Man Bites Dog: Hank Williams Jr. to Open the CMA Awards with a Waylon Jennings Song
If you’re a Hank Williams Jr. fan, or especially a Waylon Jennings fan, or even a Neil Young fan, probably one of the last things on your mind is that the annual CMA Awards are now less than a month away, scheduled to transpire Wednesday, November 4th from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. But the Country Music Association has just dangled out a juicy little nugget in hopes you’ll be enticed to tune in.
Announced today in press release fashion, the 49th Annual, 2015 CMA Awards will be opened by newly-signed NASH Icon recording artist Hank Williams Jr. singing Waylon’s interpretation of Neil Young’s “Are You Ready For the Country?” first released on an album of the same name by Waylon in 1976. Hank Jr. will be joined by Eric Church in the rendition, and the song will be the first single off of Hank Jr.’s new NASH Icon album, with further details of the album to be revealed soon.

CMA Executive Producer Robert Deaton says the song and performance “is the perfect narrative for the night. It sets up musically everything that is going to happen for the rest of the show.”
CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern adds, “If you don’t see the first 15 minutes of the CMA Awards live, you will be grasping for straws at the proverbial water cooler the next morning. It is that good and it is just the beginning of a great night of entertainment.”
Hmm….
There’s a few layers to peel back here and peruse and digest, the first being why the CMA’s would make this announcement a month out, and in this official capacity. Most of the time we know who will be performing at the CMA’s a week or two before the presentation, and sometimes we know who will open the show. But sometimes the opening is a mystery, or is only known by the public because it is leaked by someone a day or two before the presentation. To make such a big deal about the opening a month out seems maybe not unprecedented, but at least bit unusual, especially when it’s accompanied by such bravado from the CMA executives.
But that’s just where the intrigue begins.
In previous years, the opening performance at the CMA Awards has been the most non country moment of the entire night. Wanting to lure in as many viewers as possible, the open has been a breeding ground for non-country cross collaborations and rock performances rendered by country stars. For example in 2014, it was “All About That Bass” pop star Meghan Trainor opening the show with Miranda Lambert.
But this is where we may be seeing a change in strategy by the CMA’s. These awards shows are all about ratings, and you can tell that is what is behind this opening announcement by the over-hyped quotes from the CMA execs.
The CMA Awards are by far the CMA’s biggest television event of the year. The second is the organization’s broadcast of the CMA Fest’s “Country’s Night To Rock” in August on ABC. This year the ratings for the CMA Fest broadcast were down a whopping 37%, and even more alarming, dropped 29% with the key demographic of 18 to 49-year-olds. It’s all part of a genre-wide ratings slide over the last year as country music gives up its gains and then some that it saw at the height of Bro-Country. 2014’s CMA Awards were also down slightly from the previous year, shedding about 700,000 viewers.
One of the sectors that has been the hardest hit by the ratings slide in country has been radio, partly resulting in the exit of Cumulus Media CEO Lew Dickey at the second-largest radio network in the country, and the letting go of his brother John Dickey, who was the key figurehead behind the company’s NASH brand, including the Cumulus partnership with Big Machine Records, NASH Icon, which Hank Williams Jr. is signed to.
The idea behind NASH Icon is still a good one—to win back a huge swath of country listeners left behind by the genre’s recent moves towards pop, hip-hop, and EDM influences. But the concept has fallen somewhat short, and the Dickey Brothers’ idea of splitting the country format in two has failed. Having Hank Jr. open the awards might be a good way to try and re-integrate country music’s core demographic, while trying to put an economic boost into NASH Icon, which some think might be in trouble with the removal of the Dickey regime. Though appealing to teens and tweens worked out in the short term for country music, the fickle tastes and shifting trends of these young listeners isn’t something country music can rely on in the long-term.
Overall, though this move by the CMA’s is sort of obvious, it should be seen as a potential sum positive for true country music fans. You can still expect ridiculous performances on the night from Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, and Sam Hunt. But even in the list of nominations this year—which included Chris Stapleton, Lee Ann Womack, Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, and Maddie & Tae—you could see the CMA actively attempting to be more inclusive to the critical and traditional side of the country divide.
READ: 2015 CMA Awards Nominees, Picks & Prognostications
Two years ago, the idea was country music was unstoppable and was poised to take over the entire music world. Now the concern is relying too much on hyper-trends has painted the genre in a corner, and if there’s going to be long-term growth in the future, they’re going to have to be inclusive not just to listeners from other walks of life, but the fans who got country music where it is today.
