Junior Sure Ain't Senior III

Part III of a Trilogy: Teach Your Children

In this, the third and final part of our picture-packed paean to the progeny of music’s most popular personalities, we will take a folksy turn down some familiar country roads with a quirky side-trip or two on dusty turnoffs.

Loudon Snowden Wainwright III, one of America’s most singularly talented folk singer-songwriter-humorists, will always be revered, at least by relics from the 1970s such as ourselves, for his first hit single, "Dead Skunk (in the Middle of the Road)." As an actor, he appeared in a number of movies, including "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up" (for which he also composed the music soundtrack), as well as TV shows, memorably in three episodes of "M*A*S*H" as singing surgeon Captain Spaulding.

Wainwright, who once asserted that he was inspired by Bob Dylan’s performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1962, was among a number of burgeoning folk artists in the ‘70s dubbed "the new Dylan," a burden he later satirized in the song "Talking New Bob Dylan."

Loudon was once married to Canadian folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle, with whom he had two children. Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (left) was born in 1973 and was three when his parents divorced. He was the subject of a pair of his father’s songs, "Rufus Is a Tit Man" (an ode to breast-feeding) and "A Father and a Son." Raised by his mother, Rufus began playing piano at six and was touring with "The McGarrigle Sisters and Family" at 13.

As a teenager, Rufus came out as gay, stating in a 1999 Rolling Stone magazine interview that his dad recognized it early on. "We’d drive around in the car," he said, "we’d play ‘Heart of Glass,’ and I’d sort of mouth the words, pretend to be Blondie. Just a sign of things to come…"

His adult career is highlighted by five albums and several songs on compilations and soundtracks. His self-titled debut recording was acclaimed as one of 1998’s best albums by Rolling Stone, which likewise hailed him as "Best New Artist." That same year, he toured with Sean Lennon, followed by his first tour as the headliner.

Rufus’ addiction to crystal meth peaked in 2002. In the self-described "most surreal week of my life," he appeared as a guest on the British comedy series "Absolutely Fabulous," partied with President George W.’s daughter Barbara Bush, participated in a "debauched evening" with his mother and singer Marianne Faithfull, and experienced recurring hallucinations about his father, the latter prompting his decision to either enter rehab or live with his father. "I knew I needed an asshole to yell at me," he said, "and I felt he fit the bill." His friend Elton John persuaded him to undergo rehab and therapy at Minnesota’s Hazeldon Foundation.

In two sold-out performances at Carnegie Hall in June 2006, Rufus (right) re-enacted the entire Judy Garland concert that had been recorded there in 1961. The show was successfully repeated in London, Paris and Los Angeles, and the performance became a popular release on CD and DVD in 2007. Judy Garland’s daughter Lorna Luft publicly expressed her strong personal approval of Wainwright’s interpretation, which included
lipstick and stiletto heels.

Rufus’ kid sister, Martha Wainwright (born 1976), a folk-rock singer-songwriter in her own right, was welcomed into the world by her father’s song "Pretty Little Martha." Five years later, Loudon recorded the post-divorce tune "Five Years Old." Martha’s first, self-titled recording was released in 2005. Her 2008 follow-up album, "I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too," boasted such guest artists as The Who’s Pete Townshend, Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen, The Band’s Garth Hudson, mom Kate and brother Rufus. Critics called her singular style a blend of folk, country, rock and cabaret-influenced chanson, while she herself credited inspiration from Canadian-born folk singer Leonard Cohen. She toured throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, and online music critic Tricia Summers praised her "powerful voice" and the knowledge of having "the crowd wrapped around her finger." Martha once stated that her song "Bloody Mother F***ing Asshole" was about her father, although she and Loudon did collaborate on the song "You Never Phone" for his 2003 album, "So Damn Happy."

Lucy Wainwright Roche (born 1981) is the daughter of Loudon Wainwright and Suzzy Roche, who, along with sisters Maggie and Terre, formed the popular folk trio The Roches. For a number of years, Lucy (right) was a teacher in New York City before pursuing a full-time career in music. In 2007, she went on tour with her father and brother Rufus, and she has since released a pair of EP’s.

As a folk artist and lifelong political activist, armed with a battery of protest songs about social injustice, Arlo Guthrie (born 1947) has proudly sustained the legacy of his father, Woody Guthrie. Arlo will forever be remembered for his magnum opus, 1967’s "Alice’s Restaurant Masacree," a talking-blues epic that spans 18 minutes (sometimes stretched to 45 minutes in live performances). Based on an actual incident (at least, according to Guthrie’s commentary on the DVD release of the 1969 film based on the song), the counterculture anthem recounts Arlo’s call-up for the draft during the Vietnam War and subsequent rejection based on an arrest for creating a public nuisance. An inevitable hit on college radio stations nationwide, it stood out as an attitude-defining icon of the ‘60s. The song remains a traditional Thanksgiving Day standard for several broadcasters. Incidentally, the Alice in the title is Alice Brock, who went on to own an art gallery in Provincetown, Massachusetts. In 1991, Arlo bought the church that had belonged to Alice in Great Borringrton, Massachusetts, turning it into an inter-faith meeting hall called the Guthrie Center.

