In 1958, Buddy Holly arranged Waylon Jennings's first recording session, and hired him to play bass.
74 Facts About Waylon Jennings
2.
Waylon Jennings then formed a rockabilly club band, The Waylors, which became the house band at "JD's", a club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
3.
Waylon Jennings was featured on the 1978 album White Mansions, performed by various artists documenting the lives of Confederates during the Civil War.
4.
Waylon Jennings appeared in films and television series, including Sesame Street, and a stint as the balladeer for The Dukes of Hazzard, composing and singing the show's theme song and providing narration for the show.
5.
Waylon Jennings toured less after 1997 to spend more time with his family.
6.
Waylon Jennings was the son of Lorene Beatrice and William Albert Jennings.
7.
The Shipley line descended from his great-grandfather, a farmer and lawman from Tennessee, with Waylon Jennings adding that "along the way, a lot of Indian blood mixed in," including Cherokee and Comanche families.
8.
When Waylon Jennings was 8, his mother taught him to play guitar with the tune "Thirty Pieces of Silver".
9.
Waylon Jennings used to practice with his relatives' instruments until his mother bought him a used Stella guitar, and later ordered a Harmony Patrician.
10.
Waylon Jennings won a talent show at Channel 13, in Lubbock, singing "Hey Joe".
11.
Waylon Jennings later made frequent performances at the Palace Theater in Littlefield, during local talent night.
12.
At the age of 14, Waylon Jennings auditioned for a spot on KVOW in Littlefield, Texas.
13.
Waylon Jennings asked Macha to play bass for him and gathered other friends and acquaintances to form The Texas Longhorns.
14.
Tired of the owner, Waylon Jennings quit after a minor driving accident.
15.
Waylon Jennings's program ran from 4:00 in the afternoon to 10:00 in the evening, filled with two hours of country classics, two of current country and two of mixed recordings.
16.
Waylon Jennings expressed his struggle to live on a $50-a-week salary.
17.
Corbin invited Waylon Jennings to visit KLVT, where he eventually took Corbin's position when it opened.
18.
Waylon Jennings produced commercials and created jingles with the rest of the DJs.
19.
Waylon Jennings outfitted him with new clothes, and worked with him to improve his image.
20.
Waylon Jennings arranged a session for Jennings at Norman Petty's recording studios in Clovis, New Mexico.
21.
Waylon Jennings stayed at Holly's apartment by Washington Square Park prior to a meeting scheduled at the headquarters of the General Artists Corporation, that organized the tour.
22.
For decades afterward, Waylon Jennings repeatedly stated that he felt responsible for the crash that killed Holly.
23.
Waylon Jennings left the station after he was denied a raise, and later worked briefly for the competition, KDAV.
24.
Waylon Jennings moved with his family to Coolidge, Arizona, where his wife Maxine's sister lived.
25.
Waylon Jennings found a job performing at the Galloping Goose bar, where he was heard by Earl Perrin, who offered him a spot on KCKY.
26.
Waylon Jennings played during the intermission at drive-in theaters and in bars.
27.
Waylon Jennings formed his backing band, The Waylors, with bassist Paul Foster, guitarist Jerry Gropp, and drummer Richie Albright.
28.
The band soon earned a strong local fan base at JD's, where Waylon Jennings developed his rock-influenced style of country music that defined him on his later career.
29.
In 1961, Waylon Jennings signed a recording contract with Trend Records, and experienced moderate success with his single, "Another Blue Day".
30.
Waylon Jennings had a few regional hits around Phoenix, due to local radio airplay with "Four Strong Winds" and "Just To Satisfy You", which was co-written with Bowman.
31.
Waylon Jennings played lead guitar for Patsy Montana on a 1964 album.
32.
In 1966, Waylon Jennings released his debut RCA Victor album Folk-Country, followed by Leavin' Town and Nashville Rebel.
33.
In 1967, Waylon Jennings released a hit single, "Just to Satisfy You".
34.
Waylon Jennings produced mid-chart albums that sold well, including 1967's Just to Satisfy You, which included the hit single.
35.
Waylon Jennings believed himself to be "trapped on the circuit".
36.
The single that headlined the album became a hit for Waylon Jennings, and was his first approach to outlaw country.
37.
