| The Ramblin' Man | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1974 | |||
| Recorded | February – July 1974 | |||
| Genre | Outlaw country | |||
| Length | 32:21 41:50 (with bonus tracks) | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Waylon Jennings | |||
| Waylon Jennings chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Ramblin' Man | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
The Ramblin' Man is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1974.
With a slightly more commercial sound than some of his recent records, The Ramblin' Man remained true to Jennings' outlaw country image and uncompromising musical vision. The album, which was recorded at Glaser Sound Studios, was released at what was still considered to be the height of the outlaw movement in country music, and this was reflected in its chart success, with the LP peaking at #3 on the country charts, Jennings best showing since Love of the Common People in 1967. Jennings produced it himself, although Tompall Glaser co-produced "Rainy Day Woman" and Ray Pennington co-produced "Oklahoma Sunshine" and "I'm a Ramblin' Man," the latter of which he also wrote. Pennington recorded "I'm a Ramblin' Man" in 1967 for Capitol Records and took it to #29 on the country charts. [2] Jennings' version would be his second #1 on the country chart and also appeared on Australian charts. [3] "Rainy Day Woman" was released in December 1974 as the second single from the album and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. [4] Curiously, the Bob McDill ballad "Amanda" was not released as a single at this time; more than 4½ years later, new overdubs were added to the original track and placed on his first greatest hits album. The song was issued as a single and it became one of the biggest country hits of 1979.
The album also includes a gutsy cover of the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider," cementing Jennings' fearless reputation as a leader of the "progressive" country sound. The photo on the album cover was shot at Muhlenbrink's (formerly the Red Dog Saloon).
AllMusic: "If he had created a sketch of outlaw on Honky Tonk Heroes , he perfected the marketable version of it here, making it a little slicker, a little more commercial, and a whole lot more unstoppable. If the songs aren't the equal of Honky Tonk Heroes or even This Time , The Ramblin' Man has a wilder sound and a greater diversity of songs that make it seem more unruly than its immediate predecessor and more blatantly outlaw...There are moments of reflection, yet even those feed into the outlaw picture."
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm a Ramblin' Man" | Ray Pennington | 2:49 |
| 2. | "Rainy Day Woman" | Jennings | 2:31 |
| 3. | "Cloudy Days" | Billy Ray Reynolds | 2:41 |
| 4. | "Midnight Rider" | Gregg Allman | 3:24 |
| 5. | "Oklahoma Sunshine" | Hal Bynum, Bud Reneau | 3:29 |
| 6. | "The Hunger" | Lee Fry | 3:31 |
| 7. | "I Can't Keep My Hands Off of You" | Bobby Borchers, Mack Vickery | 3:38 |
| 8. | "Memories of You and I" | Lee Clayton | 4:16 |
| 9. | "It'll Be Her" | Reynolds | 3:03 |
| 10. | "Amanda" | Bob McDill | 2:56 |
Thomas Paul "Tompall" Glaser was an American country singer who was a key figure in the 1970s outlaw country movement.
"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" is a 1952 country song written by J. D. "Jay" Miller, and recorded by Kitty Wells. It was an answer song to the Hank Thompson hit "The Wild Side of Life." First performed by Al Montgomery as "Did God Make Honky Tonk Angels" on the Feature label which was owned by songwriter J.D. Miller.
Honky Tonk Heroes is a country music album by Waylon Jennings, released in 1973 on RCA Victor. With the exception of the final track on the album, "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.
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.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released in 1979 by RCA Records.
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. It was 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.
It's Only Rock & Roll is an album by Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1983.
Mark Nelson Chesnutt is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1990 and 1999, he had his greatest chart success recording for Universal Music Group Nashville's MCA and Decca branches, with a total of eight albums between those two labels. During this timespan, Chesnutt also charted twenty top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, of which eight reached number one: "Brother Jukebox", "I'll Think of Something", "It Sure Is Monday", "Almost Goodbye", "I Just Wanted You to Know", "Gonna Get a Life", "It's a Little Too Late", and a cover of Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing". His first three albums for MCA along with a 1996 Greatest Hits package issued on Decca are all certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); 1994's What a Way to Live, also issued on Decca, is certified gold. After a self-titled album in 2002 on Columbia Records, Chesnutt has continued to record predominantly on independent labels.
"Honky Tonk Blues" was a hit country and western song written and performed by Hank Williams. The original 1952 recording was a major hit, and it later became a hit for Charley Pride.
"Amanda" is a 1973 song written by Bob McDill and recorded by both Don Williams (1973) and Waylon Jennings (1974). "Amanda" was Waylon Jennings's eighth solo number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for three weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
"I'm a Ramblin' Man" is a song written by Ray Pennington. He recorded the song in 1967 for Capitol Records and took it to number 29 on the country charts.
"Honky Tonkin'" is a 1947 country music song, written and recorded by Hank Williams. His song went to #14 on the Billboard country music chart in 1948. In 1982, it became the sixth chart topping single for Williams' son, Hank Williams Jr.
"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.
"Rainy Day Woman" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Waylon Jennings. It was released in December 1974 as the second single from the album The Ramblin' Man. The song reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
Ramon Daniel Pennington was an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for writing the song "I'm a Ramblin' Man", and for founding the independent Step One Records label.
