Seeing the Buddy Holly crash footage made think about how Waylon told Buddy "I hope your plane crashes" He was joking of course but he must have felt terrible.
Seeing the Buddy Holly crash footage made think about how Waylon told Buddy "I hope your plane crashes" He was joking of course but he must have felt terrible.
I heard him say in many interviews that he never got over saying that - even though they used to joke around like that all the time.
In an interview with Country Music Magazine, he said it has "always haunted him".
I love Waymore~
George Jones paid for his exit. I have no idea if that is true or not. I can imagine those words did haunt him.
wow I never knew that...
I saw Waylon give an interview once in which Waylon said he was supposed to be on the plane but gave his seat up to Richie Valenz because Richie was sick with a cold.He said he always had a lot of guilt about that as well.
not at all. shooter had him covered basically since he had gone down hill. he did manage to still have quite a sum saved back. i heard one of the last interviews he gave, and he was definently out in left field somewhere, but hell he was waylon right? but here is no truth the fact that he was broke. he was making a killing off t-shirts alone with that "winged-w" logo. kinda looked like wonderwomans logo to me.
I like to keep the facts correct. I did find it hard to think he was broke, but I never met the man. I wish I could have.
I met Waylon once in Paducah KY. He was doing a show here and he was in the same small restaurant. His wife was with him, (what was her name?) and he was EXTREMELY nice, spoke to everyone, and seemed to be extra nice to the staff. They had a guy playing gituar, (bet he was nervous) He played "The Battle Of New Orleans" and Waylon gave him a standing ovation. He did not have a drink while we were in there. This was mid nineties. I guess he has stopped by then.
i met waylon on several diffrent occasions, he played several july 4th shows out at dick brooks ranch. there is a memorial to him there today. waylon was a good man, he and jesse had one hell of a relationship, and i have to say, she stuck with him thru thick and thin. as with johnny cash, it isnt the same seeing them brokendown and losing the battle.
Reba McIntyre says Waylon Jennings was one of the first people to call her when half her band was killed in an accident. He told her not to blame herself because the guilt would eat her alive like it was eating him alive.
Waylon Jennings is certainly one of those people that even when you didn't know him personally, you Knew he was a kind and decent man. Not everyone is like that. I always felt, whenever I would see him on tv or read about him etc, that he was a good man.
It's also regretful to note that Waylon died of complications from diabetes. His doctors told him his foot needed to be amputated but Waylon refused and it ultimately lead to his death. It seems his passing may have been avoidable at the time.
George Jones paid for Johnny Paychecks funeral. Johnny had the hit "Take this job and shove it".
I know Waylon was not broke. He did lose his leg to diabeties.
Last edited by Jaxxx; 12-27-2007 at 09:42 PM.
I never had the opportunity to meet Waylon, but I saw him in concert three times. During one performance, one woman stood up in the fourth row from the stage and blocked the view of Waylon and his band for God knows how many people.
This dingbat stood there, song after song until Waylon finally noticed her, saying, "Lady, you might as well take my picture 'cause I ain't gettin' any better lookin'." The audience erupted in laughter and applause.
I saw him in concert in Littlefield,TX. That was the most awesome concert I have ever been to.
I agree, Waylon always put on one hell of a good concert. He didn't talk all that much, but he packed in the songs.
he did lose his foot and was planning to go back on tour w/ Confederate Railroad at the time of his death. And there is a Waylon song (can't rememer which) that has a line in it that says something about , don't you think i can't forget what happened on that plane. On a funny note, I saw his son Shooter in concert in Aug. and my fiancee didn't put 2 and 2 together, looked over to after a certain song and said ' he sounded kinda like waylon, didn't he' then I laughed, duh-ed him...but he really didn't know that it was waylon's son until I told him...funny stuff
Does anyone know the reason for the amputation ? Was he diabetic perhaps ??
He was diabetic. You are correct.
I had not followed Waylon in years. My Dad loved him back in the day with Willie Nelson and Jessi (his last wife) when they were the outlaws. Anyone know id Waylon was still a boozer near the end?
Diabetes is hugely complicated by alcohol, it is one of the reasons I think Loretta Lynn's husband Doo lost his limb (or maybe both, I can't remember) and died.
My mom was an extra in the TV miniseries "North & South" that Johnny Cash was in, and Waylon flew in to visit Johnny.....my mom, who knew nothing of Waylon but was a fan of Johnny's, loved Waylon and found him sweet and down to earth....I have pics somewhere of her and Waylon, and I found it so funny when she called me and said "I met this Waylon guy, is he famous? He was hanging out with Johnny Cash"
When I was younger, I only knew him as the guy who did the voice on The Dukes of Hazzard. Of course, I only watched the show to see Daisy, heh heh.
Heh, heh.
-K.