October 5, 2015 @ 6:45 pm
So at least the first 3 minutes will be worth watching
October 5, 2015 @ 6:54 pm
It will be quite ironic to hear “Are You Ready For The Country”, followed immediately by two hours of EDM/R&B.
Or maybe, just maybe, the song will work as a chant to call all the country greats back from the dead and chase everyone off. Or at least draw Dwight Yoakam to burst in as Doyle and tell everyone to “get the fuck out”.
October 5, 2015 @ 7:28 pm
Not many things I’ve read has made me laugh as hard as the Dwight comment just did. I hope everyone gets the visual I just did.
October 5, 2015 @ 7:42 pm
“You MOTHER FUCKERS you’re all a bunch of LOSERS!!!”. Sincerely Doyle Hargraves.
But seriously I could do without Eric Church in this song.
October 5, 2015 @ 8:16 pm
I would prefer to see Luke Bryan bust in and say “What cha fixin’ to do with that lawn mower blade?” Provided that the scene would play out the same way as it did in the movie, of course.
October 6, 2015 @ 6:54 am
it’ll probably BE an EDM version of the material.
October 6, 2015 @ 7:46 am
Then Dwight (as Doyle Hargraves) could break into his new single “The Thrill.” I stand on a hill. Not for a thrill, but for the breath of a fresh kill……
But of course he wouldn’t sing the dot dot dot.
October 6, 2015 @ 6:05 pm
“Them dots look better on paper”.
October 6, 2015 @ 4:47 pm
“We don’t need to fucking practice, Randy”
October 5, 2015 @ 6:56 pm
Country radio won’t say it or even the labels but reports show that 34% of new music was discovered outside of radio last year, and it’s getting worse. Many of the country fans are still listening it’s just not what mainstream is putting out.
Seems like a better concept than previous and has me intrigued for the award show.
October 5, 2015 @ 7:14 pm
Where did you find that information? Was it in a trade publication or online? I’d like to see that. When you think about it, 34% is quite a chunk.
October 5, 2015 @ 7:38 pm
There were a few various articles I’ve read the figure in starting at the beginning portion of the year. I can’t remember exactly if it was a trade publication article or just another one shared generically. Anyways if you follow Larry pareigis on Twitter I believe he is @ninenorthlp he owns/president of about four indie labels. He posts some pretty intriguing stuff often like this with mind blowing figures. Whether it hurts or helps his personal cause. Labels won’t usually push the streaming or anything that adds to the hype. I really don’t get it since most of the time they have part ownership in them and/or get side deals for spins but whatever.
October 6, 2015 @ 4:15 am
Studies have shown that 82% of all statistics are made up on the spot. Charlie.
October 6, 2015 @ 6:58 am
82.4 percent of people believe ’em whether they’re accurate statistics or not.
October 5, 2015 @ 7:24 pm
Meh. Of course they have to ruin it by including Eric Church. I suppose it doesn’t really matter, I ain’t gonna be watching it anyway.
October 5, 2015 @ 7:36 pm
“is the perfect narrative for the night. It sets up musically everything that is going to happen for the rest of the show.”
LOL!
October 5, 2015 @ 7:45 pm
These idiots don’t really BELIEVE this EDM Metro-Bro bullshit is country, do they!? This is the CMA for cryin’ out loud, you’d think they’d at least know where to draw the line. Anybody who works in the country music industry and truly believes this shit is country and that this is evolution is just plain stupid. Not ignorant. Not naive. Stupid.
October 5, 2015 @ 8:36 pm
Good luck watching the show Trigger. 🙂
October 5, 2015 @ 8:43 pm
I was excited till I saw Eric Church was going to be part of it.
October 5, 2015 @ 8:58 pm
Sometimes Eric Church does pleasantly surprise me, as long as he doesn’t oversell a feature or get too bombastic.
His involvement, on the surface, suggests this will be a more rock-heavy interpretation of the hit. But Church is best, in my opinion, when he strips down his performances and production.
October 6, 2015 @ 9:33 am
I agree, Nadia . I think Church , along with the Zac Browns , the Tim Mcgraws and more than a few others are just guilty of trying to be all things to all people with their material rather than just being true to themselves. If that means an artist discovers he really DOESN’T feel or wanna be into country music , that’s GREAT . Move along , little doggies ….the sooner you know that the better for YOU and the genre. Eric Church , in my opinion , has written some great , trad country songs. He’s also released some incredibly forgettable junk ( his new edm single ) which , I believe, has undermined his cred as a REAL country singer/songwriter.
