Want to know how the music business treats artists? Just look at how they treated Hank Williams Jr. Bocephus was country music royalty, somebody the music industry was quick to want to exploit after the death of his legendary father Hank Williams. But the problem was they wanted him to be just like his father – in both his music and his personal struggles. Hank Jr. has admitted that he struggled growing up in his late father’s shadow, with the people around him expecting him to play Hank Williams songs instead of forging his own path in the music business. He first hit the industry when he was 8-years-old and started recording for MGM at fourteen. And when he first started out, it was his own idea to play his father’s hits. But as he matured, the desire to branch off and make his own music grew. He wanted to be his own artist, and not just the son of Hank Williams. And it was a fistfight to ever get to do his own thing, something that likely swelled the Hank rebelliousness we know today. Hank described this musical transition in a 1982 interview with David Letterman: “It was fun for the little boy to do Hank Williams, but it was hell for the man.” But that pressure to be like his father extended far beyond his music. Hank Williams had a long history of struggles with drugs and alcohol, much of it due to his lifelong battle with spina bifida that was exacerbated by a fall from a bull when he was around the age of 18. His addictions led to Williams being kicked out of the Grand Ole Opry, and a number of missed shows and drunken performances led to further issues with his career. Even Hank Sr.’s friends at the time, like the legendary Minnie Pearl, saw the toll that his destructive path was causing, recalling a time when she had urged him to sing his song “I Saw The Light.” “All of a sudden he stopped and looked at me…and he said, ‘But that’s just it, Minnie. There ain’t no light.'” And while Hank had hoped to mount a comeback in 1953, unfortunately his addiction would ultimately take his life before he was able to get his legendary career back on track. It’s not a path that any artist should want to take – but according to Hank Williams Jr., early in his career he was told that it was the only way for him to be a success. During a 1987 interview with ABC’s 20/20, Bocephus discussed the pressures that he faced early in his career to follow the same destructive path as his father. According to Hank Jr., people thought that his dad’s songs were so great because of all that he had been through – and that the only way for his son to become a success was to go through the same struggles with booze, pills and depression that had ultimately claimed his father’s life. “It was always, ‘Your daddy went through this stuff. You’ll have to go through it. We have to go through these things.’ Depression, you know that’s a big sport to a lot of people I think. It was just drilled into me a lot.” And Bocephus admits that he was headed down the same path, ending up in the hospital several times, after musicians began giving “little Hank Jr.” alcohol at the age of 10 while out on the road: “Oh yeah, I was in the hospital several times…all the way out. The pills and the whiskey and the whole thing. I was really rolling in it. I thought I was going to die a couple times, and that scared the heck out of me.” At one point though, it got so bad that Hank even decided to end it all, going away into a cabin in Alabama with a bottle of pills that he said “looked like a mayonnaise jar.” Obviously the suicide attempt failed, and Hank said that he then spoke with a doctor who snapped him back to reality: “He said, ‘Let me just lay it out there for you. You’ve been taught from the time you can possibly remember to look like, act like, be like, everything exactly like your legendary father.’ He said, ‘They’ve done a d-mn good job.’ He said, ‘And you’re going to beat him because he died at 29. You’re going to die at 26.’” Hank Jr. eventually found the freedom to become his own artist – and his own man – cultivating the outlaw reputation that he’s known for through songs like “Family Tradition,” “Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound,” and of course, “A Country Boy Can Survive.” He’s also embraced his legendary father though, recording his own versions of some of the biggest Hank Williams songs like “There’s A Tear In My Beer,” “Move It On Over” and “Kaw-Liga.” And it all happened after he was no longer being forced to try to replace his legendary father – both in his music and his life. Unfortunately it seems to be a pressure that still exists in the music industry today, even from fans. Artists who choose to get sober and take control of their own lives have to deal with comments from fans that their “music was better when they were on drugs” or that they’re not the same artist anymore. Of course country music is built on authenticity, and the legends like Hank Sr., Waylon, Merle and George Jones certainly lived the stories in their songs. But that doesn’t mean that artists should be encouraged to go down a destructive path in order to improve their art. Luckily, Hank Jr. was able to avoid the fate of his father, despite the pressure that he faced from the industry. The post Hank Williams Jr. Was Told He Would Have To Go Through Addiction & Depression To Become As Great As His Father first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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The following article, Navy JAG Officer Posted Threats Against ICE Agents, Others, was first published on Conservative Firing Line. An active-duty Navy JAG officer apparently has little common sense and espouses extreme left-wing views.  “Benny” Benjamin France is the son of JAG officer Timothy D. France (ret). He appeared to be proud of that in his post on LinkedIn but became a vile fool on X.com.   Benny proudly shared his taking of the … Continue reading Navy JAG Officer Posted Threats Against ICE Agents, Others ...

