Travis Tritt will never forget turkey hunting – and crappie fishing – with the great Hank Williams Jr..
It’s no surprise that two country music legends would have a heck of a time when they get together. Williams Jr. was one of the biggest stars of the genre in the 80s, and the same can be said about Tritt in the 90s. Their success eventually led to a friendship, and a friendship that led Bocephus to invite the “Here’s A Quarter” singer to come with him turkey hunting.
On Pickin’ It Out with Andrew Pope, Tritt told the story of how the invitation was extended to him:
“I get a call from Hank Jr. in the spring, and it was not long after we recorded Outlaws Like Us. He called me and said, ‘Are you gonna be anywhere around Paris, Tennessee in the next few weeks. I said, ‘I can be.’ He said, ‘You ever been turkey hunting?’ I said, ‘Nope never been.’ He said, ‘Come on up, I’ll show you everything you need to know. We’ll bag you a bird.'”
That right there sounds like a Bocephus guarantee.
Tritt made it up to William Jr.’s Paris, Tennessee cabin a couple of days early, and the country star remembers sitting around with the son of Hank Williams for hours, talking about everything from music to hunting at fishing. It was then that he realized that the version of Hank that the public eye got to see was much different than the person he was when he was laying low in Tennessee home:
“There are at least two different Hank Williams Jr.s. There’s the one that’s Bocephus, which that’s the reason for all of his stardom and his success in the music industry. The guy that sits with you in a turkey blind? That’s a totally different dude.”
Travis Tritt went on to compliment how Hank Williams Jr. compartmentalized his life, and even touched on another trip that he took up to Paris, when the two country stars went crappie fishing on Kentucky Lake (shoutout to my the lake area of my hometown).
Tritt did bag his first ever turkey hunting with Bocephus, but the thing that really stuck with him after his hunting trip was how different Hank Williams Jr. was from the persona that much of the world got to see:
“If you could get him away from all the Bocephus stuff, and just sit down and talk with the guy, man what an incredible individual. Just the nicest guy in the world. Somebody you can laugh with and talk with and somebody that knows the history of this industry.”
@andrewpopemusic travis tritt got his first turkey with hank williams jr. my full conversation with the one and only travis tritt is available now on youtube, apple podcasts and spotify. link in bio. #pickinitout #travistritt #hankwilliamsjr #bocephus #kentuckylake ♬ original sound – Andrew Pope
