Waylon, An Autobiography

by Waylon Jennings

Waylon Jennings relates the story of his life as a country music star. His beginnings were poor but he became Buddy Holly's protege before sinking into drug abuse and 3 failed marriages. His success came when he met his present wife, Jessi Colter.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Pop Culture

Hardcover

First published September 1, 1996

About the author

Waylon Arnold Jennings (born Wayland Arnold Jennings; June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music.

In 1958, Buddy Holly arranged Jennings's first recording session, and hired him to play bass. Jennings gave up his seat on the ill-fated flight in 1959 that crashed and killed Holly, J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens.

During the 1970s, Jennings drove outlaw country. With Willie Nelson, Tompall Glaser and Jessi Colter he recorded country music's first platinum album, Wanted! The Outlaws. It was followed by Ol' Waylon and the hit song "Luckenbach, Texas". He was featured on the 1978 album White Mansions, performed by various artists documenting the lives of Confederates during the Civil War. He 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. By the early 1980s, Jennings struggled with cocaine addiction, which he overcame in 1984. Later, he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash, which released three albums between 1985 and 1995. During that period, Jennings released the successful album Will the Wolf Survive.

He toured less after 1997 to spend more time with his family. Between 1999 and 2001, his appearances were limited by health problems. In 2001, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was posthumously awarded the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award by the Academy of Country Music.

From Wikipedia

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oct 18, 6am ~~ Review asap.

Oct 19, 8pm ~~ Waylon Jennings was a big part of my Star Cowgirl years. But I never knew much about his life or even about a lot of his music, so I really enjoyed this 1996 book that not only brought back fun memories and semi-forgotten moments, but danced me through a whole string of great music from Back In The Day.

My question to the Universe is: Why are so many creative people so self-destructive? Waylon was only 64 when he died from complications of diabetes, after years of 'speeding his young life away' (and a quadruple heart bypass!). I don't see how in the world the man lived through his pill and cocaine years (twenty-one of them before he quit!). I simply cannot understand the attraction, for either musicians or athletes. Wouldn't you always wonder if YOU wrote the song or ran at world record pace or if it was merely the DOPE that did it?

Well, it is a mystery for the ages, I suppose. But what was not a mystery was that Waylon Jennings was talented and worked hard at his music, and of course was one of the men responsible for a new direction in country music. What I never knew before was that he was good friends with Buddy Holly, played bass guitar in Holly's band, and came THIS close to being on the plane with Buddy that awful night when the music died. And somehow, I think perhaps he never quite got over being here without Buddy.

In 2002, just a few years after this book was published, Mother was reading the paper and asked me if I knew who Waylon Jennings was. I said sure, why? And she said he had just died. I burst out crying. I couldn't help myself. The thought that one of the musicians who played the soundtrack to some magical years in my life was gone just floored me.

But you know, the music didn't die, it never does. This book (and YouTube) let me explore songs I had never heard, rediscover old favorites (by Waylon and many other legends) and I completely enjoyed the whole experience.

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always been crazy and the trouble that it's put me through,
I've been busted for things that I did, and I didn't do,
I can't say I'm proud of all of the things that I've done,
But I can say I've never intentionally hurt anyone.

I've always been different with one foot over the line
Winding up somewhere one step ahead or behind
It ain't been so easy but I guess I shouldn't complain
I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane.

Beautiful lady, are you sure that you understand
The chances your taking loving a free living man
Are you really sure, you really want what you see
Be careful of something that's just what you want it to be.

I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane
Nobody knows if it's something to bless or to blame
So far I ain't found a rhyme or a reason to change
I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane.

- I’ve Always Been Crazy, Waylon Jennings

Waylon Jennings could well be country music’s best kept secret these days. There hasn’t been a big film that has reaffirmed him in the public eye, and the musical landscape has changed dramatically since the hey-day of “Outlaw Country” in the 1970s.

I never really listened to a lot of country music until I visited the States for the first time. They’re pretty serious about it there. Even so, Waylon wasn’t the first artist that I was introduced to, but being intrigued about the music as a whole I started down that rabbit hole, and I eventually found that all roads (seemingly) lead to Waylon Jennings. On my second visit to the States, I was fortunate enough to go to Studio B in Nashville, and they certainly remember Waylon there. It’s obviously all detailed in this autobiography as well: the locking horns with Nashville, and Waylon’s refusal to conform to the Nashville sound (he wanted to use his own band in the studio, as opposed to session artists), and the subsequent rise of the Outlaw Country music movement in Texas. It’s the stuff of music legend and myth.

