| Waylon Live | ||||
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | December 1976 | |||
| Recorded | September 25, 1974, Dallas, TX and September 26-27, Austin, TX | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | Original release: 39:36 Bonus tracks CD: 1:09:19 Expanded CD edition: 2:07:22 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer |
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| Waylon Jennings chronology | ||||
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Waylon Live is a live album by Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1976.
Jennings first gained fame as a live performer at a club called J.D.s in Phoenix, Arizona in the early 1960s. A disciple of Buddy Holly (with whom he toured before the rock and roll pioneer's death in 1959), Jennings and his band the Waylors played many styles of music, including folk, rock, and country, and it was on the basis of his local fame throughout Arizona that he was signed to RCA Victor in 1966 by Chet Atkins. However, the Texan quickly became disillusioned with the lackluster sound of his recordings, especially when compared to his live shows. He began demanding the right to record with the Waylors and produce his own records, and by 1972 RCA - regretting the loss of Willie Nelson to Atlantic and under siege from Waylon's new manager Neil Reshen - gave in. What followed was an unprecedented string of critically acclaimed albums, including the groundbreaking Honky Tonk Heroes in 1973, widely regarded as ground zero for the outlaw country movement. Reshen also booked Jennings and his band into clubs not known for country music, like Max's Kansas City in New York City. In the CMT episode of Inside Fame about his life, Jennings recalled that he told the jaded rock audience he was from Nashville and would be playing country music, adding "We sure hope you like it, but if you don't like it you better keep your mouth shut, 'cause we will kick your ass." When met with the audience's reply of "Who the hell are you?", Jennings replied: "I'm Waylon goddamn Jennings."
In late September 1974, as his single "I'm a Ramblin' Man" was riding high on the country singles charts, Jennings and producer Ray Pennington recorded three shows with the Waylors: one at Dallas' Western Place and two more at Austin's Texas Opry House . The original LP assembled from these shows is one of Jennings' most highly praised releases and includes some of his most popular songs, including "Rainy Day Women," "This Time," and "Good Hearted Woman." The latter track had been included on Wanted! The Outlaws with an overdubbed vocal by Willie Nelson and released as a single, hitting #1 on the Billboard country singles chart and peaking at #25 on the pop chart. The album also contained songs not found on his previous records, such as the Jimmie Rodgers song "T For Texas," a cover of Nelson's "Me and Paul," and Rex Griffin's anguished 1930's lament "The Last Letter." The album is best known for "Bob Wills Is Still the King", which had appeared as the B-side to his 1975 #1 hit "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way." The Wills tribute, which Jennings introduces as "a song I wrote on a plane between Dallas and Austin," took aim at country trends, including the outlaw country movement that he and friend Willie Nelson had done so much to create. As author Michael Striessguth observes, "It was another delightful example of Waylon's eagerness to poke fun at the highfalutin music industry, in this case, Willie Nelson and the redneck rock thing down in Texas. It don't matter who's in Austin/Bob Wills is still the king." [1]
According to Rich Kienzle's liner notes for the 2003 expanded edition, Jennings had originally planned on releasing a double album, but the idea was dropped simply because double albums were not considered viable in country music, although they were very popular in rock music. In 1999, a revised CD version restored the nine extra tracks like Jennings had wanted, including the outlaw anthem "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean," the Kris Kristofferson songs "The Taker" and "Loving Her Was Easier than Anything I'll Ever Do Again," and the Willie Nelson-composed "Pick Up the Tempo." In 2003, an expanded deluxe version was released that contained 42 tracks taken from the three shows, making it the definitive document of Jennings live sound in this mid-seventies prime. Jennings is backed by his band the Waylors, including drummer Richie Albright and the legendary steel guitarist Ralph Mooney. Mooney, who had previously played with Bakersfield singers Wynn Stewart, Buck Owens, and Merle Haggard and had co-written the country standard "Crazy Arms," is in especially fine form on the recordings, with Jennings calling out "Pick it, Moon!" on several instrumental breaks. In his essay for the 2003 expanded edition of the album, Rich Kienzle notes:
On Nelson's "Me and Paul," Jennings changes the tag line to "me and Tompall," a reference to his good friend and fellow outlaw renegade Tompall Glaser, and he mentions Billy Joe Shaver by name on the Shaver-written "Willy the Wandering Gypsy and Me". On "Ladies Love Outlaws", he proclaims that "Outlaws touch ladies anywhere they want!" and utters a loud "goddamn" on "Laid Back Country Picker" and again menacingly on "The Taker," a rarity for a country singer on record at the time.
