One thing about Waylon Jennings, he was going to tell it like it is. Usually, his target ends up being the larger music industry. At its worst, it can be extremely exploitative. The things people have to do to try and get their foot in the door is exhausting to say the least. There's one key moment in his life and career that informs this disdain towards the industry.
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In a 1973 interview with Michael Watts for Melody Maker, Waylon talked about something he knew all too well: the woes of the music industry. Particularly, he highlights the importance of realness. No one defines that more than Buddy Holly in his eyes. "He had some fantastic ideas that would fit now," Jennings says at the time. "He was commercial then, but he was way ahead of his time, although I think the music's coming back around to him. That's maybe what it is. They're coming back to Buddy Holly and his style of music."
Buddy Holly was something of a mentor for Waylon. Consequently, when he died, Jennings vanished from the business entirely for two years. However, he distinctly remembers the treatment he received in the aftermath of Holly's death and it never sat right with him ever since.
Waylon Jennings Reflects on Buddy Holly's Death and Why He Has a Sour Taste With The Music Industry
"I was gonna go home when Buddy got killed but they begged and begged and begged me to stay," Jennings recalls. "And they kept begging until I agreed to stay for a few days until they could get somebody out there to finish the tour. They promised to fly me home for the funeral and all this stuff. But they only gave us enough money to eat until after the funeral."
"And that night we played in Minnesota," Waylon continues, "after the show, the promoters were all uptight! They tried to dock us for how much Buddy and the Big Bopper and Richie Valens had made. There was a lotta that crap that I just wasn't ready for and I'd never really experienced."
It's this relationship with the artist that Jennings finds so repulsive. The hard work isn't necessarily the problem. It's a mix of proper compensation and a basic, fundamental lack of compassion in grief that continues to leave a sour taste in his mouth. "They look at us as machines, some of the people that book these shows. They're more or less like flesh peddlers," Waylon explains. "You've got to have a lawyer to watch these things for you. Even then, after a while, some of these guys lose sight of who's working for whom. The tail starts waggin' the dog."