Larger-than-life in many ways, in his autobiography Waylon comes across as occasionally stubborn, but never bitter. His was, by any definition, a colourful life. From dirt poor beginnings in Texas, where he was born, to being a major, major star, and everything that that entails. He openly discusses his struggle dealing with the death of Buddy Holly (for who he was playing bass at the time, and with whom he was befriended) and his “survivor’s guilt”, if you will, after he had voluntarily given up his seat on the doomed airplane to another musician (a selfless act that saved his life, while many others perished). He also discusses his drug addiction, something that became (very) public knowledge thanks to a famed drug bust in 1977 which is also the subject of the song “Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Outta Hand”.

Based on this book, Waylon was extremely hard working, and fiercely loyal to his friends. I do think he could have (unintentionally or otherwise) come across as fairly intimidating, though, based on some of the anecdotes here. He disliked being musically pigeon-holed and his rough and ready style of country (with some rock trimmings) (yes, I know what I just did there) should appeal to anybody who likes old school country that is a bit edgier and thumpier than most. It is probably telling that he and Johnny Cash were very good friends.

Referred to as the Nashville Rebel (and not just because he starred in a film with that title), Waylon is the reason I purchased a Telecaster.

They don’t make them like this anymore. Oh, the book is pretty good too.

[Barry Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though for years I was more into rock and jazz (though I've made many excursions into classic country, bluegrass, and alt-country), I've always listed Waylon Jennings "Dreamin' My Dreams" as one of my all-time favorite discs and probably one of the best-produced discs of all time. I stand by that opinion. I think producer Jack Clements helped capture not only a specific feeling and sound on that disc but the sort of both raw and polished creativity that rarely gets laid down on any recording. I was pleased to read in this autobiography that Waylon Jennings knew very well it was the best record he ever made. Waylon has lots of stories to tell and he tells most of them in this book with candor, honesty and a sense of humble humour about himself and his industry image. Yes, he had his moments of being a wild man and a rebel but, mostly, he was just trying to get down the sounds he had in his head without outside interference. Anyone interested in music will have that disc as a "must-hear" and this book as a "must-read." - BH.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was looking at reading this book I read somewhere that someone said this book was almost like sitting down with Waylon and having him tell his life story over a few beers. That actually fits quite well. Waylon was one of the first to really break the conventenial country music barriers mainly because he wanted to play the music as he felt it. This tells all of his struggles as he went through those barriers and broke through Nashvilles walls into a new label known now as outlaw country. Waylon also tells of his excessive drug usage and how 20 to 30 amphetamines a day would help get him through from one gig to the next. And his story of shaking the big monkey of coke and pills off his back. Some of the more personal stuff towards the end of the book is really touching. I really enjoyed the stories of him hanging with some of the all time great folks that made country music. If anyone is interested in a real personal down and dirty look at Waylon Jennings this would be the book I would tell them to pick up.

[Rex Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s pretty much all here. Dirt poor in Texas. Guilt over his friend Buddy Holly’s death. Writing songs that Nashville didn’t want. Singing them the way Nashville didn’t want. Girls and wives. Life as a prisoner of the road. Willie Nelson’s Independence Day picnics at Dripping Springs. Outlaw country. The cocaine arrest (hence “Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand”). Why the hair. Why the beard. Why the clothes. Jessi (“I’m Not Lisa”) Colter. John (as he calls him) Cash. More on Willie. Kris Kristofferson. Roger Miller. Tompall Glaser. Billy Joe Shaver. Lots of others.

Waylon seems to have tried to get it all down, right, just once. To borrow his phrase, "a whole country music juke box of a life." Probably have to like his music to like this, though. I certainly did.

[mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waylon Jennings (1937 – 2002) was at his best when he was Lonesome, On’ry, And Mean. Which was a song he recorded in 1974, about the time I first heard him and his band. It was sometime in the early Seventies. I was a bartender at the Warehouse, a night club in Denver, Colorado, where he performed.

Waylon became an instant hero to me. His music, live, spoke to me and my idea of living free. I operated the service bar in the back corner of the show room. The only folks allowed in were the cocktail waitresses and the band members. We had a good time, drinking and snorting cocaine.

