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Home , Bobby Emmons, Honky Tonk Heroes, Never Could Toe the Mark, Shooter Jennings

Robert Davidson

04/23/2019

MUSC 1040

Tia Jaynes

Waylon Jennings

On June 15, 1937, in Littlefield, Texas, Waylon Arnold Jennings made his humble entrance into the world. William Alvin Jennings, Waylon’s father, provided for the family by working on the G.W. Bitner farm near Littlefield, Texas. The Jennings family eventually moved into Littlefield where William operated a retail creamery. Lorene Shipley Jennings, Waylon’s

Mother, taught him how to play the guitar at age eight. It was at this time that Waylon began playing music, competing in local talent shows and various competitions. As Waylon’s musical career began to unfold, he started working as a radio DJ at age 12. At age 16, dropped out of high school and worked for his father. The Texas Longhorns, Waylon’s first band, began traveling to Lubbock for radio performances. It was in Lubbock where Waylon first met

Buddy Holly.

Jennings moved to Lubbock where he worked as a DJ for KVOW and occasionally performed on air. He was fired for playing the music of African-American artists Chuck Berry and Little Richard after the owner had explicitly told him not to do so. Recognizing Jennings’ talent, KLTV’s DJ, Sky Corbin, invited Waylon to Levelland to work for the station. When the

Corbin family purchased KLLL in Lubbock, Jennings was hired as the station’s first DJ. It was at this time that reentered Waylon’s life and invited him to play electric bass and record with him. Buddy Holly and his band, including Waylon Jennings, began their Winter Dance Party tour in 1959. After performing in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly chartered a plane to avoid the long bus drive to Moorhead, Minnesota. Waylon Jennings gave up his seat to J.P. Richardson, who was suffering from the flu. Hearing that Jennings had given up his seat on the plane, Holly joked

“Well I hope your ol’ bus freezes up!” to which Waylon responded, “Well, I hope your ol’ plane crashes!” This would haunt Waylon for the rest of his life as Holly’s plane crashed less than two hours later killing all passengers. The song “American Pie” by Don McLean was written about this accident dubbed “The Day the Music Died.” Deeply affected by the crash Jennings returned to work for KLLL in Lubbock, but his performance declinded, and he eventually left after being denied a raise.

In 1955 Jennings married Maxine Lawrence. With Maxines’ father suffering from an illness, the Jennings moved to Coolidge, Arizona. In Arizona, Jennings performed at several bars before being approached to be the lead artist at a new bar, JD’s, owned by Jimmy D. Musiel.

Jennings formed his backing band, The Waylors, and quickly developed a local fanbase. With

The Waylors, Jennings developed his “rock tempered” style of which he would later use to develop “.”

Waylon’s success with The Waylors eventually led to offers from Nashville. Jennings consulted with his friend on whether to leave JD’s in Phoenix and move the

Nashville. Against Willie’s advice to stay in Phoenix, Jennings left for Nashville. After limited success in Nashville and growing debt, Jennings developed an addiction to amphetamines. Some attribute the start of this addiction to the time Jennings spent with his then roommate, Johnny

Cash. Jennings released a preview of his future style with ‘Ladies Love Outlaws’ in 1972; The recording was initially ignored by the music industry and would only be recognized later in

Jennings career. Jennings contemplated retirement but eventually signed a new manager, Neil

Reshen. Soon afterwards Jennings introduced Willie Nelson to Reshen who quickly signed

Willie. Most importantly, Reshen secured Jenning’s artistic freedom after Waylon had complained about how Nashville establishment wouldn’t allow him to do things his own way.

With his unleahsed creative freedom, Jennings’ rise to stardom began with the release of

Lonesome, On’ry and Mean and in 1973. In 1976, Jennings released the first

Country certified platinum, Wanted! The Outlaws. The following year Jennings and Willie

Nelson collaborated to produce “Luckenbach, Texas”, an all-time great in country music. The duo went on to produce “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” in 1978 which is considered a staple of the country genre.

“Luckenbach, Texas” was written by Bobby Emmons and Chris Moman who together presented the song to Jennings in 1976. When recorded in 1977 neither of the writers or Jennings had ever been to Luckenbach, Texas. Jennings disliked the song, but recorded it anyways knowing it would be a hit. In his biography Waylon “knew” the song would succeed as “every state has a Luckenbach; a place to get away from things.” Willie and Waylon gained popularity for fighting the “Nashville establishment” and “Luckenbach, Texas” is a prime example of

Outlaw Country.

As their fame grew, the pair formed a country super-band, “The Highwaymen”, which featured Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and . The group went on to record three studio of which “Highwayman” went platinum in the US. In the 1980’s as Waylon’s star began to fade, he was threatened with divorce by his fourth wife, . Jessi wanted Waylon to quit his cocaine and amphetamine use and become a role model for their son, Waylon Albright ‘. Waylon moved back to

Arizona where he rented a home and began the fight to kick addiction. Like the cowboys of his songs Jennings fought hard later in life claiming all motivation came from his son Shooter. In

1989 Waylon Jennings earned his GED (General Educational Development) at the age of 52; He did this to emphasize the importance of education to his son.

In the 1980’s Jennings’s was influenced by rock and even as his 1970’s stardom faded he continued to pioneer country music. In 1984 he released “” which peaked at number six on the US Hot Country Songs chart by Billboard. This single combined the

“spanky-twang” of Waylon’s Outlaw Country with elements of the rock genre. The song is in stark contrast to Johnny Cash’s “” whose lyrics read “Because you're mine, I walk the line.” In “Never Could Toe the Mark”, Waylon sings “She don't toe the mark; And I don't walk the line.”

Waylon continued his outlaw image recording music until January 2000 when he recorded what became his final album “Never Say Die: Live.” On February 13, 2002, Jennings passed away at the age of 64 in Chandler, Arizona. Jessi Colter sang “Storms Never Last” at his funeral. Throughout all of the awards of Jenning’s career, his most impressive might be Rolling

Stone ranking him at #7 on their “100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time” list in 2017. At #6

Rolling Stone ranked his life-long friend, Willie Nelson. Today, Waylon Jennings’ legacy lives on through his timeless recordings and through the work of his son, Shooter Jennings. Shooter recently released his 8th studio album which pays tribute to his father’s “Outlaw Country.”