Fans Start Petition to Get Hank Williams Jr. Into Country Music Hall of Fame

Hank Williams Jr.'s fans are speaking out: They want the singer to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Country music fans have joined together in an attempt to highlight the fact that Williams Jr. deserves to be an inductee into the prestigious institution. An online campaign, titled "Get Hank in the Hall," has emerged on Facebook, and as of 12PM ET on Dec. 2, more than 6,100 people have liked the page. An online petition to the Country Music Hall of Fame has garnered 573 signatures, so far, in favor of the honor.

Both pages list Williams Jr.'s accolades, which include seven CMA Awards (including two Entertainer of the Year awards), seven ACM Awards (including three Entertainer of the Year awards) and four Emmy Awards. The artist has sold more than 70 million albums worldwide. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007 and, in 2008, received a BMI Icon Award, which honors artists who have had "a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers."

The petition also points out that the "All My Rowdy Friends are Coming Over Tonight" hitmaker has charted a single on the Billboard country charts in six different decades. Williams Jr. is one of only eight artists to achieve that feat -- and the other seven are in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Williams Jr., also lovingly referred to as "Bocephus," is the son of country music icon Hank Williams. While Williams Jr. began his career by following in his father's great footsteps, impersonating his voice and covering his songs, he decided in the mid-to-late '70s to forge a new path -- his own. His new sound, incorporating Southern rock and blues, led him into a superstar career, and Hank Williams Jr. and Friends, Family Tradition, Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound, Strong Stuff, Man of Steel, Montana Cafe and many more records have made him stand out in the industry.

Williams Jr. is still going strong: His most recent single, "Are You Ready for the Country," featuring Eric Church, is one of 12 tracks on his forthcoming record, It's About Time. The project will be his first with his new label, Nash Icon.

Hank Williams Jr. Through the Years

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