Waylon Jennings Biography, Photos and Posters

Waylon Jennings

Biography

Born: June 15, 1937
City and Country of Origin: Littlefield, Texas
Music Training:
Awards: CMT 40 Greatest Men in Country Music, ranked #5; CMA 1976 Album of the Year; Single of the Year; Vocal Duo of the Year; 1975 Male Vocalist of the Year; Grammy 1978 Best Country Performance by Duo/Group W/Vocals, "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys;" 1969 Best Country Performance by Duo/Group, "MacArthur Park" W/Vocals
Top Recordings: "Four Strong Winds," "Just To Satisfy You," "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)," "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,"
Waylon Jennings Biography: Waylon Arnold Jennings was a respected and influential American country music singer. Jennings was born in Littlefield, Texas to Lorene Beatrice Shipley and William Alvin Jennings. 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. When he was 21, Jennings was tapped by Holly to play bass in Holly's new band on a tour through the Midwest in early 1959. Holly also hired guitarist Tommy Allsup and drummer Carl "Goose" Bunch for the "Winter Dance Party" tour.

On the night of February 3, 1959, the airplane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (aka The Big Bopper) crashed outside 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: "I hope your ole bus freezes up!" Jennings replied, with equal jocularity: "I hope your damn plane crashes!"; these words would haunt him for years.

After several years of inactivity, during which time he moved from Texas to Arizona and continued working in radio, Jennings began performing and recording again this time in Phoenix, Arizona at a newly-opened nightspot called JD's. In these years of two and three shows a night, sometimes six nights a week singing a variety of folk, rock, pop, country R&B and blues material, he developed a unique sound, a devoted following, and made 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. Still under contract to A&M, Alpert released him, allowing him to sign with RCA. He packed up and moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1965.

Around 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 Lynn 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 Jennings' 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.

Jennings had been growing more frustrated with the Nashville recording scene and a 1972 bout with hepatitis almost killed him. With his recording contract nearing an end, RCA had already lost another creative force that year: Waylon had met Willie Nelson, who had likewise been frustrated by the lack of freedom in the studio and by the entire Nashville ethos, which led him to relocate his base to Texas two years earlier. Jennings was seriously considering leaving Nashville and returning to a broadcasting career in Phoenix in 1972.

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. By that time, Jennings was aware of the fact that rock bands had almost unprecedented creative freedom to record what they wanted to record, with or without a producer and even to design their album covers. He wanted similar freedom for himself--an unprecedented move in 1972 Nashville. Also 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.

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.

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.

He followed with Lonesome, Orn'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 though he insisted on repaying every penny and did additional tours to satisfy the debt. 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 due to almost comedic errors by the DEA, the charges were later dropped. The episode was recounted in Jennings' song "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got out of Hand?"

Outside 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. Jennings was also a member of USA for Africa for the recording of "We Are the World" but, temperamental as ever, reportedly left the studio due to a dispute over the song's lyrics.

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.

Jennings suffered from worsening diabetes that had ended all but abbreviated touring. 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 the age of 64 in Chandler, Arizona. He is interred in the Mesa City Cemetery, Mesa, Arizona.
Died: February 13, 2002

Source Wikipedia

Search Site by Artist:

Create search engine for website.