Waymore, as he was sometimes called, created a new brand and style of music that took over American Country music, and even crossed over into Rock and Pop. He broke all the rules. He did things his way and that pissed off Nashville, the seat and heartbeat of country music. His music was called Rockabilly at first, combining traditional country swing with rock, blues, and jazz riffs. Eventually, “Outlaw Country” became its own genre.

Some definitions
are needed:

Hero: a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. That definition is consistent across all cultures. Waylon Arnold Jennings, without a doubt, satisfies two of those criteria. Noble qualities is debatable. However, one of his mantras was “I never intentionally hurt anyone.” Also up for debate. Self defined as a “fighter”, isn’t a fighter’s intention to hurt their adversary? There are many contradictions in Waylon’s life, which speaks to the Outlaw persona.

Outlaw: not a criminal in this context; but a person who operates outside conventional rules, or boundaries. Again, in Waylon’s words, “You all have a good time. Do what you want.”

One reason Waylon became a hero to many Americans in the Seventies.
Straight from the heart
Of course, some behaviors will be “criminal”. Such as drug use, speeding, trespassing, etc. and so on. Or not wearing a seat belt (or a mask?) And also not being politically correct, following convention. Jennings quotes Bob Dylan regarding this: “To live outside the law you must be honest.” Waylon: “To us, Outlaw meant standing up for your rights, your own way of doing things.” (pg. 223) In other words – being free.

Cowboy: in this context is best defined by his song Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys. He and Willie Nelson wrote this song together. The Cowboy hero/myth/legend was a huge part of Americanism in the 20th Century. Paula Cole’s song Where Have All The Cowboys Gone nails it.

This book
is as much a history book as autobiography. If you want to understand the 20th Century in America, this is a must read. Jennings’ memory is extraordinary. I’ll not recount his account here. I’ll only say – it’s accurate. If you want to understand American music and the people who made it – read this book! You’ll get up-close and personal accounts of Hank Williams, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Jonny Cash, Willie Nelson, drug use and so on. And the women who loved them.

Jennings includes an index and a discography. There are maybe a thousand persons mentioned! Not only musicians, but people and organizations who had a great impact on American culture: President Jimmy Carter, Muhammad Ali, Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, the Hell’s Angels, the Oakland Raiders football team and so on.

Waylon Jennings was an influencer before the word existed.

Ladies Love Outlaws
might be the takeaway from this book. As well as an explanation for why things unfold the way they do in the world. It’s a song Waylon wrote in 1972. I can attest to its veracity.

There are three, at least, evolutionary explanations for this:

Display hypothesis
Show-off hypothesis
Handicap hypothesis

And yet no one wants to talk about this. Because it’s politically incorrect.









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Published by Mark Jabbour
This is my fourth book. Like the others it deals with the intersection of politics and personality. From a unique psychological, evolutionary, and personal perspective it combines history, geography, and fiction in an attempt to get close to reality. View all posts by Mark Jabbour

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October 23, 2020
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BOOKS by Mark Jabbour
Election 2016: The Great Divide, The Great Debate (2018)
Overcast: The Unauthorized Biography of Sunshine Rodriguez. A Novel. (2014)
Attachment: A Novel of War and Peace (2006)
Sounding Off In Echo Hills: Essays, Letters & Arguments (2004)
http://markjabbour.com