Waylon Live hit #1 on the Billboard country albums chart and #46 on the pop albums chart. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes, "As one of the great live albums, Waylon Live is nearly flawless, a snapshot of Waylon Jennings at the height of his powers...It winds up as one of the great country records and one of the great live albums, capturing a movement at its peak and transcending it." Marc Greilsamer of Amazon.com: "When the tapes rolled over three nights in the fall of 1974, Hoss and company were at the peak of their powers - growling menacingly at some times, purring seductively at others - with the steady, sturdy, unshakable rumble of bassist Duke Goff and drummer Richie Albright laying the groundwork and steel-guitar master Ralph Mooney vividly coloring throughout."
| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  link |
2003 CD Track Listing
Disk One:
1. "T For Texas (Blue Yodel No. 1)" - 4:02
2. "Stop The World (And Let Me Off)" -2:14
3. "Lonesome, On'ry And Mean" - 3:23
4. "You Ask Me To" - 2:35
5. "Louisiana Woman" - 3:47
6. "I'm A Ramblin' Man" - 2:46
7. "Me And Paul" -3:41
8. "It's Not Supposed To Be That Way" - 2:42
9. "Slow Rollin' Low" - 3:16
10. "Rainy Day Woman" - 2:39
11. "Good Hearted Woman" - 3:05
12. "Mental Revenge" - 2:13
13. "Amanda" - 2:42
14. "This Time" - 4:04
15. "Laid Back Country Picker" - 2:57
16. "The Last Letter" - 3:57
17. "Honky Tonk Heroes" - 2:57
18. "Willie, The Wandering Gypsy And Me" - 2:37
19. "Donna On My Mind" - 2:21
20. "We Had It All" - 3:02
Disk Two:
1. "Ladies Love Outlaws" - 1:56
2. "Big Ball In Cowtown" - 2:41
3. "Just To Satisfy You" - 2:05
4. "Anita You're Dreaming" - 2:40
5. "Big Big Love" - 2:28
6. "Me And Bobby McGee" - 4:47
7. "If You Could Touch Her At All" - 3:01
8. "Bob Wills Is Still The King" - 3:20
9. "Look Into My Teardrops" - 2:42
10. "Long Way From Home" - 3:36
11. "The Taker" - 2:17
12. "Mississippi Woman" - 2:03
13. "Mona" - 3:19
14. "Never Been To Spain" - 5:14
15. "Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line" - 2:33
16. "Freedom To Stay" - 4:02
17. "Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)" - 4:06
18. "Pick Up The Tempo" - 3:37
19. "Ain't No God In Mexico" - 2:04
20. "House Of The Rising Sun" - 3:43
21. "Band Intros" - 2:18
22. "You Can Have Her" - 2:11
Personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) [5] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of 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.
Good Hearted Woman is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released in 1972 on RCA Nashville.
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 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.
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.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released in 1979 by RCA Records.
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.
What Goes Around Comes Around is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1979.
Live from Austin, TX is an album by Waylon Jennings, released on New West Records in 2006. As part of New West's series of albums featuring individual artists' performances on Austin City Limits, it was recorded on April 1, 1989, several months after the release of Full Circle, Jennings' last album for MCA Records, and a year before the singer's move to Epic Records would yield The Eagle. The songs themselves primarily include popular selections from Jennings' own catalog: "I'm a Ramblin' Man", "America", "Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard ", "Luckenbach, Texas " and "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys", among others. The concert was also released in video format and in 2007, the DVD of Live from Austin, TX was certified gold by the RIAA.
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 Waylors, later Waymore's Outlaws, is a country music band, best known as the backing and recording band of country music singer Waylon Jennings. Jennings formed the band in 1961, consisting of Jerry Gropp on the guitar and Richie Albright on the drums after moving to Phoenix, Arizona. The band earned a local fan base during its appearances on the night club JD's.
Collector's Series is a 1985 compilation album by country singer Willie Nelson.
"Good Hearted Woman" is a song written by American country music singers Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
Ralph Eugene Mooney was an American steel guitar player and songwriter, he was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1983. He was the original steel guitarist in Merle Haggard's band, The Strangers and Waylon Jennings's band, The Waylors.
"Bob Wills Is Still the King" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, as a dig at one of Jennings’ closest friends, Willie Nelson, however it is most commonly attributed mistakenly as a tribute of sorts to Western swing icon Bob Wills.
