With the talent that Hank Williams Jr., Hillary Scott, and Thomas Rhett possess, it’s no surprise that music runs in the family. All three country stars come from parents who had equally successful careers in the music business.
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Read on to learn about the talented families.
Hank Williams Jr.
Hank Williams Sr. was one of country music’s first superstars. Known for songs like “Move It On Over” and “Wedding Bells”, Williams Sr. died at age 29 in 1953. Posthumously, Williams Sr. was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The icon’s son, Hank Williams Jr., has carried on his dad’s legacy. Williams Jr. is one of the most famous country stars who followed in his parents’ footsteps. The younger Williams began performing when he was still in elementary school. By the time he was 20, Williams Jr. had already scored eleven Top 40 country hits.
In a 1982 interview with David Letterman, Williams Jr. spoke about trying to live up to his dad’s success.
“Hank Williams Jr., that name gets you started real good in some ways. It also closes some doors in other ways,” he said. “I played my first show when I was 8 years old… It was fun for the little boy to be doing Hank Williams [Sr.], but it was hard for the man.”
Over the course of his career, Williams Jr. has released 54 LPs, been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and won countless awards, including Emmys, Grammys, ACMs, and CMAs.
Hillary Scott
Lady A’s Hillary Scott comes from a musical family. Her mom, Linda Davis, is a Grammy-winning artist best known for “Does He Love You”, her No. 1 duet with Reba McEntire. Throughout Davis’ career, she toured with the likes of Garth Brooks and George Strait, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and won a CMA Award.
Scott broke out on her own with Lady A, winning CMAs, ACMs, and Grammy Awards. The trio scored multiple No. 1 country albums. They even landed at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their song “Need You Now”.
Even with her own success, Scott never strayed far from her family. The singer teamed up with her mom, dad, and sister in 2016 for Love Remains. The LP topped Billboard‘s Top Christian Albums chart and won two Grammys.
In a 2016 chat with Rolling Stone, Scott told her mom what she’s learned from her over the years.
“You push yourself. You’re your toughest critic. But it spurs you on. It spurs the other people around you on. and it’s made me that way,” Scott told Davis. “You tried again and again. There was never a moment where you were like, ‘I’m done. I just need a break.’ It was still determination but with kindness.”
Thomas Rhett
As the old adage goes, like father, like son, which is certainly true for some country stars and their parents. Before Thomas Rhett was taking the country world by storm, his dad, Rhett Akins, had success of his own. Akins found his big break with “That Ain’t My Truck” in 1995, which went No. 1. He had similar success with “Don’t Get Me Started”, another No. 1 hit.
Aside from his solo career, Akins has become a go-to songwriter for big-name country musicians. He’s written for everyone from Luke Bryan to Blake Shelton, as well as his own son. A member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Akins has been honored as BMI’s Songwriter of the Year multiple times and won the CMA Triple Play award seven times.
As for his son, Rhett has released seven LPs, received two Grammy nominations, and had 20 songs reach No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart. In a 2014 interview with The Boot, Rhett shared the advice his dad gave him at the start of his career.
“He’s always encouraged me to go out there and rock with this guitar, whether there’s 50 people or 50,000,” he adds. “I’ve taken that to heart… You’ve really just got to get up there and give it your all, and you can’t expect for the fans to have fun if you’re not having fun. Me and my band have really just adapted to going out there and entertaining ourselves just as much as we’re entertaining the crowd. Those words of advice have really stuck with me since day one.”
Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for BMI
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