Remember when you were 12 and you asked your mom if your bestie could sleep over? Sometimes it was an easy ask and sometimes you had to have a whole speech prepared. "I swear, we'll be asleep by midnight and we won't be loud!"Now imagine asking permission as an adult. That's what comedians and content creators Tommy (@tommybayertime) and his roommate Noah (@Noah_snyder) did, but instead of their parents' permission, it was their landlord. Huddled up on the couch in casual "cozy wear," Tommy calls his apartment manager on speaker, who answers with a stern, "Hello." See on Instagram Tommy sings, "Hey, Mr. Mead! It's Tommy and Noah in 3-A." Noah tries to sweeten the call by adding, "Favorite tenants." Tommy continues, "Yeah, we were just wondering if our friend Matt could sleep over tonight," to which Noah quips, "Yeah, is that okay with you?" The camera pans over to their friend Matt, who is sitting quietly awaiting the reply. (Matt also, for some reason, has a "Matt cam," so occasionally we see a close-up shot of his expressions which range from mild excitement to mild joy.)Mr. Mead pauses. "I don't understand."Tommy further explains, "So, we were hanging out with our friend Matt…" Noah adds, "He's like our best bud." Tommy reiterates, "And we wanted to keep hanging out so we were wondering if he could sleep over tonight." Animated kids have a crazy pillow fight. Giphy Lets Go Fight GIF by Nickelodeon The landlord calmly questions the call. "I just don't understand why you're calling me. Is the sink draining? Did the sink not get fixed or what?"Tommy gleefully replies, "No, we're getting that figured out. That's fine. We just want to ask you if Matt can sleep over." They remind him, "Yeah, 'cause ya know, you're our landlord."Mr. Mead replies, "Yeah, you don't need to call me to ask if your friend can sleep over. That's not what a landlord does. But you can do whatever you want with the apartment. Like you can have whoever you want over."Despite the very clear answer, the guys are still not so sure, with Noah exclaiming, "Yeeeeaah suuuuure." Tommy asks again, "But CAN he?""I can't. Like it's not my place to say. But yes, you can do whatever you want. That's up to you."Confirming one more time, "So that's a yes?" Tommy asks, getting his hopes up.Finally, sweet confirmation arrives. "Yes, yeah, he can sleep over."The guys are excited. Matt holds up his hand for a slow sideways high-five, while Tommy says, "Okay that's awesome! Thank you so much, Mr. Mead. I love you, okay, Bye Bye."Then comes the most exquisitely awkward pause. "Okay," Mr. Mead relents. "I love you too. Thank you. Bye." "I love U more" GIF Giphy I Love You Rainbow GIF by Travis Foster At over 80,000 likes, the commenters are instantly supportive of everyone involved. First and foremost, someone writes, "The 'I love you' sent me," to which many reply "Same." Hilarious comedian in his own right, Spencer Goldman chimed in, "So relieved he actually said yes."A lot of people focused on how chill Mr. Mead is (who may or may not be their friend @ethanmeadforever.) One notes, "Dude your landlord is the best. Even asked about the sink. You better tip that man."There's always a serious person in the comments, though, and this time, they wanted to inform everyone that some leases DO require permission. "Oddly enough, tons of leases specify that you need permission for overnight guests. Several of my apartments had that in there and each time I laughed and never ever would ask."This person asked the question on many of our minds: "Yeah but did Mr. Mead say you guys can make a boyz only fort in the living room?" Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Nearly all of us, ahem, of a certain age, are familiar with the game Guess Who?, where you ask leading questions like, “Does this person wear glasses?” until only one character remains. While there have been some tweaks to make these characters more diverse, the general array has stayed the same more or less—so much so that several savvy players have come up with hacks to always win the game. But what about creating your own customized Guess Who? board, using members of your own family? For Katie Fillmore, it became a unique and fun bonding opportunity–not to mention provided some welcome belly laughs. In a clip posted to her TikTok, which has racked up close to a million views, we can hear the Filmores cracking up as questions like, “Do we suspect this person is neurodivergent?" and “Would this person enjoy chopping wood?” get thrown around. We also catch a glimpse of family pictures in place of the traditional Guess Who? characters. @kators88 Guess Who Custom Family Edition #bigfamily #bigfamilylife #bigfamilycheck #siblings #siblingcheck #hilarious #guesswho #familyfun #familytime #funny #funnybones #smallthingsmakemehappy #spendthemorningwithmeasamom #funnybones #unintentionallyfunny ♬ Welp, Didn't Expect That - Yu-Peng Chen & HOYO-MiX Of course, things only get funnier as the questions become more jabbing, like, “Does this person have a spending problem?” and, “Does this person have all their natural teeth?”Needless to say, viewers were totally on board with this idea. “I need to do this with my sibs and cousins,” one person wrote. Another echoed, “This is the best idea I have ever seen. I’m going to do this for my family as this is our favorite game! Thank you for sharing. This is just epic.” "Could you imagine finding this at a thrift store?" @kators88/TikTokIn fact, several folks shared how they had their own version of this custom Guess Who? game. And one thing always started the same: the guesses were savage. Especially when siblings were involved. That, and everybody always had a blast. “My sister and I made one of these and the clues were SO FUNNY” “I’m Mexican. ALL our questions would be severe roasts and everyone would try to one up each other’s roasts.” “I did this for my wedding with my family members on both sides and my family still plays it once in a while.”“Oh my god my sister made a whole one of these for the villains in my life it’s so f**king funny.”“We have one of these for our family and my kids gets BRUTAL with their clues when they play.” "We have this for our family. It's a hoot." @kators88/TikTokStill a few others admitted they might not have the fortitude to take on such a game. "The way this game would immediately hurt my feelings. Lol ?," one person quipped."This would immediately turn violent in my family. Especially between my brother and I ?," another said. "I am not emotionally robust enough to play this with my family,” confessed a third. Luckily for Filmore, it’s been nothing but a good time for her and her family. In an interview with People, she shared how it actually brought her family closer together. "It felt amazing seeing how much joy it brought us—not just during gameplay, but afterward as we talked about memories tied to each photo. It’s not just about playing—it’s about creating lasting memories together."As for anyone thinking of creating their own family edition of Guess Who?, Fillmore advises: "Don’t overthink it! Embrace imperfections—they’re what make it personal and fun."