Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings (born June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the outlaw movement in country music.
For his youngest son, also named Waylon Jennings, see Shooter Jennings.
Waylon Jennings
Wayland Arnold Jennings[1]
- Hoss
- Chief
- Watasha
- Waymore
June 15, 1937
Littlefield, Texas, U.S.
February 13, 2002 (aged 64)
Chandler, Arizona, U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
- musician
- producer
- actor
- Vocals
- guitar
1949–2000
-
Maxine Lawrence(m. 1955; div. 1962)
-
Lynne Jones(m. 1962; div. 1967)
-
Barbara Elizabeth Rood(m. 1967; div. 1968)
6, including Shooter Jennings
Tommy Jennings (brother)
Jennings started playing guitar at age eight and performed at fourteen on KVOW radio, after which he formed his first band, the Texas Longhorns. Jennings left high school at age sixteen, determined to become a musician, and worked as a performer and DJ on KVOW, KDAV, KYTI, KLLL, in Coolidge, Arizona, and Phoenix. In 1958, Buddy Holly arranged Jennings' first recording session, a cover of Jole Blon, and hired him to play bass. Jennings gave up his seat on the ill-fated flight in 1959 that crashed and killed Holly, J. P. "the Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens.
Jennings then returned to Texas, taking several years off from music before eventually moving to Arizona and forming a rockabilly club band, the Waylors, which became the house band at "JD's", a club in Tempe, Arizona.[2] He recorded for independent label Trend Records and A&M Records, but did not achieve success until moving to RCA Victor in 1965, in 1972 he acquired Neil Reshen as his manager, who negotiated significantly better touring and recording contracts. After he gained creative control from RCA Records, he released the critically acclaimed albums Lonesome, On'ry and Mean and Honky Tonk Heroes, followed by the hit albums Dreaming My Dreams and Are You Ready for the Country.
During the 1970s, Jennings drove outlaw country. With Willie Nelson, Tompall Glaser, and Jessi Colter he recorded country music's first platinum album, Wanted! The Outlaws. It was followed by another platinum album, a first for any solo artist in country music, Ol' Waylon and the hit song "Luckenbach, Texas". He was featured on the 1978 album White Mansions, performed by various artists documenting the lives of Confederates during the Civil War. He appeared in films and television series, including Sesame Street, and a stint as the balladeer for The Dukes of Hazzard, composing and singing the show's theme song and providing narration for the show. Jennings struggled with cocaine addiction, which he overcame in 1984. Later, he joined the country supergroup the Highwaymen with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash, which released three albums between 1985 and 1995. During that period, Jennings released the successful album Will the Wolf Survive. Jennings has also been named as one of the innovators of progressive country.[3]
Jennings toured less after 1997 to spend more time with his family. Between 1999 and 2001, health problems limited his appearances. In 2001, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was posthumously awarded the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award by the Academy of Country Music.
Early life[edit]
Jennings was born on June 15, 1937 on the J.W. Bittner farm near Littlefield, Texas. He was the son of Lorene Beatrice (née Shipley, 1920–2006) and William Albert Jennings (1915–1968).[4] The Jennings family line descended from Irish and Black-Dutch.[5] He was the oldest of four children, followed by Tommy Jennings (1938-2019), James Jennings, and Bo Jennings (1953-2018).[6] The Shipley line descended from his great-grandfather, a farmer and lawman from Tennessee, with Jennings adding that "along the way, a lot of Indian blood mixed in," including Cherokee and Comanche families.[7]
The name on Jennings' birth certificate was Wayland. It was changed after a Baptist preacher visited his parents and congratulated his mother for naming him after the Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. Lorene Jennings, who was Church of Christ and had been unaware of the college, changed the spelling to Waylon. Jennings later expressed in his autobiography, "I didn't like Waylon. It sounded so corny and hillbilly, but it's been good to me, and I'm pretty well at peace with it now."[8] After working as a laborer on the Bittner farm, Jennings's father moved the family to Littlefield and established a retail creamery.[9]
Career[edit]
Beginnings in music[edit]
When Jennings was 8, his mother taught him to play guitar with the tune "Thirty Pieces of Silver". Jennings used to practice with his relatives' instruments until his mother bought him a used Stella guitar, and later ordered a Harmony Patrician.[10] Early influences included Bob Wills, Floyd Tillman, Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, Carl Smith, and Elvis Presley.[11][12][13][14]
Beginning with performing at family gatherings, Jennings played his first public concert at the Youth Center with Anthony Bonanno, followed by appearances at the local Jaycees and Lions Clubs. He won a talent show at Channel 13, in Lubbock, singing "Hey Joe". He later made frequent performances at the Palace Theater in Littlefield, during local talent night.[15]
At age 14, Jennings auditioned for a spot on KVOW in Littlefield, Texas. Owner J.B. McShan, along with Emil Macha, recorded Jennings' performance. McShan liked his style and hired him for a weekly 30-minute program. Following his performance on the show, Jennings formed his own band. He asked Macha to play bass for him and gathered other friends and acquaintances to form the Texas Longhorns. The style of the band—a mixture of country and western and bluegrass music—was often not well received.[16]
Music style and image[edit]
Jennings's music was characterized by his powerful rough-edged singing voice, phrasing and texture.[105][106]
He was also recognized for his "spanky-twang" guitar style. To create his sound, he used a pronounced 'phaser' effect (see 'Modulation Effects': below) plus a mixture of thumb and fingers during the rhythmic parts, while using picks for the lead runs. He combined hammer-on and pull-off riffs, with eventual upper-fret double stops and modulation effects.[107] Jennings played a 1953 Fender Telecaster, a used guitar that was a gift from the Waylors. Jennings's bandmates adorned his guitar with a distinctive leather cover that featured a black background with a white floral work.[108][109] Jennings further customized it by filing down the frets to lower the strings on the neck to obtain the slapping sound.[110][111] Among his other guitars, Jennings used a 1950 Fender Broadcaster from the mid-1970s, until he gave it to guitarist Reggie Young in 1993.[112] The leather covers of his guitars were carved by leather artist Terry Lankford.[113]
Jennings's signature image was characterized by his long hair and beard, and black hat and black leather vest he wore during his appearances.[114][115]