Last edited by Kman0072; 02-13-2008 at 12:27 AM.
One of my favorite voices in country music!
here is some news from littlefield regarding waylon. i was born in littlefield
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/121...35701382.shtml
I drive by the cemetary where he is buried all the time. I have always been meaning to go there and find his grave.
Guest
"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's Heaven on Earth" - Mark Twain
I hope ya'll enjoy this submission for one of my favorite musicians/singers: Waylon Jennings! The original article was too long to post in one complete thread so - enjoy!
Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer and musician. A self-taught guitar player, he rose to prominence as a bass player for Buddy Holly following the break-up of The Crickets. Jennings escaped death in the February 3, 1959 plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson when he gave up his seat to Richardson who had been sick with the flu. Urban legend and Hollywood folklore have it that Jennings and The Big Bopper flipped a coin for the last seat on the plane, with Jennings losing. It was, in fact, Tommy Allsup who flipped the coin for the fated plane trip.
By the 1970s, Waylon Jennings had become associated with so-called "Outlaws," an informal group of musicians who worked outside of the Nashville corporate scene. A series of duet albums with Willie Nelson in the late 1970s culminated in the 1978 crossover hit, "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up And Be Cowboys". In 1979, he recorded the theme song for the hit television show, "The Dukes Of Hazzard", and also served as the narrator ("The Balladeer") for all seven seasons of the show.
He continued to be active in the recording industry, forming the group "The Highwayme with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. Jennings released his last solo studio album in 1998. In 2001, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame.
Jennings was born in Littlefield, Texas, the son of Lorene Beatrice (née Shipley) and William Alvin Jennings. When Waylon was eight, his father taught him how to play guitar and Waylon formed his first band two years later. During his time working as a DJ, he befriended Buddy Holly. The two were inspired by the music of the Mayfield Brothers of West Texas, Smokey Mayfield, Herbert Mayfield, and Edd Mayfield. When he was twenty-one, Jennings was tapped by Holly to play bass in Holly's new band on a tour through the Midwest in early 1959. Holly also hired guitarist Tommy Allsup and drummer Carl "Goose" Bunch for the "Winter Dance Party" tour.
During the early morning hours of February 3, 1959, the charter airplane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (aka "The Big Bopper") crashed outside Clear Lake, Iowa and killed all on board. In his 1996 autobiography, Jennings admitted that, in the years afterward, he felt severe guit and responsibility for the crash. After Jennings gave up his seat, Holly had jokingly told Jennings, "I hope your ol' bus freezes up!" Jennings shot back facetiously, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes!"
After several years of inactivity, during which time he moved from Texas to Arizona and continued working in radio, Jennings began performing and recording again, this time in Phoenix, Arizona. He performed at a newly opened nightspot called JD's. He signed a contract with Herb Alpert's A&M Records, and he had a few hit singles on local radio in Phoenix, including "Four Strong Winds" ( written by Ian Tyson) and "Just To Satisfy You" (co-written with Don Bowman). He also recorded an album on the BAT label, called simply JD's. 500 copies were pressed and sold at the nightclub and, after they sold out, another 500 copies were pressed by the Sounds label. He also played lead guitar for Patsy Montana on a record album that she recorded in Arizona in 1964. Duane Eddy and Bobby Bare recommended Jennins to Chet Atkins, who signed Waylon to RCA Victor. Bobby Bare did his ow of "Four Strong Winds" after he heard Jenning's version. Still under contract to A&M, Alpert released him which allowed him to sign with RCA Records. Jennings packed up and moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1965.
Jennings was accustomed to performing and recording with his own band, The Waylors; this was a practice that was not encouraged by Nashville producers who controlled nearly every aspect of recording. Over time, however, Jennings felt limited by the "Nashville Sound" and the lack of artistic freedom that came with it in the 1960s country music industry.
His second marriage was to Lynn Jones. He got married for a third time to Barbara Rood. He married for the fourth and final time to Jessi Colter in 1969. Colter (then known as Miriam Eddy) had been married to guitar legend Duane Eddy. With help of Jennings, Colter became a country singer in her own right for a brief period of time during the 1970s and was best-known for her 1975 Country-Pop smash, "I'm Not Lisa".
Jennings had grown more frustrated with the Nashville recording scene and a 1972 bout with hepatitis almost killed him. With his recording contract nearing an end, RCA had already lost another creative force that year: Jennings had met Willie Nelson, who had likewise felt frustrated by the lack of freedom in the studio and by the entire Nashville ethos, which led him to relocate his base to Texas, two years earlier. Jennings seriously considered leaving Nashville and returning to a broadcasting career in Phoenix that year.
