WAYLON JENNINGS CARRIED THE SAME GUITAR PICK IN HIS POCKET FOR OVER 20 YEARS — BUT HE NEVER USED IT TO PLAY Waylon Jennings was known for doing things his own way. The outlaw. The rebel. But backstage, before every show, he had one quiet ritual no one could explain. He would reach into his … Đọc tiếp
THEY SAID HE DESTROYED COUNTRY MUSIC… In the 1970s, Nashville turned its back on Waylon Jennings. Radio stations refused his records. Producers called him “difficult.” The industry whispered: “He’ll never work in this town again.” He grew his hair long. Wore leather instead of rhinestones. Told Nashville’s executives exactly where they could put their polished … Đọc tiếp
TWO OUTLAWS LOST A POKER GAME IN A FORT WORTH MOTEL — 1969. BUT BETWEEN HANDS, THEY WROTE A SONG FROM A TINA TURNER NEWSPAPER AD. 7 years later, it hit #1 — and made Wanted! The Outlaws the first platinum country album in history. Willie Nelson only wrote one line. Waylon Jennings gave him … Đọc tiếp
FOR FORTY YEARS, JOHNNY CASH AND WAYLON JENNINGS WERE THE KIND OF FRIENDS WHO KNEW EACH OTHER’S WORST SECRETS BEFORE EITHER OF THEM HAD CHILDREN. They met in the late 1950s in Phoenix, two young men who could already sing better than most people would in a lifetime. They became brothers somewhere along the way … Đọc tiếp
HE WROTE FOR ELVIS, WON THREE GRAMMYS, AND BUILT A GUITAR STYLE MOST PLAYERS STILL CAN’T TOUCH — BUT THE WORLD REMEMBERED THE TRUCK. Jerry Reed played guitar on Elvis Presley’s “Guitar Man.” He wrote songs Elvis recorded. Even Chet Atkins studied what Reed was doing. Brad Paisley later praised his total musicianship. But say … Đọc tiếp
A FEW DAYS BEFORE WAYLON JENNINGS WAS GONE, THE OUTLAW WHO SPENT HIS LIFE SOUNDING UNBREAKABLE HAD BECOME QUIET BESIDE THE WOMAN WHO KNEW EVERY SCAR. The room was still. No stage lights. No roaring crowd. No black hat pulled low under a spotlight. Just Waylon near the end of the road, with Jessi Colter … Đọc tiếp
A FEW DAYS BEFORE WAYLON JENNINGS WAS GONE, THE OUTLAW WHO SPENT HIS LIFE SOUNDING UNBREAKABLE HAD BECOME QUIET BESIDE THE WOMAN WHO KNEW EVERY SCAR. The room was still. No stage lights. No roaring crowd. No black hat pulled low under a spotlight. Just Waylon near the end of the road, with Jessi Colter … Đọc tiếp
HE HADN’T SET FOOT ON THE OPRY STAGE IN 20 YEARS. IT TOOK WAYLON JENNINGS DYING TO BRING HIM BACK. Waylon Jennings carried a ghost for 43 years. In 1959, he gave up his seat on a small plane to a sick friend. That plane crashed in an Iowa cornfield and killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie … Đọc tiếp
HE DIED ON A MONDAY MORNING. NASHVILLE TOOK NINE YEARS TO PUT HIS NAME WHERE IT BELONGED. Jerry Reed could do almost everything. Write hits. Pick guitar like his fingers were running from the law. Make Elvis want his songs. Make Burt Reynolds even funnier just by standing beside him. Three Grammys. Dozens of albums. … Đọc tiếp
HE MARRIED HER THREE TIMES. THE LAST TIME, HE ALREADY KNEW HE’D LOSE HER. Billy Joe Shaver was the roughest man in outlaw country. Dropped out of school at thirteen. Lost three fingers in a sawmill. Relearned guitar with what was left. But the one thing he couldn’t learn was how to leave Brenda Tindell. … Đọc tiếp