October 6, 2015 @ 10:41 am
I actually think even Eric Church is aware of this, and the reason why I get that impression is because he has been debuting a lot of unreleased/new material and deeper cuts on tour in a stripped-down acoustic form: including “Alzheimer’s”, “Three Year Olds” and “Lost In Neverland” that seem to signal Church’s maturity into a more introspective brand of performer.
If that’s indeed where he’s gravitating toward, I can see myself genuinely getting on board with it. As it stands, I didn’t hate “The Outsiders”, but it’s just a scattershot “take ’em or leave ’em” collection of songs of which some are worth continued listen (“A Man Who Was Gonna Die Young”, “Dark Side”, “Talladega”, “Cold One”) and others were outright misguided (“Princess of Darkness”, “That’s Damn Rock ‘N Roll”, “The Joint”).
“Roller Coaster Ride” is just boring and pedestrian. Doesn’t move the needle either way at all to my ears.
October 8, 2015 @ 8:51 am
I am a big Eric Church fan, for this reason. There are definitely songs that I don’t love, and that I don’t connect to – ie Prince of Darkness, Outsiders, and I feel like he’s trying to play a part too much. But when I heard “Three Year Olds” it reminded me of why I really like him. Whether you like him or not, a lot of his music is something you can relate to – at least, for me! And “Three Year Olds” was a prime example of that. Whether you connect to it or not – I feel like his music is something that HE really believes in it. You don’t hear any bullsh*t from him about “we’re really trying something different on this album!” … and then get the same songs about trucks, chicks, and booze. The songs you named above – are the reason I have loved country since I was a kid. Its real life.
October 5, 2015 @ 8:53 pm
I’m mostly curious to hear the arrangement of Hank Jr’s treatment of this.
After all, “Are You Ready for the Country” was written by Neil Young and Jennings’ version was more informed by blues than straight-up country. The steel guitar is heavily used, but the percussion has a decidedly Motown flavor to it. So it will be interesting to see if this new version is stripped more of its bluesy nods and resembles something more country-rock (or rock with a pinch of country).
Even the lyrics tend to veer more closely to blues than country storytelling. I do love that the lyrics are open-ended so to imply there’s more of a story yet to be told that spin-off songs could convey, and they definitely touch on a theme central to traditional country that is Saturday nights and Sunday mornings (sinning and salvation). But the structure and flow of the songwriting is more consistent with blues as well.
Either way, Neil Young has long been (despite some embarrassments in-between a generally strong discography) one of my favorite all-genre songwriters since growing up on his music, and Waylon Jennings certainly among my favorite country singers since becoming familiarized with four of his albums via my grandparent’s cassette tape collection when I was nine years old. Hank Williams Jr. has always been hit or miss to my ears, but I primarily respect him for his diverse musicianship.
Either way, this does pique my curiosity a bit.
October 5, 2015 @ 9:09 pm
Alright my interest is definitely piqued. I honestly will probably tune in for Jr. and then turn it off. But maybe not… Eh probably though.
October 6, 2015 @ 2:42 am
That song has an interesting placement on Young’s HARVEST album, coming between a series of country influenced songs that open the open the record and a series of rock/singer-songwriter/big production songs.
“Are you ready for the country,
“Because it’s time to go…”
Hmmmm….
October 6, 2015 @ 4:33 am
Don’t be surprised if Mr. Young is soon complaining about Hank Jr. doing the song as they are not on the same page politically. After all, he complained about Donald Trump using one of his songs at a rally, weeks after he asked Trump for a donation and he is here in Canada this week blasting the use of fossil fuels for energy while his lifestyle consumes more non green energy than a small village.
October 6, 2015 @ 8:04 am
Actually, I would be very surprised. It’s not really a political song and Hank Jr is a country artist who was a contemporary of the country legend who famously covered it. Donald Trump is a huckster conducting an far right wing populist campaign and for him to have used a highly politically charged song like Rockin’ In the Free World is cynical in the extreme. No doubt his campaign just used the chorus. It reminds me of that Wrangler commercial that used the first line of CCR’s Fortunate Son with the American flag waving in the breeze.
