Waylon Jennings Once Threatened His Band With A Gun
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Waylon Jennings has been an outlaw since before the term “Outlaw Country” was even coined. It’s who he was at his core.
He is hailed as the father of Outlaw Country, revolutionizing the country music genre by challenging the polished Nashville sound and carving a path for artistic freedom. Born in 1937 in Littlefield, Texas, Jennings was a quintessential rebel whose deep, gravelly voice and guitar riffs embodied country music’s raw, unfiltered spirit.
In the 1970s, Waylon spearheaded the Outlaw Country movement alongside Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash. This genre defied the constraints of the Nashville establishment, advocating for greater control over music production. Waylonâs breakout album, âHonky Tonk Heroesâ (1973), is a prime example, featuring a stripped-down sound and heartfelt storytelling. The title track, penned by Billy Joe Shaver, exemplifies Jennings’ gritty style with its tales of rambunctious honky-tonk life.
Another hallmark of Waylonâs outlaw style is “Lonesome, Onâry and Mean,“ where his defiant attitude shines through lyrics about living life on his own terms. His collaboration with Willie Nelson on “Good Hearted Woman“Â further cemented his legacy, blending traditional country with rock influences and a freewheeling ethos.
Jennings’ rebellious nature wasn’t just in his music but also in his life, from his iconic leather vests and cowboy hats to his refusal to conform to industry norms. Waylon Jenningsâ influence resonates, inspiring countless artists to pursue their vision without compromise.
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Waylon proved his outlaw status by once threatening his studio band with a gun.
For many years, there was a story going around Nashville that Jennings was told his touring band wasn’t good enough to record with him. And the session band he was given weren’t playing to his liking, so he threatened them with a gun.
It wasn’t until 1996 that this story was confirmed by Jennings himself in a 1996 interview with the HoustonPress.
“Yeah, that’s a true story,” Jennings admitted. “[I] said I would shoot the fingers off of anyone that played a pickup note.”
A pickup note is a note that leads into the beginning of a song, instead of just outright playing the first note of the song. Clearly, Jennings had a way of doing things and he wouldn’t have it any other way, despite what his record label said. He also didn’t like when his band wasn’t “off script” or “off sheet music.”
Jennings continued, “And if anyone was still looking at the sheet music by the third time through, I’d kill them. That got their attention. After that, they let me use my own band.”
Jennings proved that he knew what he was doing thanks to his decades-long career, which included 16 number one songs, 77 total solo albums with countless other collaborations with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and his lovely wife, Jessi Colter.
