a choirboy, man. George Jones, Johnny PayCheck -- all them dudes -- they're respected and they were twice as crazy as I'll ever be," he said in a recent interview.

Williams takes pride in his family's musical legacy, which also includes his father, Hank Williams Jr. But he's working hard to make his own mark.

His excellent new album, "Lovesick, Broke & Driftin'," is a solid step in that direction. It's politically incorrect country that embraces the style of Hank Sr. without lapsing into imitation. The key is the songs, all written by Williams, except for a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City."

"I was dealt with this voice and look for some reason," Williams said. "I'm glad I sound like him instead of Brad Paisley or someone like that."

Country isn't his first love; it's punk rock.

Born Shelton Hank Williams, Hank III is the son of Hank Jr. and his second wife, Gwen Yeargain Williams. He grew up in Atlanta and Nashville without seeing his father for years at a time.

"He paid the child support, and that's about it. He gave me a couple of cars, and I'm thankful for that. But it's not this Richie Rich life."

Williams, who hated school and says learning disabilities made it impossible for him to learn, would sit in on drums whenever his dad's band was in town.

"I was like Beavis and Butt-head, loving Black Sabbath and playing drums. Growing up and going to my dad's shows and seeing the excitement of all these people, the cigarette smoke and all the drinking, girls running around with their shirts off. At 12 years old, 11 years old, that was like, 'Wow, look at that."'

He played the drums in punk/thrash band Buzzkill, and was content playing clubs while making $20 a night.

"That's all I wanted to do," Williams said.

Things changed when he lost a paternity suit.

"I'm living with my mom, playing drums in Buzzkill, and all of a sudden I have to pay $24,000 on top of $400 a month?" he said. "Am I going to put my high school education to work with a job at McDonald's?

"I've got the name Hank Williams III, and I can go out and tour and still be involved with music."

He tuned up in Branson, Mo., where he played Hank Sr. songs two shows a day in a theater, then headed to Nashville's Music Row.

"I was pretty green, trying to figure out which style of country I was wanting to go with," he said. "Then I was lucky enough to start hanging out with guys like (alternative country singers) Wayne 'The Train' Hancock and Dale Watson.

"They were showing me, you can still be punk-rock and hard-core in a more old-school way."

He was signed to Curb Records. His 1996 debut album, "Three Hanks: Men With Broken Hearts," paired him with his father and used Hank Sr.'s recordings.

When the solo album "Risin' Outlaw" was released three years later, Williams was in full revolt against the label.

Williams doesn't want to be marketed with his father, and he wants Curb to either release his punk music or allow him to record it elsewhere.

"(Curb) can't look at me as my own artist," he said. "They did it ... again this time (with the new album). ... There's the promotion poster of Hank Jr.'s album, then you flip it around and it's Hank III. They keep smacking me in the face with that, acting like that's supposed to be cool. It's absolutely not."

Liz Cavanaugh, a spokeswoman for Curb Records, said executives have become accustomed to barbs from Williams and still believe his career holds great promise.

"We stand behind his career," Cavanaugh said. "We're very supportive of him. We've done a great deal of marketing for the new project, and we have high hopes for its success."

Several years ago, his parents and record label held an intervention to get him into a drug rehabilitation clinic. Williams went to the clinic, then walked out.

"I'm drinking, smoking pot and maybe some psychedelic things here and there," he said. But he expects to grow old, figuring he's beaten any family curse and noting that one of his heroes, Kurt Cobain, died at 27.

"By my age, even my dad had already fallen off a mountain and about killed himself," he said. "If my dad would have died when he fell, then I might be a lot more paranoid.

"I think I'm supposed to be here and be lovesick, broken and drifting for a while. I don't think they're going to let me off that easy."

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On the Net:

Hank Williams III Web site: http://www.hankthree.com.

Hank Williams Jr. Web site: http://www.hankjr.com.

Hank Williams Sr. Web site: http://www.cmgww.com/music/hank/