October 6, 2015 @ 5:21 am
Good point J. Burke, but Neil is a man of conviction. What he takes from this earth he gives back 1000 times. His work speaks for it’s self. Farm Aid alone shows what he has given to his adopted home country America. And, why should Neil not complaint if you use his work for free. He did the work not you or mr bully hump. As for Hank, let’s see him introduce his first guest as true Americans the Dixie Chicks then we’ll see where Hank stands for America and true country music. BTW, Neil did his song too.
October 6, 2015 @ 6:51 am
So they’re performing a song to open a awards show that was recorded by a guy who famously hated award shows. Got it.
October 6, 2015 @ 7:03 am
i can think of a dozen names i would rather see perform this song, but hank jr. is exponentially more likely to show his surgically reconstructed mug at an otherwise worthless award show than any of them, so, who am I to complain.. *sigh*
“I still think awards are stupid, but they’d be less stupid if they went to the right people.”
– Ron Swanson
October 6, 2015 @ 9:26 am
The overlooked fact in marketing ” country ” music is no secret . Pop music fans are young and fickle and chase trends in EVERYTHING …fashion , hairstyle , and whatever else their friends are chasing . REAL country music fans are loyal and they are forever. It becomes the soundtrack to your adult life , not just your teen years.
October 6, 2015 @ 12:50 pm
My god Albert AMEN!!!! Although I remember a couple Waylon songs being the soundtrack to my last year of High School. “Drinking and Dreaming, knowing damn well I can’t go. I’ll never see Texas, L.A. or Old Mexico.”
I’m less bothered by the notion that Country has to evolve than I am by the notion that said evolution has to be stupid… I like stuff other than Country Music, but I don’t like stupid.
October 6, 2015 @ 9:35 am
I would like to hear real country music singing on the CMA and decent singers win awards but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
October 6, 2015 @ 11:27 am
I wonder if they were originally going to do “Don’t Y’all Think This Outlaw Bit Has Done Got Out of Hand,” but when they were rehearsing it Hank Jr. looked over at Eric Church wearing his own merchandise that says “outlaw” on it and they both realized the irony and just started laughing.
October 6, 2015 @ 12:51 pm
Can anyone here remember the first verse of Family Tradition as sung by Hank Williams Jr.? Just wondering for a friend…
October 6, 2015 @ 3:01 pm
Country music singers have been a real close family,
But lately some of my kinfolks have disowned a few others and me.
I guess it’s because I kind of changed my direction.
Lord I guess I went and broke their family tradition.
October 6, 2015 @ 5:33 pm
Thanks, I’ll hang up and listen.
October 6, 2015 @ 3:15 pm
If they said Johnny Cash and George Jones were gonna do a duet, I wouldn’t watch that shit.
October 7, 2015 @ 8:32 am
The Corpses of Johnny & George might actually have more stage presence than Sam Hunt.
October 6, 2015 @ 4:29 pm
Anyone else wonder how a three and half minute song turns into a 15 minute intro? This could go either way. Also depends on whether they actually have good sound as well. Don’t doubt Eric Church either. No matter what you think of the guy there is no arguing that he stands out among his peers. He is able to recognize talent where others ignore it. I’m super interested in any new material (unreleased) this guy does because a lot of it has been great.
October 6, 2015 @ 5:11 pm
This is great news. I wonder if the CMA is realizing that “country” is being so watered down and overdone in other award shows, that rather than try to chase the trends CMA is trying to distinguish itself by actually putting a somewhat traditional focus on things. I was very optimistic after last years show for a variety of reasons.
Kenny Chesney as the opener. They always put someone big and flashy there. Last year it was Luke Bryan with Florida Georgia Line. Even though I”™m not really a Chesney fan it”™s great to see that type of act back in a place of prominence on this thing rather than some bro’s doing country rap
Brad and Carrie using classic country songs to parody current events (Who”™s Gonna Fill Their Shoes regarding Taylor Swift). Any inclusion of history should be appreciated on these shows.
Florida Georgia Line singing Dirt, instead of that awful Sun-Daze song. Not a fan of them but Dirt is a decent well written song.
Kacey Musgraves winning for song of the year along with Brandy Clark.
The Band Perry dong a Glenn Campbell tribute song.
Kacey Musgraves singing on its own is great for traditionalists, but doing it in front of a classic Opry back drop and then bringing out Loretta was even better.
