Hank Williams Jr. has been steadily working in the country world for more than half a century now. The son of the legendary Hank Williams, his famous name certainly helped him enter the space and get his start, but he’s more than shown he has what it takes to build a fan base and to continue to excite them with a non-stop release schedule.
While he may continually share music, Williams Jr. has not been a hitmaker for a long, long time. He hasn’t scored a Hot 100 smash in decades, and just when it seemed like he might never return to the tally, he manages a surprise win—and it’s thanks to a famous collaborator.
Williams Jr. breaks onto the Hot 100 this week with his just-released tune. The country favorite teamed up with Post Malone for “Finer Things,” which this frame debuts on the ranking of the most-consumed songs in the U.S. at No. 42.
That position now stands as the loftiest slot that Williams Jr. has ever appeared in on the Hot 100. Before this week, his highest-rising track was “Long Gone Lonesome Blues,” which reached the tally back in 1964. That year, it peaked at No. 67.
Williams Jr. earns his first new placement on the Hot 100 in almost a quarter-century. He last debuted a track on the chart in 2000. At the turn of the millennium, he joined both Chad Brock and George Jones on the joint single “A Country Boy Can Survive (Y2K Version),” which climbed to No. 75 and spent three frames somewhere on the tally.
Throughout his decades-long career, Williams Jr. has only managed to send four tracks to the Hot 100. In addition to the three tracks already mentioned above, he ended 1964 with another solo hit. “Endless Sleep” doubled his total count of successes on the competitive list when it spent the month of December rising to No. 90, before quickly falling away.
Malone owns 19 spaces on the Hot 100 this week. All but one of those hit songs are taken from his first country album, F-1 Trillion, which launches atop the Billboard 200 with a quarter-million units. He also remains on the roster alongside Taylor Swift on her single “Fortnight,” which previously ruled the list and is declining every frame.
Hugh McIntyre (forbes.com)