| Greatest Hits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | April 1979 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | RCA Records | |||
| Producer |
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| Waylon Jennings chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [1] |
| Rolling Stone | (Not Rated) [2] |
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released in 1979 by RCA Records.
The LP mostly documents Jennings' outlaw country years for RCA Records during the 1970s and includes several of his most well-known signature songs, the most recent of which had been the title track of the album I've Always Been Crazy , issued the year before. "Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line", released in 1968, is the oldest track. Excluding the Mackintosh & T.J. soundtrack album and the White Mansions concept album, Greatest Hits became Jennings' eighth consecutive release to reach No. 1 on the charts; it was also one of his last chart-topping records, with What Goes Around Comes Around , released that same year, peaking at No. 2.
"Amanda" was originally issued on Jennings' 1974 album The Ramblin' Man , but had not been released as a single at that time. More than 4½ years later, new overdubs were added to the original track and the song was included on this greatest hits album. "Amanda" was issued as a single simultaneously with the album in April, 1979 and the song soon became one of the biggest country hits of the year.
The album has been 5× Platinum certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and 3× Platinum by Music Canada. [3] [4] RCA first issued the original 11-track album on compact disc in 1984; in 1989, RCA reissued the album on CD and cassette with the songs resequenced and omitting two tracks ("Ladies Love Outlaws" and "Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line"). This is the version of the CD currently available.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada) [18] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
| United States (RIAA) [19] | 5× Platinum | 5,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music.
Outlaw country is a subgenre of American country music created by a small group of iconoclastic artists active in the 1970s and early 1980s, known collectively as the outlaw movement, who fought for and won their creative freedom outside of the Nashville establishment that dictated the sound of most country music of the era. Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and David Allan Coe were among the movement's most commercially successful members.
Mirriam Rebecca Joan Johnson, known professionally as Jessi Colter, is an American country singer who is best known for her collaborations with her husband, country musician Waylon Jennings, and for her 1975 crossover hit "I'm Not Lisa".
Shotgun Willie is the 16th studio album by Willie Nelson, released in 1973. The recording marks a change of style for Nelson, who later stated that the album "cleared his throat". When Nelson refused to sign an early extension of his contract with RCA Records in 1972, the label decided not to release any further recordings. Nelson hired Neil Reshen as his manager, and while Reshen negotiated with RCA, Nelson moved to Austin, Texas, where the ongoing hippie music scene at the Armadillo World Headquarters renewed his musical style. In Nashville, Nelson met producer Jerry Wexler, vice president of Atlantic Records, who was interested in his music. Reshen solved the problems with RCA and signed Nelson with Atlantic Records as their first country music artist.
Lonesome, On'ry and Mean is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1973. It was, after Good Hearted Woman and Ladies Love Outlaws, the third in a series of albums which were to establish Jennings as one of the most prominent representatives of the outlaw country movement. Photographer Mick Rock shot the album's cover.
Honky Tonk Heroes is a country music album by Waylon Jennings, released in 1973 on RCA Victor. With the exception of "We Had It All", all of the songs on the album were written or co-written by Billy Joe Shaver. The album is considered an important piece in the development of the outlaw sub-genre in country music as it revived the honky tonk music of Nashville and added elements of rock and roll to it.
This Time is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1974, at the peak of the outlaw country movement. It was produced by Jennings and Willie Nelson.
The Ramblin' Man is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1974.
Dreaming My Dreams is the twenty-second studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings. The album was co-produced with Jack Clement and recorded at Glaser Sound Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, between February and July 1974.
Wanted! The Outlaws is a compilation album by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser, released by RCA Records in 1976. The album consists of previously released material with four new songs. Released to capitalize on the new outlaw country movement, Wanted! The Outlaws earned its place in music history by becoming the first country album to be platinum-certified, reaching sales of one million.
Waylon & Willie is a duet studio album by American singers Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, released by RCA Records in 1978. In the US, it stayed at #1 album on the country album charts for ten weeks and would spend a total of 126 weeks on the country charts.
Leather and Lace is a duet album by Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, released on RCA Records in 1981.
Are You Ready for the Country is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1976.
Waylon Live is a live album by Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1976.
Ol' Waylon is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1977. It eventually became one of Jennings' highest-selling albums, due in no small part to the phenomenal success of the chart-topping "Luckenbach, Texas ." It was also the singer's fourth solo album in a row to reach the top of the country charts, remaining there for thirteen weeks and becoming country music's first platinum album by any single solo artist.
Black on Black is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1982.
It's Only Rock & Roll is an album by Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1983.
Nashville Rebel is a box set by Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Nashville through Legacy Recordings in 2006. According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, it is "the first comprehensive, multi-label Waylon Jennings retrospective ever assembled," comprising ninety-two songs recorded between 1958 and 1994, with selections from the majority of the singer's recording career. The first track of the box set is the Buddy Holly-produced "Jole Blon," released in 1958, while the last is "I Do Believe," a song produced by Don Was that was included on The Highwaymen's 1995 release, The Road Goes on Forever. The other material on the box set covers Jennings' career chronologically, with songs ranging from his years on RCA's roster to later compositions from his short-lived stay at Epic Records; it ignores, however, the tracks from Jennings albums released on independent labels. The majority of the singer's charting singles are included in the package, as are collaborations such as "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" with Willie Nelson and "Highwayman" with The Highwaymen. A notable addition is the previously unreleased "The Greatest Cowboy of Them All," a 1978 duet with Johnny Cash which was later recorded by Cash alone for A Believer Sings the Truth (1979) and The Mystery of Life (1991); two others, "It's Sure Been Fun" and "People in Dallas Got Hair," had never been released in the United States. Nashville Rebel was released on four CDs, with a 140-page booklet and liner notes by Rich Kienzle and Lenny Kaye.
The discography of American country singer Jessi Colter consists of eleven studio albums, three compilation albums, twenty six singles, fourteen other appearances, and one other charted song. After marrying guitarist Duane Eddy in 1961, Colter recorded two singles and toured with Eddy until divorcing in 1968. The following year, she met country artist Waylon Jennings who helped her secure a recording contract with RCA Victor. Her debut studio album entitled A Country Star Is Born was released in 1970. The pair would collaborate on a cover of Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds during this time. Colter signed with Capitol Records in 1975 and released her debut single off the label "I'm Not Lisa". The song became her commercial breakthrough, reaching the number one position on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and crossing over to the Billboard Hot 100 where it reached the top five. That same year, Colter's second studio album I'm Jessi Colter was issued, which also produce the Top five country hit, "What's Happened to Blue Eyes." In 1976, Colter released two more studio albums: Jessi and Diamond in the Rough.
"We Had It All" is a song written by Troy Seals and Donnie Fritts and originally recorded by Waylon Jennings on his 1973 album, Honky Tonk Heroes. It has since been covered by many artists, including Rita Coolidge, Dobie Gray, Susan Jacks, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Conway Twitty, Ray Charles, Scott Walker, Green On Red, and Dottie West.