Originally written by folk musician Steve Goodman, "City of New Orleans" became a successful recording for Arlo in 1972. In truth, Arlo made his first ride on the titular train in 2005, when he joined other artists on a cross-country rail journey to raise money for musicians affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Although a comparatively minor hit for Arlo, 1967’s "The Motorcycle Song" remains a favorite of fans, particularly among our staff. Arlo likes to perform often with the giant of folk music, Pete Seeger, with whom his father, Woody, often collaborated.

Arlo’s son Abe, formerly with the folk rock band Xavier, tours with his father. Abe’s son, Krishna, a drummer, accompanied Arlo on a 2006 European tour. Arlo’s daughter, Cathy, plays ukulele in the group Folk Uke, which she formed with Amy Nelson, daughter of Willie Nelson. Arlo’s daughter Annie Guthrie manages the family touring agenda.

Arlo’s youngest daughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie (born 1979), performs and records with husband Johnny Irion. Her childhood interests included theater and dance. Her first recorded performance was as a vocalist on Arlo’s 1981 album "Power of Love," although she said her interest in music really began when she worked as her father’s road manager for the Further Festival in 1997, playing acoustic guitar to join in on the fun. "I always wrote poems," she noted, "so it wasn’t that far off for me to turn that into songs."

"My dad was absolutely thrilled, of course," Sarah (above, with Arlo and Abe) recollected, "and would teach me stuff every day when we were on the road together. That was a really cool way to get to know my dad, because I’d never known him that way."

She debuted live with family and friends at Carnegie Hall and released her first, self-titled album on the family label, Rising Son Records, in 2002. She and Johnny Irion (left) met in 1997, married in 1999 and began performing as a duo in 2000.

Hank Williams Jr. (born 1949) began his music career imitating his famous father. His debut recording, at 17, was a version of his father’s "Long Gone Lonesome Blues." In fact, his early career was dominated by his mother, Audrey, who was similarly cited as an overpowering drive behind his father’s stardom. Audrey even had stage costumes designed for the young Williams identical to his dad’s. After performing the soundtrack for the 1964 screen biography of his father, "Your Cheatin’ Heart," Hank Jr. hit the charts with the single "Standing in the Shadows (Of a Very Famous Man)," initiating a transition from traditional country to bluesy southern rock.

He veritably cut off ties with his mother and by the mid-1970s was well on his way on the road to stardom in his own right. At the same time, however, he also started abusing alcohol and drugs, leading to a suicide attempt in 1973. Re-energizing his creative focus, he started jamming with musicians such as Waylon Jennings, Charlie Daniels and The Marshall Tucker Band, which led to his groundbreaking album, "Hank Williams Jr. and Friends."

In 1975, Williams suffered a near-fatal fall while climbing Ajax Mountain near Missoula, Montana, breaking several bones in his face and exposing his brain. After nine major reconstructive surgeries and two years of recovery, he emerged with the trademark look of a face hidden by a full beard, sunglasses and cowboy hat. He hit the charts again in the late ‘70s with a nontraditional mix of country, southern rock and blues that created a devoted fan base but alienated mainstream country radio. In time, however, Nashville accepted his unique sound, and during the ‘80s, his status as a country music superstar was rewarded with a number of "Entertainer of the Year" accolades from both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.

Best known for his theme song for "Monday Night Football" (based on his 1984 single "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight"), he enjoyed further success with "There’s a Tear in My Beer," a "duet" with his father, utilizing electronic dubbing technology. The video for the song, creating the illusion of the two performing side by side, was awarded Video of the Year by the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association in 1990.

Hank Williams III (born 1972) devoted his early career to playing drums in punk rock bands. His subsequent, singular style as a songwriter-singer has been alternately characterized as cowpunk, hard-twang, altcountry, hellbilly and honky-punk. Child support demands prompted him to cash in on the family name, leading to the Curb Records release in 1996 of "Three Hanks: Men with Broken Hearts," which spliced separate recordings for the effect of the three generations singing together. As a matter of fact, when the late country great Minnie Pearl, a close friend of Hank Sr.’s, first set eyes on the grandson (right), she exclaimed, amazed by the striking resemblance, "Lord, honey, you’re a ghost!"