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[Adamskmckenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read if you are interested in this artist. It begins slowly, and Waylon's colloquial writing style often irritates at first, but I felt real emotion in some of his more intense stories.
I did not realize that he was so close with Buddy Holly. He described Buddy, at the time of his death, as his best friend and states that he slipped in to a deep depression for two years following the plane crash. This section deals with the survivor's guilt that he experienced and was perhaps one of the most complex and "real" moments in his story, but he fails to elaborate or explore sufficiently. Still, it does provide some insight and credit must be given for the intensity and empathy provoked in such a short passage - although perhaps this is an illusion, the short passage and provocative feeling allows the reader to insert his own experiences. Is this accomplishment of a master storyteller/emotion-smith? Or is it just lazy writing, fear of self-probing? Isn't instilling such empathy the goal of all, at least most, writers?
The other most interesting aspect of his storytelling is his description and analysis of failed relationships. Though his descriptions typically indicate plenty of blame between the two parties, he does not shy from exploring his flaws and inadequacies and questioning his judgment; and he makes no excuses. When he approaches the subject of his children becoming involved in the painful process and describes their "tiny loyalties being tested,"
Ironically, the element most ignored in this autobiography is the music. It is always there, but given the disppasionate treatment of two strangers swapping stories of past career changes or automobiles owned. But perhaps this is unimportant, as anyone reading this book is already familiar with the tunes, but perhaps not with the philosophy and experiences of the tunesmith. And there is the occasional "studio hijinx" story, often involving Willie Nelson. One of the most eccentric being that Willie is very sensitive about his singing and, following what may be described as a producer's constructive criticism, becomes defensive with the producer and then comes to Waylon for coddling and reassurance.
Finally, from a sociological perspective, the tales of Waylon's development from childhood to young adulthood can be read as an outsider's pushing back against the conventions of rural, small-town life while embracing its best elements. His bucolic stories of life on the farm, miles out of town, combine with his left-of-center sensibilities to form a challenge to current media-popcultural archetypes of red state and blue state men, which benefit only political fundraisers and should be flatly rejected.

[Melanie Rigney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a super big Waylon fan, and got this book for Christmas. I put off starting it in part because I worried his voice might not translate well to prose. I needn't have worried. This is all Waylon, all the time. I cried at the vulnerability he showed about his time with Buddy Holly... shudder a bit at the quantity of pills he ingested... and laugh and shake my head at the in-your-face attitude in the early days in Nashville. This is one I'll be sad to finish... just as I'm sad we lost this "American original," as John Cash called him, far too soon.

[Elle Dase · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it goes without saying that I loved it

[Jay Cothrum · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT read and look the scenes straight from Waylon himself.

[Mark Bishop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waylon Jennings is probably my favorite country music artist (depending on what day I’m asked.)
Waylon is one of those artists that I can recall the first time I heard his music. I was a thirteen year old that listened to hard rock and metal,but Waylon immediately captured my attention and I’ve been a fan since.
Biographies and autobiographies of musicians is one of my favorite genres. I follow along with the books by listening to the artist’s catalog. This was easy to achieve with this book until I hit the mid-70’s. As the drug abuse escalated, so did the scattershot recollection of albums and events. That’s understandable. That’s just the nature of the beast with drug addiction.
I’m glad I read the book. I’d always wondered how and where Waylon started. To me, he had appeared out of nowhere when Outlaw Country hit the airwaves. Of course, that wasn’t the case. Other than the fateful Buddy Holly plane crash I knew little about Waylon’s beginnings in the music business. I now know how the story began.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some nice reminiscing about his friendships with Buddy Holly, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash, as well as some common sense thoughts on tribal mentality and human kindness that are just as timely now as they were in 1996.

[Richard Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waylon’s autobiography is well-written and candid, and, unlike some music memoirs, feels like it’s mostly truthful. I have no way to verify that, but if certainly *feels* honest. And, also unlike many “autobiographies,” you can hear Waylon’s voice in every line of this book; I suspect that Lenny Kaye’s assistance was more structural/organizational than in assisting with the prose. Jennings is candid about his drug use and his relationships (both romances and his close friendships with Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson), and he spends a lot of the book satisfyingly writing about… music. I know, a radical idea for a music memoir! Interestingly, he doesn’t so much as mention one of his best albums (Lonesome, On’ry, and Mean), which is an odd omission, but you get lots of interesting details about his recording process of a number of other consequential songs and albums. Waylon got his start in rock and roll, and that’s part of what cast him as a Nashville rebel, then a country outlaw, because he never wanted to be restricted by the confines of genre. By fighting that fight, he paved the way for hundreds of others, and lived an interesting life along the way. Highly recommended for music fans who want something far better written than the average music memoir.

