Legendary country musician Waylon Jennings left behind a huge legacy that would live on for generations to come. A music lover since the age of 8, Waylon got his start performing as a disc jockey in various radio stations across his native Texas. He formed his first rock band, The Waylors in the early 60s and by the 70s, he joined the Outlaw movement leading him to collaborate with one of the genre’s pioneers Willie Nelson.
Waylon Jennings enjoyed much success in the 70s. His 1976 album Wanted! The Outlaws which featured several country stars was the first country album to go platinum. Waylon’s success continued through to the late 80s but waned after then due to ill health and cocaine addiction.
The multi award-winning singer and songwriter became a household name in America in the 1970s when he invented the outlaw country music genre. He encountered unprecedented success which became instrumental to his drug addiction. However, he got introduced to a life of drug after the sudden departure of his close pal and former bandmate, Buddy Holly.
Prior to the plane crash that took the life of the rock star, the pair made a jest of one another as Holly jokingly said to Jennings that he hopes the bus he wanted to board after given up his seat on the plane for J. P Richardson, would freeze up. Waylon Jennings then replied to him that he hopes the plane he just boarded crashes.
Although he took the whole event as a joke, Jennings felt very guilty for the death of his close friend which left him devastated during such time. He then began taking amphetamines in order to get himself out of the situation. A few years down the line, the legendary musician hit addicted to cocaine.
The situation got out of hand, that he was apprehended by the Drug Enforcement Agents in 1977 for having cocaine in his possession which he intended to distribute. He was later released and the charges levelled against him were dropped as they couldn’t find evidence to nail him with. Later in the early 1980s when Waylon Jennings was at the peak of his career, his drug addiction got escalated.
During that time, he wasted his income on an incessant drug habit that drained from his pocket the sum of $1500 daily. Soon after, he went bankrupt and was owning about $2.5 million. Following his drug struggles, the rock icon entered a rehabilitation centre where he got cleaned up in 1984. He later stated that his son, Shooter inspired him into taking such a bold step.
Despite quitting his drug habit, Waylon Jennings continued smoking excessively until 1988 as he was finishing up to six-packs of cigarette on a daily basis. Having led such a pernicious lifestyle for decades, his health condition got deteriorated leading to a heart bypass surgery in the same year he stopped smoking. He also became diabetic and in the year 2000, his state of health worsened as he went under the knife for an improvement of his leg circulation.
Still not making headway in the attempt to get Jennings life back on track, one of his feet was amputated in the following year. Then in February 2002, the eminent music artist succumbed to diabetic complications while asleep. He was laid to rest in a cemetery situated in the city of Mesa, Arizona.
Characterized by his signature look of long hair and beard accompanied with a black leather vest and black hat, Waylon Jennings brought people of different races together through the power of his music. His live performances were often graced by a vast number of attendees as he moved on to establish one of the most thriving careers in the history of country music.
He invented the outlaw country music genre through his collaboration with Tompall Glaser, Willie Nelson and Jessi Colter in the 1970s to release a commercially successful album, ‘Wanted! The Outlaw’ which sold up to a million units.
Throughout his musical career, Waylon Jennings dripped 45 studio albums and 49 other albums including 28 compilation albums and 16 collaborations. He sold over 20 million albums worldwide and recorded incredible career success in the 1970s and 80s when most of his songs and albums were all-kill on several music charts.
Some of his critically and commercially successful songs and albums include ‘Music Man’, ‘Waylon Live’, ‘Greatest Hit’, ‘Waylon and Willie’, ‘Lonesome’, ‘WWII’, ‘Take It to the Limit’, ‘Will the Wolf Survive’, ‘Leather and Lace’, among others. More so, the country-rock legend was the first rock artist to release a platinum-certified album in the history of country music.
As a result of his contributions, he was inaugurated into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Similarly, in 2012, after his demise, he was honored by the Academy of Country Music with the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award. His other achievements include Lifetime Achievement Award by Nashville Songwriters’ Festival, Induction into Guitar Center’s RockWalk and Texas Country Music Hall of Fame as well.
Interestingly, after Waylon Jennings demise, his family has worked effortlessly to keep his legacy alive especially his son, Shooter Jennings who is following in the footsteps of his father. They have released several posthumous albums in the memory of the late music artist and they include ‘Waylon Forever’ (2008), ‘Waylon: The Music Inside’ (2012), ‘Goin’ Down Rockin: The Last Recordings’ (2012).
Waylon Jennings walked the lane of matrimony four good times while he was alive. He entered his first marriage at the age of eighteen with Maxine Caroll Lawrence. Following their union in 1956, the duo expanded their small circle with the arrival of their first child, Terry Vance (born in January 1957). Next came a daughter named Julie Rae (born in August 1958). Two years later, they welcomed Buddy Dean, followed by the birth of Deana.
After staying married for than five years, the former couple got separated. Later in 1964 Jenning tied the knot with Lyne Jones with whom he became adoptive parents to a daughter called Tomi Lynne. He then entered into matrimony for the third time with Barbara Eliza Rood in 1967. But just like the others, the union didn’t last long.
He finally settled down with the love of his life, Jessi Colter, a country music artist in October 1969, and together they welcomed a son called Waylon Albright known professionally as Shooter Jennings. He was born on 19th May 1979 and has followed in his father’s footsteps making music in the outlaw country genre. He has released at least 8 studio albums. Mr. Shooter has two kids from his long-term relationship with actress Drea de Matteo. He married Misty Brooke Swain on June 4, 2013.
Meanwhile, Waylon Jennings heartthrob, Jessi Colter is native of Phoenix, Arizona was born Mirriam Johnson on May 25, 1943. The daughter of a race car driver dad and a preacher mom, Colter was raised in a strict Pentecostal family. She began playing the piano at her local church from the age of 11 and developed her music from then on. She is best recognized for her 1975 country-pop crossover hit ‘I’m Not Lisa
Her love for music caused her to cross paths with ace guitarist Duane Eddy whom she married in 1961. She made music with Eddy and by 1968, after 7 years of staying married, they were divorced. They had one daughter together named Jennifer. In April 2017, Colter released a tell-all memoir about her life with Waylon. The book is titled; ‘An Outlaw and a Lady: A Memoir of Music, Life with Waylon, and the Faith That Brought Me Home’.
It’s quite saddened that half of Waylon Jennings kids have passed on including two of his daughters. His eldest daughter, Julia Rae Jennings-Burdette died on 3rd October 2014. Prior to her death, she worked as a DJ at WHOG located in Fernandina Beach, Florida and equally as a farmer. In the same late 2014, tragedy struck again in Jennings family as Deana Jennings passed away.
Then later in January 2019, the singer-songwriter’s eldest son, Terry Vance Jennings who also contributed a lot in the music industry, passed away. He worked as a technician and stage manager for a drummer, Richie Albright before establishing a consulting, management and publishing company called, Korean Music Group LLC.
Furthermore, Waylon Jennings family survived another scare in June 2019 when Buddy Jennings who was named after Buddy Holly, underwent a heart transplant at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Thankfully, the transplant was successful and he has fully recuperated.
