Waylon Jennings(1937-2002)
- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
Jennings, a singer, songwriter and guitarist, recorded 60 albums and
had 16 No. 1 country singles in a career that spanned five decades. He
was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 2001. With
pal Willie Nelson, Jennings performed
duets like "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys",
"Luckenbach" and "Good Hearted Woman". Those 1970s songs nurtured a
progressive sound and restless spirit embraced later by
Travis Tritt,
Charlie Daniels,
Steve Earle and others. His
resonant, authoritative voice also was used to narrate the popular TV
show
The Dukes of Hazzard (1979).
He sang its theme song, which was a million seller. "I aimed the
narration at children and it made it work," he said in a 1987 AP
interview. He traditionally wore a black cowboy hat and ebony attire
that accented his black beard and mustache. Often reclusive when not on
stage, he played earthy music with a spirited, hard edge. Combined,
Jennings had a well-defined image that matched well with his history of
battling record producers to do music his way. About his independence,
he said: "There's always one more way to do something-- your way." Some
of his album titles nourished his brash persona: "Lonesome, On'ry and
Mean," "I've Always Been Crazy," "Nashville Rebel," "Ladies Love
Outlaws" and "Wanted: The Outlaws." He often refused to attend music
awards shows on grounds performers should not compete against each
other. Despite those sentiments, Jennings won two Grammy awards and
four Country Music Association awards. He did not attend his induction
into the Country Music Hall of Fame last year. In 1959, his career was
nearly cut short by tragedy. He was scheduled to fly on the light plane
that crashed and killed Buddy Holly,
Ritchie Valens and
The Big Bopper. Jennings gave up his seat
on the plane to The Big Bopper, who was
ill and wanted to fly rather than travel by bus with those left behind.
He and Holly were teen-age friends in Lubbock, Texas, and Jennings was
in Holly's band. "Mainly what I learned from Buddy was an attitude,"
Jennings said. "He loved music, and he taught me that it shouldn't have
any barriers to it." Born in Littlefield, Texas, Jennings became a
radio disc jockey at 14 and formed his own band not long afterward. By
the early 1960s Jennings was playing regularly at a nightclub in
Phoenix. In 1963, he was signed by
'Herb
Alpert''s A&M Records, then was signed
by RCA in Nashville shortly thereafter by
Chet Atkins.
Once in Nashville, he and Cash became friends and roommates. His hit
records began in the mid-1960s and his heyday was the mid-1970s. About
his outlaw image, he said: "It was a good marketing tool. In a way, I
am that way. You start messing with my music, I get mean. As long was
you are honest and up front with me, I will be the same with you. But I
still do things my way."