Waylon Jennings was accustomed to performing and recording with his own band, The Waylors, a practice that was not encouraged by powerful Nashville producers, who favored the Nashville sound produced by a roster of experienced local studio musicians.
38.
Meanwhile, Waylon Jennings requested a $25,000 royalty advance from RCA Records to cover his living expenses during his recovery.
39.
At a meeting in a Nashville airport Waylon Jennings introduced Reshen to Willie Nelson.
40.
Reshen advised Waylon Jennings to keep the beard that he had grown in the hospital, to match the image of Outlaw Country.
41.
In 1973, Waylon Jennings released Lonesome, On'ry and Mean and Honky Tonk Heroes, the first albums recorded and released under his creative control.
42.
In 1976 Waylon Jennings released Are You Ready for the Country.
43.
Waylon Jennings wanted Los Angeles producer Ken Mansfield to produce the record, but RCA initially balked.
44.
Also in 1979, Waylon Jennings joined the cast of the CBS series The Dukes of Hazzard as the Balladeer, the narrator.
45.
Waylon Jennings played himself, presented as an old friend of the Duke family.
46.
In 1985, Waylon Jennings joined with USA for Africa to record "We Are the World", but he left the studio because of a dispute over the song's lyrics that were to be sung in Swahili.
47.
In 1996, Waylon Jennings released his album, Right for the Time.
48.
In 1998, Waylon Jennings teamed up with Bare, Jerry Reed, and Mel Tillis to form the Old Dogs.
49.
In January 2000, Waylon Jennings recorded what became his final album at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, Never Say Die: Live.
50.
Waylon Jennings's music was characterized by his powerful rough-edged singing voice, phrasing and texture.
51.
Waylon Jennings combined hammer-on and pull-off riffs, with eventual upper-fret double stops and modulation effects.
52.
Waylon Jennings played a 1953 Fender Telecaster, a used guitar that was a gift from The Waylors.
53.
Waylon Jennings's bandmates adorned his guitar with a distinctive leather cover that featured a black background with a white floral work.
54.
Waylon Jennings further customized it by filing down the frets to lower the strings on the neck to obtain the slapping sound.
55.
Waylon Jennings married Lynne Jones on December 10,1962, adopting a child, Tomi Lynne.
56.
Waylon Jennings composed the song "This Time" about the trials and tribulations of his marriages and divorces.
57.
Waylon Jennings married country singer Jessi Colter in Phoenix, Arizona, on October 26,1969.
58.
The couple had a son born in 1979, Waylon Albright, known as Shooter Jennings.
59.
In 1997, after he stopped touring, Waylon Jennings earned a GED at age 60 to set an example about the importance of education to his son, Shooter.
60.
Waylon Jennings started to consume amphetamines while he lived with Johnny Cash during the mid-1960s.
61.
In 1977, Waylon Jennings was arrested by federal agents for conspiracy and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
62.
The DEA and the police searched Waylon Jennings's recording studio but found no evidence because, while they were waiting for a search warrant, Waylon Jennings disposed of the drug.
63.
Waylon Jennings leased a home in the Phoenix area and spent a month detoxing himself, intending to start using cocaine again in a more controlled fashion afterward.
64.
Waylon Jennings claimed that his son Shooter was his main inspiration to finally do so.
65.
On February 13,2002, Waylon Jennings died in his sleep from complications of diabetes at his home in Chandler, Arizona, aged 64.
66.
Waylon Jennings was buried in the City of Mesa Cemetery in nearby Mesa.
67.
Between 1965 and 1991, ninety-six Waylon Jennings singles appeared on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart and sixteen topped it.
68.
Waylon Jennings was inducted to the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
69.
In October 2001, Waylon Jennings was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, but he was unable to attend the ceremony due to the pain caused by his diabetes.
70.
On July 6,2006, Waylon Jennings was inducted to Guitar Center's RockWalk in Hollywood, California.
71.
On June 20,2007, Waylon Jennings was posthumously awarded the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award by the Academy of Country Music.
72.
Waylon Jennings's music had an influence on numerous artists, including Hank Williams Jr.
73.
In 2008, the posthumous album Waylon Jennings Forever was released, which consisted of songs recorded with his then-16-year-old son, Shooter.
74.
Shooter Waylon Jennings arranged deals for a clothing line, launched a renewed website, and started talks with different producers on a biographical film.