Hank III had little tolerance for the predictable Nashville sound and expressed his dissatisfaction with Curb Records with the sale of T-shirts proclaiming "F*** Curb." He worked out his frustration with a stint as bass guitarist for the metal band Superjoint Ritual, which was fronted by former Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo.

The grandson’s third album as a solo artist was recorded in 2004 as "Thrown Out of the Bar," but Curb Records decided to shelve it. Over a year of court battles later, Williams and Curb called a truce, Hank suspended sales of the above mentioned T-shirt, and Curb eventually released a revamped version of the album as "Straight to Hell." Even then, the album was delayed, due to a confrontation with Wal-Mart, because it was the first major label country album to be stamped with a parental advisory label. Wal-Mart ended up marketing the title in a censored format.

On the road to promote his 2008 album, "Damn Right, Rebel Proud," Hank III reportedly said he will release a punk rock record, using the name Assjack, in less than a year.

Despite the legacy of her family, Holly Williams (born 1981), the daughter of Hank Williams Jr. and wife Becky, didn’t initially display a predilection for music, opting instead for fashion modeling. At a young age, she saw her parents separate. Dad took her to several of his concerts, and by 17, she was playing his guitars and began writing songs. She studied piano in Los Angeles and attended performances by The Rolling Stone, Elliot Smith and Neil Finn, all of whom became her influences. Canadian recording artist Ron Sexsmith gave her a slot on his European tour.

Recording her first EP in 2003, Holly signed with Universal South Records and toured with actor-sometime singer Billy Bob Thornton. In October 2004, she released her full-length debut, "The Ones We Never Knew." After a March 2006 car accident that canceled a European tour, she was on the road again by November. In February 2008, she was performing on the singer-songwriter Caribbean cruise Cayamo.

Randy Scruggs, son of banjo great Earl Scruggs (of Flatt & Scruggs fame), enjoyed a childhood in the company of country music icons, among them Johnny Cash and the Carter Family. He made his first guitar recording when he was 13 and by the early 1970s became one of Nashville’s most sought-after session musicians. He started his own production company in 1980, leading to collaborations with Waylon Jennings, George Strait and Alison Krauss. In 1998, Scruggs released his first solo recording, "Crown of Jewels," to critical acclaim. He earned Country Music Awards Musician of the Year accolades in both 1999 and 2003. In 2004, he received a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s "Earl’s Breakdown."

In the first years of his career as a singer-songwriter, Steve Earle was lauded as "the new Bruce Springsteen." Setting up shop in Nashville as a songwriter in 1975, he finally recorded an album of his own, "Guitar Town," in 1986, which went certified gold, as did his third album, "Copperhead Road." Unfortunately, his years of substance abuse and heroin addiction forced him to take a two-year hiatus, which he would refer to as his "vacation in the ghetto."

He did time on drug and firearms charges, during which he kicked his habit. His successful, post-jail comeback exhibited a new musical direction, sidestepping Nashville traditions for an experimental blend of country, bluegrass, folk, blues and hard rock on his own record label, earning him the nickname of "the hardcore troubadour." Earle wed singer Allison Moorer in 2005 (right), and in 2007, he released his twelfth studio album, and the following year, he produced Joan Baez’s album "Day After Tomorrow." Married seven times (twice to the same woman), Steve named his oldest son Justin Townes Earle (born 1982) after the late folk legend, Townes Van Zandt, who was a friend and mentor of Steve’s.

Justin, who saw little of his father as a child, nevertheless developed an interest in music and, as a teen, played and sang with a pair of Nashville bands, the rock-oriented Distributors and the blues-based Swindlers. He eventually toured with his father’s band, the Dukes, and recorded his own composition, "The Time You Waste," on Steve’s 2003 live recording, "Just an American Boy," although Justin’s voracious appetite for drugs interfered with his performances. He told a Los Angeles Times reporter that his fifth major overdose at the age of 21 hospitalized him for several days. That incident steered him to the road of recovery, and his sobriety revitalized a new focus on his music. In 2007, he signed with the "insurgent country" label Bloodshot and in 2008 released his acclaimed debut album "The Good Life."

Shooter Jennings, born Waylon Albright Jennings in 1979, is the only child of country music "outlaws" Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter (right). Spending his early years largely on his parents’ tour bus, he was playing drums at five and guitar at 14, sometimes joining his father’s band. The young Jennings eventually moved to Los Angeles, where he formed a southern rock band called Stargunn. After attracting an avid following in local clubs over a period of six years, Shooter grew tired of "posing as a rocker," in his words, "a country guy trying to be something he wasn’t."

