Waylon Jennings (1937-2002) was a part of the "outlaw" movement in country music alongside people like Willie Nelson. To me, that means favoring the values and characteristics of traditional country music over gimmickry and slick fads and commercial trends of the moment. He was sincere and industrious. Jennings upheld the time-honored and -tested fundamentals of the genre. He scoffed at empty frills and self-congratulatory laurels. In short, this was a fiercely no-nonsense guy who was proud of that trait. Per Whiskey Riff, "The man amassed 16 #1 hits, four CMA Awards, two Grammy awards and sold thousands of tickets over his decades-long career, but he always kept it about the music...."
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Waylon Jennings Reached A Point In His Career When It Was Tough To Get Airplay For His Songs On The Radio
He reportedly became disenchanted. It was getting hard to compete with country music's young whippersnappers for radio time - and Jennings would not compromise his principles. Si what could he do? This was long before the advent of social media. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook did not exist to resort to.
Per the outlet, Jennings even got so disgruntled that he considered stepping back from the music industry altogether. But he cared about music so much that it won out over other concerns. He decided to hang in there, despite the pitfalls he faced.
Jennings Chose To Prioritize His Love Of Writing And Performing Music
According to the outlet via a 1998 interview with Bill DeYoung, Jennings resolved to be his own person and artist. He would take control and call all the shots about the music he made. Jennings decried the falsity of the "Levis and hats" stereotypes that were permeating country music. Nobody was going to push this outlaw around, no sir!
Jennings said, "But then all of a sudden I started writing again, and I picked up the guitar and started tryin' to play again. So as long as I feel like playing, as long as I like it, as long as I'm having a good time with it, then I'll do it. But they're not going to dictate to me when I quit. Or how long I can stay in this business. The business is not going to dictate that to me."
He Warmly Praised One Group Of Country Artists
Jennings was not bashful about expressing his opinions. He said, "With the music that's on the radio now, I do not want to be mixed up with that. I want nothing to do with that, and I don't want to be known to be from this era. These tight Levis and these hats ... I'll tell you who are wonderful, and that's the girls. The girls are gettin' better material, and they're workin' harder at it. And I think they're cuttin' better records than the men."
That interview Waylon Jennings gave is almost thirty years old. Still, honesty and integrity are perennial virtues. He was a classy guy and a staunch ambassador for country music.