The multiple appearances by Brandy Clark, as a nominee for Best New Artist, as a winner for Follow Your Arrow, and then as a presenter.
Having people like Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood as presenters. In years past the veterans were totally shut out of these things.
The whole Vince Gil tribute. Last year the major award went to Kenny Rogers, which is fine and safe, but the year before they had some “Milestone Award” which went to Taylor Swift for god knows what reason.
The Eric Church and George Strait performance of Cowboys Like Us.
The songs that were actually performed. They were mostly solid mainstream country songs. With the exception of Jason Aldean there were no bo-country songs featured. There were no fireworks or dancing girls. It was all about the music for the most part.
Looking forward to what they do on this years broadcast.
October 6, 2015 @ 5:41 pm
I was also slightly encouraged by some of the things I saw last year. We can shake our little balled up fists about it all we want, but it is the most important night in country music, and what happens tends to affect what is going to happen over the next year. So we can act like it doesn’t exist, or try to let our voices be known of we hope to see transpire. If everyone ignores the Hank Jr. / Waylon opening, that will just give them more ammunition to not pay attention to classic country artists ever again.
October 7, 2015 @ 8:39 pm
The one time I saw Hank Jr. in concert I was not impressed. If he wasn’t intoxicated, he sure sounded like he was, and the sound was pretty bad as well. The first two acts sounded decent so it was either a different sound guy or Hank didn’t give the guy much to work with. I was never tempted to spend money on a ticket to a show of his since. So while I’m intrigued by this, I have to say I wish someone else was doing it. Eric Church — sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised by him and sometimes I feel like turning the sound down. Guess we’ll see which it is that day. I may only *watch* the first few minutes of it. Guess we’ll see.
October 7, 2015 @ 9:35 pm
The last time Hank Jr. was appearing on national TV (as far as I know), he was on Fox news and appeared to be drunk and was ranting about President Obama being “the enemy.” (And then he bizarrely blamed Fox News for his own remarks.) Here’s hoping he lets his music do the talking this time.
October 7, 2015 @ 10:07 pm
It was a little more complex than that. The criticism was that he compared Obama to Hitler, but he did it in the context of making an analogy, not actually calling Obama Hitler. I definitely don’t have any desire to argue the specifics of the matter or want to defend his half-cocked political approach, but there’s plenty who believe Hank Jr. was the guy that got hosed in that situation.
October 8, 2015 @ 10:06 pm
As I recall the lowlights, Steve Doocey began interviewing Jr. and asking him about politics, Junior was lethargic and appeared to be hung over; he then referred to “the enemy” and when asked who that was screamed out “Obama,” then he ventured out about how horrible it was that Obama and Boehner played a round of golf together and said that it would be akin to Bebe Netanyahu playing golf with Hitler. It was embarrassing to watch.
The only way Jr. was hosed was that Fox invited him to talk politics in the morning, thereby failing to protect him from himself.
October 9, 2015 @ 9:43 am
Hey, I’m not going to try and defend Hank Jr.’s crazy ass political rants. I’m just saying that that situation was a little nebulous, while the majority of outlets reported Hank Jr. directly compared Obama to Hitler, which I think was a misunderstanding of the situation. That still doesn’t mean it wasn’t stupid.
October 13, 2015 @ 3:57 pm
Over the years me and you have had words over Hank Jr,… your always degrading him Im always defending him with that being said…. I hate Garth brooks I Hate florida Georgia line and many many more but heres the key difference between you and I when I see articles about them I don’t even give a shit to read them much less constantly weigh in and spew my wrath about how shitty they and put my own spin on it to make it sound worse than it already is…… to bad you and about a half dozen other assholes couldent just leave Hanks name out of your mouthes
October 9, 2015 @ 6:15 am
Eric Church is the closest thing that we have to outlaw country on the radio today, chief is a great damn album in the Outsiders not too bad either!
October 13, 2015 @ 6:37 pm
I like this article Trigger! tkx Hank has always been the man. He just keeps on cari ng and thats what I like. Thats what III does too. They have it figured out while it seems like everybody else is just guessing. Its music but its more than that to. Thank you for writing about the good ones. Likely the other guys will see some problem with this article just like the rest but something bigger is going on with Hank and III. Not together but seperate. You dont see that with the others like Haggard and Shooter. It seems like all the classic country singers are fighting each other because everything is turning against them. Hank and II both cover what makes up REAL country music. Thank you Trigger you the man!