Duck Dynasty and country music just sort of go together, right?
Not according to the family’s late patriarch, Phil Robertson.
In a new installment of the Unashamed podcast, Robertson’s son Jase admits that his dad didn’t listen to country music, and he didn’t encourage his kids to listen to it, either.
In fact, when Jase played Robertson a Hank Williams, Jr. classic, Robertson didn’t even finish the song before telling his son to turn it off.
Jase told that story while in conversation with his podcast guest, country singer Larry Fleet. He admitted that, until one day beforehand, he didn’t know who Fleet was. But it wasn’t personal: He simply hadn’t grown up with the country genre, and wasn’t familiar with many of its artists.
Why Did Phil Robertson Hate Country Music?
On the podcast, Jase and his brother Al explained that their dad was more of a “classic rock guy” who listened to bands including the Eagles and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
“We couldn’t listen to country music,” Jase says. “It wasn’t, like, a rule. It was just like, ‘That’s just stupid.’ He didn’t like country music.”
Phil Robertson’s Shocking Reaction to Hank Williams, Jr.
Of course, the family have built their brand on their love of hunting and the outdoors — two themes that are prevalent in country music. They also overlap with the genre’s values when it comes to self-sustainable, rural life.
That’s why Jase was sure that his dad was going to love Hank Williams, Jr.’s “A Country Boy Can Survive.”
So much so that he decided to play the song for him.
“I walked in there nervously because my dad is just so intimidating,” he remembers. “What I didn’t factor in is the first time a four-letter word came out in the song. I just never thought about it. I thought, well, those words are in the Bible — ‘hell’ and ‘damn,’ you know.”
His dad liked the lyrics about living back in the woods with “a shotgun, a rifle and a four-wheel drive,” and the parts about catching catfish and skinning a buck.
Read More: Will Phil Robertson Appear in Season 2 of the Duck Dynasty Reboot?
But when the song got to the line “If you ain’t into that, we don’t give a damn,” it was all over for Robertson.
“My dad said, ‘Turn that off,'” Jase recounts with a laugh. “We were that close. We had him. Well, he liked it until he said that. Made him uncomfortable, you know. I don’t know why, ’cause I’d heard my dad say way worse.”
Phil Robertson Once Missed a Phone Call From Lynyrd Skynyrd For a Hilarious Reason
Though Robertson’s favorite genre was classic rock, he did have a soft spot for Southern rock crossover, and he loved Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Jase and Al also shared the story of the time the surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, who’d heard that Robertson was a fan, tried to call him up.
“But he was taking a nap, which was another rule: You don’t wake him up,” Jase remembers.
“And he said, ‘Hey, if Lynyrd Skynyrd calls, you wake me up,'” he continues. “Or the president, is what he said.”
How Did Phil Robertson Die?
Phil Robertson died in May after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and other ailments. He was 79 years old.
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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
