Waylon Jennings

Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15,1937 – February 13, 2002) was a respected and influential American country music singer and guitarist, born in Littlefield, Texas.

He taught himself to play guitar at age eight, and formed his first band two years later. He worked as a DJ throughout his teen years, dropping out of high school to pursue a career in music. During his time working as a DJ, he met and befriended Buddy Holly.

On the night of February 3, 1959 (The Day the Music Died) the airplane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (aka The Big Bopper) crashed outside of Mason City, Iowa, killing all passengers. Jennings had given his seat to Richardson, who had the flu and desperately needed rest. In his 1996 autobiography, Jennings admitted for the first time that in the years afterward, he felt severe guilt and responsibility for the crash. After Jennings gave up his seat, Holly had jokingly told him that he hoped the tour bus would stall. Jennings replied, with equal jocularity, that he hoped the plane would crash; these words would haunt him for years.

Phoenix

After several years of inactivity, Jennings began performing again this time in Phoenix, Arizona. In these years of two and three shows a night, sometimes six nights a week, he developed a unique sound, a devoted following, and a decent living. He signed a contract with Herb Alpert's newly formed A&M Records, and he had a few hit singles on local radio in Phoenix, including "Four Strong Winds" (by Ian Tyson) and "Just To Satisfy You" (co-written with Don Bowman). Bobby Bare did his own cover of "Four Strong Winds" after hearing Waylon's version, and Bare later recommended Waylon to legendary country music guitarist and producer Chet Atkins, who signed Waylon to RCA Victor. He packed up and moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1965.

The Nashville Sound

Jennings was accustomed to performing and recording with his own band, a practice that was not encouraged in professional Nashville recording studios. The characteristic sound he had developed in Phoenix was further "diminished" by the typical post-production enhancing of recordings with string arrangements and other overdubs. Jennings released a series of singles and albums with RCA; however, there were some successes. He felt limited by the "Nashville Sound," and the lack of "artistic freedom" in the 1960s country music industry.

During this time, Jennings began using amphetamines while touring. He quickly became addicted, like many other country artists of the period, including his one-time roommate Johnny Cash. His second marriage, to Lynne Jones, ended in a 1967 divorce suit that left the already broke singer economically crippled. He got married for a third time to Barbara Rood, who tried to get his finances under control. Her efforts created great resentment within Jenning's band, and the marriage ended in divorce shortly thereafter. He married for the fourth and final time to country singer Jessi Colter in 1969. Colter (then known as Miriam Eddy) had previously been married to guitar legend, Duane Eddy.

Willie Nelson, another Texas native who had come to Nashville before him, retired from the music industry and left Nashville in the late 1960s. Nelson had cautioned Jennings not to leave his steady job as a popular performer in Phoenix for Nashville, but Jennings had not heeded his advice. By the beginning of the 1970s, saddled with a $250,000 debt to his record company and others, Jennings had become almost hopeless with the prospect of success in Nashville. A 1972 bout with hepatitis almost killed him, and he seriously considered retiring from music as Nelson had done.

Outlaw Country

Two things came along to turn Jennings' hard times around; the first was a business manager from New York named Neil Reshen, and the second was his old friend Nelson. Reshen approached Jennings, still recovering from hepatitis, and offered to renegotiate his recording and touring contracts. Jennings agreed, and the contract renegotiation began in earnest. At a 1972 meeting in a Nashville airport, Jennings introduced Reshen to Nelson; by the end of the meeting, Reshen was manager to both singers.

RCA had dropped Nelson, but by 1973 he had returned to the music industry under the auspices of Atlantic Records, and was on his way to music superstardom. Now based in Austin, Texas, Nelson had made inroads into the rock and roll press by attracting a diverse fan base that included the young rock music audience. Atlantic Records had signed Nelson when the time was right, and they were looking to sign Jennings as well. Nelson's rise to popularity made RCA nervous about losing another hot artist, which gave Jennings the leverage he needed in his contract renegotiations. Reshen drove a hard bargain, but RCA finally agreed to his terms: a $75,000 advance and near-complete artistic control. Renegotiations of his touring contracts yielded similar positive results, and began turning a profit from his touring (almost unheard-of in Nashville at that time). Waylon finally had a rock star recording contract, and he looked the part; Reshen had advised him to keep the beard he had grown in the hospital, in order to cultivate a more rock and roll image.

In 1972, RCA issued Ladies Love Outlaws, an album that Jennings never wanted released. Nevertheless, the title track is often considered the first song of the outlaw country movement. He followed this album with Lonesome, On'ry and Mean and Honky Tonk Heroes in 1973, the first albums recorded and released under his own creative control. The albums were huge commercial and critical successes. More hit albums followed, with The Ramblin' Man and This Time in 1974 and Dreaming My Dreams in 1975. The pace of recording and performing was lucrative but grueling. At some point in the 1970s, Jennings switched from amphetamines to cocaine, consuming thousands of dollars worth every day.

In 1976, Jennings began his career-defining collaborations with Nelson on the compilation album Wanted: The Outlaws!, country's first platinum record. The following year, RCA issued "Ol' Waylon", an album that produced another huge hit duet with Nelson, "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)". Waylon and Willie followed in 1978, producing their biggest hit with "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys." He released I've Always Been Crazy in 1978, followed with a greatest hits album in 1979.

