| Waylon Jennings Tribute | |
|
February 13, 2002 -- Waylon Jennings passed away today peacefully in his sleep at his home in Chandler, AZ. He had ongoing health problems with diabetes, and had his foot amputated several weeks ago. Waylon Jennings was 64.
Born Wayland Arnold Jennings on June 15, 1937 in Littlefield, TX, Jennings' childhood hero was Ernest Tubb, who he later recorded with. When he was 12-years-old, he started as a radio disc jockey in Lubbock, TX, where he met Buddy Holly. It was Holly who produced Waylon's first single, "Jole Blon," and together they wrote "You're The One." Waylon played bass in Holly's band, and was with him on the last tour, where he relinquished his seat on that fatal plane journey to the Big Bopper.
Jennings started recording for RCA in 1965, and yielded several hits, but was soon uncomfortable with the arrangements and the session men that played on his albums. He was about to give up music, but his drummer Richie Albright, who had been with him since 1964 convinced him to stay with it.
In 1971, Waylon put out an album entitled Singer Of Sad Songs, which as the name suggests was filled with dark music. Singles such as "The Taker", "Ladies Love Outlaws" and "Lonesome, On'ry And Mean" showed a defiant, tough Waylon. His handsome looks were overshadowed by his dark clothes, beard, and long hair that became more straggly with each successive album.
One of his best albums, Dreaming My Dreams included the romantic title track, along with "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?," "Bob Wills Is Still The King," and ""Let's All Help The Cowboys (Sing The Blues)." Then came Wanted! The Outlaws, with its smash single, "Good Hearted Woman" transformed Waylon and Willie Nelson into stars.
He recorded the theme from The Dukes of Hazzard and also was the narrator of the show. Later, he added recordings with wife, Jessi Colter, and Johnny Cash, and of course, the Highwaymen (Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash).
Waylon was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. He also received the following awards:
ACM:
Grammy:
CMA:
Waylon recorded 60 albums and had 16 No. 1 songs, and sold over 11 million records in a career that spanned five decades. He is survived by his wife, Jessi Colter, and their son, Shooter.
| More to do on this site |
|---|
| [ Country Photo Index | Free Graphics Menu ] [ Content Index | Country Today ] [ New Country Jukebox | Classic Country Jukebox ] [ Guitar Tabs, Chords & Lyrics Index ] [ Artist Index | Country News ] |