Born the son of country artist Hank Williams, Jr., and the grandson of Hank Williams, Sr., Hank Williams III pursued his own dream of country music stardom. He was born Shelton Hank Williams III in Nashville on December 12, 1972, and initially played in punk bands. Following in the footsteps of his lineage, young Hank displayed a wild side of partying, drinking and drugs. He turned that around in 1996 and landed a contract with Curb Records. It was a turbulent partnership, as the singer was unpredictable and defiant. Bearing a close resemblance to his grandfather, Curb wanted him to fit into their marketing mold. Refusing to be controlled, Hank III continually strayed from conforming to the label's wishes, and boldly performed alongside punk bands and in rock concerts. He made several attempts to break his contract with Curb, and their rocky relationship came to a head when the label refused to release Williams' LP called This Ain't Country. When Curb wouldn't let him release the record independently, he responded by selling controversial anti-Curb t-shirt via his website, as well as limited quantities of his several independent CD's. Bruc Records, a rock division of Curb, released a double CD set entitled "Straight to Hell" in 2006.