Webster PRTonight, two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year Hank Williams, Jr. opens the 49th Annual CMA Awards, performing with his old pal, current Entertainer nominee Eric Church. “You know he opened shows for me three, four years ago,” Hank recalls. “We’ve probably been knowing each other six years or something like that.”
The two will do a new version of the Waylon Jennings hit, “Are You Ready for the Country,” written by Neil Young. Hank says Eric was just one of the younger artists who expressed interest in recording with him when they heard he was working on a new project for Nash Icon Records.
“When we got about four cuts into this project, the musicians started buzzing,” he recalls. “These musicians, they’re calling me, saying, ‘Man there’s a buzz going on, these people are calling up wanting to sing on it.’ I said, ‘What?’ You know I’m crappie fishing, whatever. Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore, Brad Paisley, Eric Church. I said you gotta be sh***ing me. They said, ‘Hank, you don’t keep up with this stuff, but we do. They done heard about it and they want to be on it. I said, ‘Well that’s a good problem to have, isn’t it?’”
In the end, Brantley, Justin and Brad ended up on a new version of the Bocephus classic “Born to Boogie,” from his new album due January 15, called It’s About Time. His duet with Eric will be available on CMA day, with fans who pre-order the project instantly getting four tracks.
Hank says he’s even gotten to spend some down-time with the five-time nominee, turning him on to one of his favorite hobbies.
“About two years ago, I took [Eric] and his wife out here, they wanted to go metal detecting. You know I’ve done that since I was a little boy at Mother and Daddy’s house. I’ve done this a long time. And he got about 20 or 30 bullets that day and a perfect U.S. buckle,” Hank remembers. “He was hooked! He said ‘This is the most fun crap I’ve ever done here. Where can I get one of these? I’m gonna have one of these metal detectors tomorrow!”
You’ll find Hank and Eric kicking off country music’s biggest night at 8 p.m. ET this evening on ABC, live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
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