By the early 1980s, Jennings was completely addicted to cocaine. His personal finances had again unraveled, leaving him bankrupt. His work became less focused, and his tours had progressed into full rock and roll excesses. In a widely publicized case, he was arrested in 1977 for cocaine possession by federal agents, though the charges were later dropped. The episode was recounted in Jennings' song "Don't Y'all Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out Of Hand?"

Addiction & Recovery

Jennings decided that it was finally time to clean up, at least for a little while. He underwent the detox process, intending to start using cocaine again in a more controlled fashion afterward. By Jennings' own admission in interviews, his son Shooter Jennings was the main inspiration to stay off cocaine permanently. His later life was plagued with health problems including a heart attack and diabetes brought on by a voracious appetite that developed after he beat his cocaine habit. Despite these problems, Jennings remained free from cocaine and continued recording and touring throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Later Years

Outside of the music industry, Jennings was also known as the voice of the narrator on the popular television series The Dukes of Hazzard and its predecessor Moonrunners. The theme song "Good Ol' Boys", an original Jennings composition, is one of the most well-known television theme songs in American television history. He also made an appearance on Married... with Children and had a cameo role in the 1985 film Sesame Street presents Follow That Bird.

In the mid-1980s, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Nelson, and Jennings formed a successful group called The Highwaymen. Aside from his work with The Highwaymen, highlights from his own career include WWII with Willie Nelson in 1982, Will The Wolf Survive in 1985, The Eagle in 1990 and Too Dumb For New York City, Too Ugly For L.A. in 1992.

During the early 1990s, Jennings became great friends with Metallica. He had also become very close to Metallica frontman James Hetfield and influenced some material for their 1996 album Load. In 2003, James Hetfield was featured on the tribute album I've Always Been Crazy: A Tribute To Waylon Jennings covering Jennings' 1978 song, "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out Of Hand?"

In 1998, he joined another country supergroup, Old Dogs, with Bobby Bare, Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis, and songwriter Shel Silverstein. They released one album, Old Dogs, recorded live in the studio.

Sometime during 2001, Jennings provided his voice in an episode of Family Guy during a Dukes of Hazzard parody. The episode was entitled To Live and Die in Dixie. The episode originally aired in November of that year. He also narrated a watch fight in an earlier episode, Chitty Chitty Death Bang.

Jennings suffered from diabetes. On December 19, 2001, his left foot was amputated in a Phoenix, Arizona, hospital due to infection arising from his diabetes. Then, on February 13, 2002, Jennings died in his sleep of diabetic complications at age 64 in Chandler, Arizona. He is interred in the Mesa City Cemetery, Mesa, Arizona.

On March 22, 2006, Jennings' mother Lorene Jennings died in Littlefield, TX.

Albums

JD's (1964)
Folk Country (1966)
Leavin' Town (1966)
Nashville Rebel (Soundtrack) (1966)
Waylon Sings Ol' Harlan (1967)
Love Of The Common People (1967)
The One And Only Waylon Jennings (1967)
Hangin' On (1968)
Only The Greatest (1968)
Jewels (1968)
Just To Satisfy You (1969)
Country Folk (1969)(with The Kimberlys)
Waylon (1970)
Don't Think Twice (1970)
The Best Of Waylon Jennings (1970)
Ned Kelly (Soundtrack) (1970)
Singer Of Sad Songs (1970)
The Taker/Tulsa (1971)
Cedartown, Georgia (1971)
Good Hearted Woman (1972)
Heartaches By The Numbers (1972)
Ladies Love Outlaws (1972)
Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town (1973)
Lonesome, On'ry and Mean (1973)
Honkey Tonk Heroes (1973)
Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line (1973)
This Time (1974)
The Ramblin' Man (1974)
Dreaming My Dreams (1975)
Wanted: The Outlaws (1976)
Mackintosh And T J (Soundtrack) (1976)
Are You Ready For The Country (1976)
The Dark Side Of Fame
Waylon Live (1976)
Ol' Waylon (1977)
White Mansions (1978)
I've Always Been Crazy (1978)
Greates Hits (1979)
What Goes Around Comes Around (1979)
Music Man (1980)
Leather and Lace (with Jessi Colter) (1982)
Black On Black (1982)
It's Only Rock And Roll (1983)
Waylon And Company (1983)
Never Could Toe The Mark (1984)
Waylon's Greatest Hits, Volume 2 (RCA, 1984)
The Collector's Series - Waylon Jennings (1985)
Turn The Page (1985)
Sweet Mother Texas (1986)
The Best Of Waylon (1986)
Will The Wolf Survive (1986)
Heroes (with Johnny Cash) (1986)
Hangin' Tough (Universal Special Markets, 1987)
A Man Called Hoss (MCA, 1987)
Full Circle (1988)
The Early Years (1989)
New Classic Waylon (MCA, 1989)
The Eagle (Epic, 1990)
Too Dumb For New York City Too Ugly For L.A. (Epic, 1992)
Ol' Waylon Sings Ol' Hank (RCA, 1992)
Cowboys, Sisters, Rascals, & Dirt (Sony Wonder, 1993)
Waylon Jennings - The RCA Years - Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line (RCA, 1993)
Waymore's Blues (Part II) (RCA, 1994)
Twentieth Anniversary Edition - Wanted: The Outlaws (1996)
Right For The Time (Buddha Records, 1996)
The Essential Waylon Jennings (RCA, 1996)
Super Hits (RCA, 1996)
Super Hits II (RCA, 1998)
Closing In On The Fire (ARK 21, 1998)
Never Say Die: Live (Lucky Dog (Epic), 2000)
The Best of Waylon Jennings (MCA Nashville, 2000)