Two things came along to turn Jennings' hard times around. The first was a business manager from New York City, named Neil Reshen, and the second was his old friend, Willie Nelson. Reshen approached Jennings, who was still recovering from hepatitis, and offered to re-negotiate his recording and touring contracts. Jennings agreed and the contract re-negotiation began in earnest.
At a 1972 meeting in a Nashville airport, Jennings introduced Reshen to Nelson. By the end of the meeting, Reshen was manager to both singers. By that time, Jennings was aware of the fact that rock bands had almost unprecedented creative freedom to record what they wanted to record, with or without a producer and even to design their album covers. He wanted similar freedom for himself—an unprecedented move in 1972 Nashville.
Also in 1972, RCA issued, "Ladies Love Outlaws", an album that Jennings never wanted released. Nevertheless, the title track is often considered the first song of the outlaw country movement.
Reshen drove a hard bargain but RCA finally agreed to his terms: a $75,000 advance and near-complete artistic control.
Re-negotiations of his touring contracts yielded similar positive results and he began turning a profit from his touring (almost unheard-of in Nashville at that time). Waylon finally had a rock star recording contract and he looked the part; Reshen had advised him to keep the beard that he had grown in the hospital, in order to cultivate a more rock and roll image.
By 1973, Nelson had returned to the music industry under the auspices of Atlantic Records, and was on his way to music superstardom.
(Continued....)
Last edited by Tony Trout; 04-10-2010 at 01:48 PM.
"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's Heaven on Earth" - Mark Twain
Now based in Austin, Texas, Nelson had made inroads into the rock and roll press by attracting a diverse fan base that included the young rock music audience. Atlantic Records had signed Nelson when the time was right and they looked to sign Jennings as well. Nelson's rise to popularity made RCA nervous about losing another hot artist, which gave the leverage that Jennings needed in his contract re-negotiations.
He followed with "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean" and "Honky Tonk Heroes" in 1973, the first albums recorded and released under his own creative control. The albums were huge commercial and critical successes. More hit albums followed, with The Ramblin' Man and This Time, in 1974, and Dreaming My Dreams, in 1975. The pace of recording and performing was lucrative but grueling.
In 1976, Jennings came up and helped an old friend of his, who performed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The friend's guitarist was out sick and Jennings "Had a week free in Nashville", so he came to help. The friend consented on the condition that they sing together. The friend was his former roommate Johnny Cash.
In 1976, Jennings began his career-defining collaborations with Nelson on the compilation album Wanted: The Outlaws!, country's first platinum". record. The following year, RCA issued "Ol' Waylon", an album that produced another huge hit duet with Nelson, "Waylon and Willie followed in 1978, producing their biggest hit with "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys". He released I've Always Been Crazy in 1978, followed by a "greatest hits" album in 1979. A son was born to Waylon and Jessi in May 1979. Waylon Albright Jennings, better known as Shooter, played the role of his father in "Walk The Line" in 2005.
By the early 1980s, Jennings was completely addicted to cocaine. His personal finances had again unraveled and left him bankrupt, though he insisted on repaying every penny and did additional tours to satisfy the debt. His work became less focused and his tours had progressed into full rock and roll-type excesses. In a widely publicized case, he was arrested in 1977 for cocaine possession by federal agents, though due to almost comedic errors by the DEA, the charges were later dropped. The episode was recounted in Jennings' song "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out Of Hand?"
Jennings decided that it was finally time to clean up, at least for a little while. He underwent the detox process, with the intent to start using cocaine again in a more controlled fashion afterward. By Jennings' own admission in interviews, his son, Shooter Jennings, was the main inspiration to stay off of cocaine permanently. In 1984, he went "cold turkey" to end his cocaine addiction for good.
His later life was plagued with health problems, including a heart attack & diabetes brought on by a voracious appetite that developed after he beat his cocaine habit. Despite these problems, Jennings remained free from cocaine and continued recording and touring, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and into the new millennium. Jennings performed his final concert in late fall of 2001. According to the sleeve notes on the album, "The Crickets and their Buddies", Jennings final recording session was his contribution to that album, where he provided the lead vocal for the Buddy Holly classic "Well All Right."
Outside the music industry, Jennings was also known as the voice of the narrator on the television series "The Dukes Of Hazzard" and its predecessor, the 1975 film, "Moonrunners". The theme song, "Good Ol' Boys", an original Jennings composition, is one of the most well-known television theme songs in American television history. He also made an appearance on "Married...With Children" and had a role in the 1985 film, "Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird", as a truck driver. Jennings sang "Ain't No Road Too Long" in the movie with "Big Bird" and the other "Sesame Street" characters. Jennings was also a member of USA For Africa for the recording of "We Are The World" but, temperamental as ever, reportedly left the studio due to a dispute over the song's lyrics.
