Why ‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Phil Robertson Banned Country Music in His House

Martin Holmes November 7, 2025, 10:36 am

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Phil Robertson, the late patriarch of Duck Dynasty, strongly disliked country music and did not allow it to be played in his home.
His sons, Jase and Al Robertson, recalled on their podcast that Phil even rejected classic country songs like Hank Williams Jr.’s ‘A Country Boy Can Survive’ due to certain lyrics.
Phil, founder of Duck Commander and star of Duck Dynasty, passed away in May at age 79 after battling Alzheimer’s disease.

Given the Robertson family’s love for the outdoors and rural life, one would expect country music to be their genre of choice. But that wasn’t the case for the late Duck Dynasty patriarch, Phil Robertson.

In the latest episode of the Robertsons’ Unashamed podcast, Phil’s son Jase Robertson revealed that his dad not only didn’t like country music, but he wouldn’t allow it to be played in the house. He even made Jase turn off a classic Hank Williams Jr. song.

Speaking with country singer Larry Fleet on the podcast, Jase admitted that his dad had very specific rules, such as “don’t shave” and “don’t mow the lawn.” And one of those rules included not listening to country music.

“It wasn’t like a rule. It was just like, ‘That’s just stupid,'” Jase explained, confessing that he hadn’t heard of Fleet because country music is so outside of his wheelhouse due to his dad’s distaste for the genre.

“It was frowned upon,” Jase’s brother Al Robertson added. “He didn’t like country music. He was like a classic rock guy.” He mu h preferred listening to there likes of Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Eagles.

Despite Phil not liking country music, Jase said he tried to sway his dad over. “When I heard Hank Williams Jr. ‘A Country Boy Can Survive,’ I thought, ‘Well, my dad’s gotta love this,'” he recalled.

“[That song] was an anthem for our lives. It was what we lived,” Al noted.

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“I walked in there nervously because my dad is just so intimidating, and I said, ‘I want you to hear this song,'” Jase remembered. “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, because I thought, well, those words are in the Bible — ‘hell’ and ‘damn,’ you know.”

“My dad said, ‘Turn that off!'” Jase said, laughing about the moment. While he revealed Phil enjoyed certain lyrics in the song, it was the word “damn” that put him off.

“We were that close. We had him,” he continued. “Well, he liked it until he said that. Made him uncomfortable, you know. I don’t know why, because I’d heard my dad say way worse.”

Phil, the owner of the hunting and outdoor recreation company Duck Commander, who gained widespread recognition on Duck Dynasty, died back in May after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 79 years old.