''Ol' Waylon Sings Ol' Hank'' is an album by the American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
artist
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music.
Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...
, released on the singer's own label, WJ Records, in 1992.
Background
As the title suggests, it features Jennings' performances of songs written or made famous by
Hank Williams. The album was recorded and mixed by Rodney Good and produced by Jennings in 1992 at Eleven Eleven Sound Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Very few copies of the release were ever pressed, making the original album extremely rare today. In his autobiography Jennings recalls, "I felt chills all over me the first time I heard Hank Williams sing '
Lost Highway.' I would stay up late on Saturday night listening for him, happy if I could just hear him speak. I always wanted to be a singer, but he etched it in stone," and admits, "Musically, Hank Williams was my centerpost. It's always gone back to him, the one who did everything wrong and everything right."
Jennings also cited Williams as a critical interest on the Outlaw movement:
:"If I had an Outlaw hero, someone to set my standard and measure my progress, it was Hank Williams...Everything I did, anything ''anyone'' did, was measured against Hank's long, lanky shadow. You'd hear these stories, how he pulled a jukebox that didn't have his records on it out to the street and shot it full of holes, or ran around all night dead drunk and pilled out and still gave the greatest show you ever saw. We thought that was the way you did it...I wanted to be like him."
In
2006, the record was reissued on YMC Records as ''Waylon Sings Hank Williams'' with a new cover and a
bonus track
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
of Jennings reminiscing on his past.
Reception
''AllMusic'' wrote, "The influence of the latter on the former was obvious not merely in style, but in the manner in which both vanguards forged rebellious paths. On Waylon Sings Hank Williams, Jennings pays tender tribute to many of the master's classics such as "Jambalaya" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," along with lesser known tracks like "Why Should We Try Anymore.""
Track listing
''All songs written by Hank Williams except as noted.''
#"
Jambalaya (on the Bayou)
"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Hank Williams that was first released in July 1952. It is Williams' most covered song. Named for a Creole and Cajun dish, jambalaya, it spawned numerou ...
" – 2:56
#"
Half as Much
"Half as Much" is an American pop standard song written by Curley Williams in 1951. It was first recorded by country music singer Hank Williams in 1952 and reached number two on the '' Billboard'' Country Singles chart.
Hank Williams version
...
" (
Curley Williams
Curley Williams (b. Dock Williams, June 3, 1914 – d. September 5, 1970) was an American country and western musician and songwriter from Georgia. His best-known song is "Half As Much". He was admitted to thAtlanta Country Music Hall of Famein ...
) – 2:12
#"
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1949. The song has been covered by a wide range of musicians.
Authorship and production
Various writers quoted Williams a ...
" – 2:07
#"Blues Come Around" – 2:18
#"Why Should We Try Anymore" – 2:13
#"Be Careful of the Stones That You Throw" (Bonnie Dodd) – 2:18
#"I Won't Be Home No More" – 2:43
#"
A Mansion on the Hill
"A Mansion on the Hill" is a song written by Hank Williams and Fred Rose and originally recorded by Williams on MGM Records. It peaked at No. 12 on the Most Played Jukebox Folk Records chart in March 1949.
Background
The details surrounding ...
" (Hank Williams,
Fred Rose) – 2:50
#"
Hey Good Lookin'" – 1:53
#"
Cold Cold Heart
"Cold, Cold Heart" is a country music and pop song written and first recorded by Hank Williams. This blues ballad is both a classic of honky-tonk and an entry in the ''Great American Songbook''.
Hank Williams version
Williams adapted the melod ...
" – 3:26
#"
Honky Tonkin'" – 2:08
#"They'll Never Take Her Love from Me" (
Leon Payne
Leon Roger Payne (June 15, 1917 – September 11, 1969), "the Blind Balladeer", was an American country music singer and songwriter.
Life
He was born in Alba, Texas, United States. He was blind in one eye at birth, and lost the sight in the other ...
) – 2:36
Bonus track
#"Waylon Speaks" – 5:26
References
External links
*
Allmusic entry on ''Waylon Sings Hank Williams''
Waylon Jennings albums
1992 albums
2006 albums
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