In the early 70's, after Cash's guitar player fell ill while on tour in Canada, Waylon flew up from Nashville, where he had a free week, and filled in. Afterwards, after several solos and duets, Jennings refused to take payment for it.
In the mid-1980s, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Nelson and Jennings formed a successful group called The Highwaymen. Aside from his work with The Highwaymen, highlights from his own career include WWII with Willie Nelson, in 1982, "Will The Wolf Survive" in 1985; "The Eagle" in 1990; and "Too Dumb For New York City, Too Ugly For L.A." in 1992.
During the early 1990s, Jennings became good friends with the members of the group, Metallica. He had also become very close to Metallica frontman, James Hetfield, and influenced some material for their 1996 album, "Load". In 2003, James Hetfield was featured on the tribute album I've Always Been Crazy: A Tribute to Waylon Jennings, and covered Jennings' "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out of Hand?"
In 1998, Jennings teamed up with Bobby Bare, Jerry Reed and Mel Tillis to form, "The Old Dogs". The group recorded a double album of songs penned entirely by Shel Silverstein. In July, 1998, "The Old Dogs: Volumes 1 and 2" were released on the the Atlantic Records label. A companion video, as well as a Greatest Hits album (composed of previously released material by each individual artist), were also available.
In mid 1999, Jennings assembled what he referred to as his "hand-picked dream team" - and formed Waylon & The Waymore Blues Band. Consisting primarily of former Waylors, the thirteen-member group performed a limited number of concerts at select venues, from 1999 to 2001. The highlight of this period was the January 2000 recording, at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium, of what would become Jennings' final album, "Never Say Die: Live". An abbreviated album, composed of 14 tracks, was released in October 2000. A special edition box set, including all twenty-two tracks on two audio CDs, as well as a DVD with the complete concert and bonus features, was released on July 24, 2007 from Legacy Recordings.
In an episode of The Angry Beavers entitled The Legend of Kid Friendly that aired in April of 1999 that Jennings provided the voice for the narrator/singer.
Some time during 2001, Jennings provided his voice in an episode of "Family Guy" during a Dukes of Hazzard parody (which would end up being his last televised appearance). The episode was entitled "To Love And Die In Dixie". The episode originally aired in November of that year. He also narrated a watch fight in an earlier episode, "Chitty Chitty Death Bang".
In October 2001, Jennings was finally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In one final act of defiance, he did not show up to accept the award and opted instead to send his son Buddy Dean Jennings in his place.
Jennings suffered from worsening diabetes that had ended all but abbreviated touring. On December 19, 2001, his left foot was amputated in a Phoenix, Arizona hospital due to infection arising from his diabetes. Then, on February 13, 2002, Jennings died in his sleep of diabetic complications in Chandler, Arizona. He is interred in the Mesa City Cemetery, Mesa, Arizona.
Waylon Jennings @ FindAGrave
Last edited by Tony Trout; 04-10-2010 at 03:14 PM.
"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's Heaven on Earth" - Mark Twain
Waylon, Buddy Holly, and guitarist Tommy Allsup.
The most dangerous woman of all is the one who refuses to rely on your sword to save her because she carries her own.
- R.H. Sin
So out of the loop on this one. I was like, "Waylon Jennings...when'd he die"?
Ramblin' Man, oh yeah! Great stuff Tony.
I am a sick puppy....woof woof!!!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Carping the living shit out of the Diem. - Me!!
http://www.pinterest.com/neilmpenny
Just a good ole boy
Never meanin' no harm...
What a friggin' tragedy that Waylon's death went so unnoticed. I mean, god damn, who do you have to be to get acknowledged by modern country audiences? I'm thoroughly convinced that if it hadn't been for Rick Rubin, Johnny Cash's death would have gone as under-reported as Waylon's.
But here we are, nearly a decade since his passing, and lots of people still don't realize he died. As far as I know, there hasn't been any kind of reissue program celebrating his music either - hell, many of his albums are still completely out of print and were never released on CD at all.
Everyone at RCA, where he recorded the vast majority of his hits, and everyone who considers themselves part of the country music business, ought to be absolutely ashamed for letting a legend like this slip quietly away while they were too busy looking for the next pretty-boy to write a song that sounds like an N*Sync outtake except that it mentions a tractor somewhere. I can't think of a single other genre that discards its forefathers as callously as country music seems to.
Because real country music now only exists in the underground, for the most part. Everything popular today is pop crap. (I'm looking at you, Jason Aldean.)I can't think of a single other genre that discards its forefathers as callously as country music seems to.
The most dangerous woman of all is the one who refuses to rely on your sword to save her because she carries her own.
- R.H. Sin
agreed. today's "country" music is shit
I really liked Waylon and was sad when he died. I most remember him for The Dukes of Hazzard theme song because I loved that show as a kid. I agree that contemporary country sucks ass with very few exceptions.