Bob Dylan Shouts Out Hank Williams III in New Post

60 years ago this week, Bob Dylan wasn’t hanging out with his fellow folk revivalists in New York City, or with the burgeoning hippies out in California. He was in Nashville, finishing up the recording of his landmark album Blonde On Blonde, utilizing Music City’s legendary musicians like Charlie McCoy and Hargus “Pig” Robbins. Dylan was one of the first to make a pilgrimage to record in Nashville a cool thing. He would do it again for his 1967 album John Wesley Harding, and then in 1969 for Nashville Skyline.

Perhaps Dylan is feeling a little nostalgic for his time in Nashville, or maybe thinking about making a country-inspired project yet again. Via his Instagram page, Bob posted a video of Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel performing Guy Clark’s legendary song “Dublin Blues” on February 21st. In January, Dylan posted a video of Ray Price singing “Invitation to the Blues” to his 1.2 million followers. These are among other recent country-adjacent posts.

Then with Bob Dylan’s latest post, he highlighted Hank Williams III performing his grandfather’s song “My Sweet Love Ain’t Around” from 1948 on The Marty Stuart Show. Hank3’s original appearance on the show aired on March 27th, 2010.

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No caption from Dylan accompanied the post. It just seems like something that he thought was cool. Hank Williams III responded with three thumbs up.

Hank Williams III rarely seems to be shouted out by his contemporaries these days, despite being significant to helping seed the independent country revolution we’re currently in the midst of. But music legends from across the spectrum continue to pay homage and tip their hats to him.

In 2025, Ringo Starr said to Rolling Stone, “Just to mess up everyone’s mind and brain in Nashville: How is Hank the 3rd doing? I liked the records he made. It has an edge. I started with Hank the first and I sort of went over Hank the second and got to the third.”

How Hank Williams III is doing is a very good question. He’s been mostly dormant since 2014. After finally breaking free from his contract with Curb Records, he released a succession of independently released albums, including his last full country album, 2013’s Brothers of the 4X4, and toured behind it into the following year.

Then after he was forced to move out of his home/headquarters/recording studio called The Haunted Ranch, and shortly thereafter his favorite dog Trooper died, he’s been almost completely out of the public eye, not releasing any new music or performing publicly.

In 2018, Hank3 did participate in a DevilDriver tribute to Outlaw Country. In 2022, he also released a ton of demos, scratch tracks, alternative takes, and other bits of audio on YouTube, including an entire experimental album called Grandiose Delusions.

But the whereabouts and status of Hank Williams III, and whether he’ll every try to mount a comeback or re-emerge publicly remains a mystery. Saving Country Music has shaken every tree and tried every trick including penning an open letter to try and get him to re-emerge, without being too prying.

Now would be as good of a time as any for Hank3 to return. But anyone who knows Hank3 knows he marches to his own drum. Hopefully someday he will re-emerge to help once again carry the legacy of the Hank Williams name forward.

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