''Waylon'' is a studio album by 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 in 1970 on

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

Background

''Waylon'' is best remembered for the cover of Chuck Berry's "

Brown Eyed Handsome Man "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" is a rock and roll song written and recorded by Chuck Berry, originally released by Chess Records in September 1956 as the B-side of "Too Much Monkey Business." It was also included on Berry's 1957 debut album, ''After ...

," which climbed to #3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country charts, Jennings third Top 5 solo hit. Jennings would perform the song as part of a medley on '' The Johnny Cash Show''. Aside from "

Brown-Eyed Handsome Man "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" is a rock and roll song written and recorded by Chuck Berry, originally released by Chess Records in September 1956 as the B-side of "Too Much Monkey Business." It was also included on Berry's 1957 debut album, ''After ...

", none of the other songs on this LP were released as singles. The version of "Yes, Virginia" presented here is different from the one originally issued on '' The One and Only'' in 1967. According to Waylon's autobiography, the song "Yellow Haired Woman" was written about Barbara Rood, his third wife. ''Waylon'' is also significant for its version of "The Thirty-Third of August," written by

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

songwriter Mickey Newbury, a key figure among a new generation of country songwriters that would contribute to the outlaw country movement in country music, of which Jennings would be a central focus. As Tom Jurek observes in his

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review of the album: :"This self-titled album signifies the real beginning of Waylon Jennings' discontent with his career. He is making efforts in the studio here to stretch its boundaries and include material very foreign to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

...But it's with Mickey Newbury's "33rd of August" that the pokiness of Waylon's mission becomes apparent. In the slow dirge, complete with gorgeous layers and textures of strings, aberrant percussion, and backing vocals that whisper rather than chorus, Jennings offers another dimension to not only this sad story, but the direction of his musical muse, somewhere in the groove but outside the confines of the studio." Despite chart success, Jennings had grown frustrated with the

Nashville Sound The Nashville Sound originated during the mid-1950s as a subgenre of American country music, replacing the chart dominance of the rough honky tonk music, which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s, with "smooth strings and choruses", "sophist ...

that had been imposed on his records by RCA Victor and especially resented being told what to record. As Joe Nick Patoski notes in his memoir ''Willie Nelson'', "In addition to doing more and more of the songs he wanted to do rather than what the producer chose, Waylon wanted to produce himself and was demanding control of where the records were made, the song selection, and the artwork that decorated the album cover." Relations between Jennings and RCA Victor became increasingly strained during this period. ''Waylon'' also includes a duet with

Anita Carter Ina Anita Carter (March 31, 1933 – July 29, 1999) was an American singer who played upright bass, guitar, and autoharp. She performed with her sisters, Helen and June, and her mother, Maybelle, initially under the name The Carter Sisters an ...

on the Merle Haggard composition "All of Me Belongs to You." Jennings had covered two Haggard songs previously on his 1968 LP ''Jewels'' but, as he recounted in his autobiography years later, he became wary of the country star after a card game, recalling, "Merle Haggard and his manager, Fuzzy Owen, got me in a poker game and cleaned me out. I had four or five thousand dollars on me, and they won everything. I think Merle is a great singer and songwriter, and probably he was in as bad a shape as I was, but we've never been close since that night. I can still remember their faces. When I was broke, they said their goodbyes and left. I never forgot that."

Critical reception

''Waylon'' reached #14 on the ''Billboard'' country albums chart. AllMusic: "Waylon is an overlooked gem in the transition period of Jennings' career."

Track listing

Personnel

*Waylon Jennings - lead vocals *James Carson, Dottie Dilliard,

Priscilla Mitchell Priscilla Mitchell (September 18, 1941 – September 24, 2014) was an American country music singer. Biography Priscilla Mitchell began as a Rock 'n' Roll singer in the 1950s as well as a background singer for NRC Records, and became most popu ...

, Louis Dean Nunley, Sandra Robinson, Bergen White - backing vocals *Bobby Dyson, Norbert Putnam - bass guitar *Byron Bach, Martha McCrory - cello *John Duke - clarinet *

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

- dobro *

Kenny Buttrey Aaron Kenneth Buttrey (April 1, 1945 – September 12, 2004) was an American drummer and arranger. According to Country Music Television, CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history". Buttrey was born in Nashvi ...

(tracks 3,5,6,7,10), Jerry Carrigan (tracks 1,8), Buddy Harman (tracks 2,4,9) - drums *

- duet vocals on "All of Me Belongs to You *John Duke, Norman Ray - flute *

Fred Carter Jr. Fred F. Carter Jr. (December 31, 1933 – July 17, 2010) was an American guitarist, singer, producer and composer. Early career Carter was raised in the delta country in Winnsboro, the seat of Franklin Parish in northeastern Louisiana, Un ...

, Wayne Moss, Jerry Reed, Dale Sellers, Velma Smith, Pete Wade,

John Buck Wilkin John Buck Wilkin (born April 26, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and session musician. Wilkin started his career as a child on the ''Ozark Jubilee'' with Brenda Lee. His mother, songwriter Marijohn Wilkin, later moved the family to Nashvi ...

Chip Young Chip Young (born Jerry Marvin Stembridge, May 19, 1938 – December 20, 2014) was an American session guitarist, and later record producer who worked primarily out of Nashville, Tennessee. Biography Chip Young was born Jerry Marvin Stembridge in ...

- guitar * Charlie McCoy - harmonica *Charlie McCoy - organ *Farrell Morris - percussion * David Briggs, Hargus "Pig" Robbins - piano *Bergen White - string arrangements, conductor * Junior Huskey - upright bass *Charlie McCoy - vibraphone *Doris Allen, Howard Carpenter, Marvin Chantry - viola *Brenton Banks, Lillian Hunt, Martin Katahn,

Sheldon Kurland Sheldon "Shelly" Kurland (June 9, 1928 – January 6, 2010) was a violinist and musical arranger who worked as a session musician in Nashville and provided arrangements for a number of prominent country musicians. Life and career Sheldon Kurland ...

- violin

References

{{Authority control Waylon Jennings albums 1970 albums RCA Victor albums Albums produced by Chet Atkins