In 2003, Stargunn (left) disbanded, and Jennings took time off to be with his girlfriend in New York City. With a renewed sense of direction, he returned to Los Angeles to form his new band, the .357s, and released his first solo album, "Put the ‘O’ Back in Country" in 2005. The single "Fourth of July" peaked at #26 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. His second album, "Electric Rodeo," was released in 2006, followed in 2007 by "The Wolf."

Shooter Jennings and girlfirend Drea de Matteo (right) had a baby girl in 2007. Her name is Alabama Gypsy Rose. Shooter portrayed his father in the hit screen biography of Johnny Cash, "Walk the Line." In 2008, Shooter produced and arranged the posthumous album "Waylon Forever," an eight-song collection of covers and originals recorded by Waylon (who died in 2002), backed by Shooter’s band, the .357s.

Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny Cash and first wife Vivian (below), was born in 1955, just about the same time that her father’s stardom was on the rise. Following her parents’ separation in the 1960s, she was raised by her mother in California but could not help but be influenced by her father’s music, joining his tour circuit for three years after high school.

An interest in an acting career led her to Lee Strasberg’s drama school, but she left after six months to record a self-titled debut album for a German label. Although the recording was not released in the U.S., it did attract the interest of Columbia Records, which offered her a contract, allowing her freedom to follow her own musical instincts. Her American debut, 1979’s "Right or Wrong," contained two Top 20 singles, with a third tune peaking in the Top 25 in 1980.

Rosanne’s second album, 1981’s "Seven Year Ache," stands out as her breakthrough recording, featuring three #1 country hits and overall certified gold. Although categorized as a country singer, she uniquely blended rock, pop, blues and folk into her own music. During the 1980s, she had 11 #1 hit singles on the Billboard Country Chart, along with four additional Top 10 hits.

In 1996, Rosanne wrote a book of short stories, Bodies of Water, followed in 2000 by the children’s book Penelope Jane: A Fairy’s Tale. She also edited the 2001 book Songs Without Rhyme: Prose by Celebrated Songwriters.

Rosanne Cash’s 2006 album, "Black Cadillac," featuring a dozen self-penned songs, was a heartfelt memorial to her father, her mother and her stepmother, June Carter Cash. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

The previously mentioned "Walk the Line," which included a portrayal of Rosanne and was executive-produced by her half-brother John Carter Cash, misspelled her name in the credits as "Roseanne."

Singer-songwriter Carlene Carter (born 1955) is the daughter of June Carter and first husband Carl Smith. Since 1978, she has released 12 albums, including more than 20 singles, three of which reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. When she was 12, her mother married Johnny Cash, and she, along with stepsister Rosanne Cash, performed as a backup singer on the Carter-Cash touring show. Carlene married at 15, had a child, was divorced within a few years, married again at 19, had a child, and was divorced two years later.

She married singer-songwriter-producer Nick Lowe ("Cruel to Be Kind") in 1979, who re-routed her musical direction onto an ‘80s New Wave-influenced country path. Living in England, she found herself excommunicated by the country establishment, but after her marriage to Lowe hit the skids, she came home to back up The Carter Sisters trio, consisting of mom June Carter Cash and her sisters Helen and Anita. This revival of The Carter Family was featured in a 1987 broadcast of "Austin City Limits" and included Carlene’s stepfather Johnny Cash. After several years of recordings greeted with moderate if not mediocre success and acclaim, Carlene released her "reaffirming comeback album" (Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide), "Stronger," in 2008.

This long road that has winded through the legacies of music’s most storied icons brings us back, full circle, to Bob Dylan’s son, Jakob Dylan. Jakob’s album, "Seeing Things," which was produced by Rick Rubin, the mastermind behind the late Johnny Cash’s final "American Recordings" and Neil Diamonds "12 Songs," managed to just break into Billboard’s Top 25 chart.

We part with an incongruous but nonetheless entertaining glimpse at Bob Dylan’s eldest son, Jesse Dylan (born 1966), who first came to media attention at the age of three when he hit his head on a door knob wile boarding the Queen Elizabeth II to sail with his parents to the Isle of Wight, where Bob was headlining a 1969 festival. In 1983, Jesse had his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, at which his father was a dutiful participant. Jesse attended New York University for a time before he became involved in the production of music videos and TV commercials. His subsequent credits as a film director include the Method Man-Redman rap comedy "How High" (2001), the third "American Pie" outing, "American Wedding" (2003), and the 2005 comedy "Kicking and Screaming," starring Will Ferrell (below, with Dylan). In 2008, Jesse Dylan directed Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am’s music video, "Yes, We Can," inspired by Senator Barack Obama’s speech following the New Hampshire primary in his presidential campaign.