Waylon: A Biography

by R. Serge Denisoff

Overview

From his earliest recordings to his posthumously released albums, the haunting baritone of Waylon Jennings marked him as an extraordinarily individualistic country music artist. This biography by the late R. Serge Denisoff, first published in 1983, recounts Waylon’s west Texas upbringing, his introduction to music as a radio announcer at thirteen years old, his tutelage by rock star Buddy Holly, and his eventual stellar yet stormy music career. Where the original 1983 biography ends, music scholar Travis Stimeling picks up with the waning years of Waylon’s recording and performing. Stimeling recounts in the new afterword Waylon’s continued musical success in the early 1980s—though his financial troubles and battle with drugs and alcohol would soon cost him both professionally and personally—his triumphant and sober return in the 1990s and collaboration with longtime recording artists in the industry, and his continued musical relevance in an evolving industry driven by Nashville’s urban popularization of country music. Additionally, series editor Ted Olson, in his foreword, touches on Waylon’s legacy and the continued influence of his outlaw style of country music. Fans of Waylon, country music, and the Nashville music scene are sure to find this second edition of R. Serge Denisoff’s classic biography a welcome addition to the publications on the father of outlaw country.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621905165
Publisher:	University of Tennessee Press
Publication date:	05/17/2020
Series:	Charles K. Wolfe Music Series
Edition description:	2nd Edition, with a new Afterword
Pages:	375
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Until his death, R. SERGE DENISOFF was a professor at Bowling Green State University and author of several books on the history of music.
 
TRAVIS STIMELING is an associate professor in the School of Music at West Virginia University and the author or editor of several publications on country music, including The Oxford Handbook of Country Music.
 

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Acknowledgments xv

Preface xvii

Introduction. Getting Into Waylon Jennings 3

1 Rhinestone Suits and Big Shiny Cars 15

2 It's Either Pickin' Cotton or Guitar 32

3 The Lubbock Connection 46

4 The Day the Music Died 60

5 Picking Up the Tempo 76

6 Just to Satisfy You 92

7 Hey Chet Atkins Make Me a Star 115

8 Nashville Rebel 137

9 Low-Down Freedom 155

10 Waymore's Blues 180

11 Consumers Buy Outlaws 196

12 This Time 223

13 Are You Sure Hank Done It This A 'Way? 257

14 Epilogue 299

Afterword 305

Appendix 323

Notes 325

Selected Bibliography 345

Discographies John L. Smith 358

Index 381