[Sue Milkovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

HONEST

This is a no holds barred, HONEST truth from a man who couldn't do it any other way. Of course, I grew up listening to and being a big fan of this man. My Dad was an over the road truck driver. Reading about Waylon Jennings humble upbringing in Texas, reminded me sooo much of my Dad. Reading this book felt like I was sitting down with him, just listening to him. This hard working, determined, whatever it takes type of man, is dying off. He was the same age as my parents. They are a generation that is no more. This is the story of a man who climbed over, dug under or found the way around all obstacles in his way. He admits he was a unfaithful husband, neglectful Father and drug addict. But through this story he walks in his truth. The good, the bad and the horrendously ugly. He lived and he loved chasing the dream of writing and singing the music in his head. The music that kept time with the beat of his heart and his feet that couldn't stand still. He lost friends, left marriages and lost touch with his children. Not because he wanted too but because this was his journey in life. His life's work is what drove him and was the soundtrack of mine and millions of others lives. It paid his alimony, supported his children and paid hundreds of people who worked for and against him. He was a lover, a fighter, a friend and a maverick. He was a pioneer in a business that was set in tradition and cut in stone. He tried to do it THEIR way but the music in his SOUL didn't fit their MOLD. So he had to forge his own. He listened to an extent, to friends who came before him. He kicked down the doors of those who opposed him and made life long friends with those who understood his talent and passion for the music. Because of his determination, drive and pure orneriness, HE paved the way for generations to come. He took the dreams of Hank Williams and Buddy Holly, who died too soon and made them a reality. There was a style in music that refused to move forward. Beating down the doors of that style was a gang of troubadours that wouldn't be denied. Scruffy, loud, sometimes obnoxious and hell bent on being heard. Thank God!!!
The best part was when he found the other half of his soul, Jessi Colter. The woman who understood his inner passion. Who accepted him with ALL his addiction and loved him through it all. The one who loved his children, his family and friends. The lady that HE respected, that respected HIM. The woman who wrote songs from the heart, like he did. The woman like him who understood the poet inside and the music that had to be played. The rambler who had to be on stage. The ROCK that he needed when everything in life let him down. The fighter who tolerated his addiction and loved him through his recovery. The Mother of his last child, who showed him the true meaning of fatherhood, at last. The woman he married twice, because THEIR love and commitment was sooo beautiful and STRONG. It moved me to tears.
This is a book, like a conversation, I wish I could've had with my Dad. It's filled with stories of friendships, of hardship and lessons learned too late. Missed opportunity and dogged determination. Tragedy, triumph and the truth, as he saw it.
These are HIS memories and HIS feelings about the life he lived. His choices and why he made them. HIS TRUTH in HIS own words. The Troubadour, the Outlaw, the Highwayman. The Singer, the Songwriter, the Poet, the Picker. The Lover, the Husband, the Father, the Son, the Brother, the Uncle. The Legend, THE MAN.
I've read a lot of Autobiographies and it could be because I'm a fan or because he reminds me of my own Dad. But this is the BEST I have ever read. If you love Waylon Jennings, this is a book you don't want to miss. Jessi Colter also has a book titled An Outlaw And A Lady, it's also another side of their story.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ALL FANS AND LOVERS OF COUNTRY MUSIC!!!!!

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up on classic country, but even though Johnny Cash was heard every day in our house, Waylon somehow escaped my notice until I was a teenager and wanted to know more about the mysterious "balladeer" in Dukes of Hazzard, whose voice I'd been listening to for years, but the only part of him I'd seen were his hands.

Fast forward a few *cough* years, and Waylon has climbed up among my top favourite country artists, and when this book crossed my path, I just had to have it!

If you're a fan, you will love it. If you dislike him, this won't change your mind.

[Cwn_annwn_13 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written and entertaining as told to autobiography of Waylon Jennings and has all you would expect from a Waylon biography if you are familiar with his music and life. More often than not, even if they make great music, most musicians are phony narcistic human beings. Waylon is a guy thats hard not to like and I enjoy his music. I wish he was still around.

[Mattc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Done did everything that needs done.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audio book while on a road trip in Arizona. So fun to pass through Waylon's old stomping grounds. I enjoyed the book but when it ended I found myself wishing it was longer!

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the cover "with Lenny Kaye". According to wamu.org,

Lenny Kaye became my hero in 1972, after he assembled one of rock’s greatest anthologies, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968.

I spent countless hours listening to that compilation, discovering garage-borne bands from around the country. Many — most — of these artists would likely never have been heard outside of their hometowns without his help. That album was, in more ways than one, the spark that lit the coming punk movement.

Outside of his curatorial brilliance on Nuggets and the inspiration it provided to artists like Iggy and The Stooges, Lenny Kaye played an even more elemental role in the development of punk as the guitarist on Patti Smith’s revolutionary first album Horses. His legacy, with Patti and through his work as record producer, continues.

In the mid-’90s, while conducting research for the autobiography of Waylon Jennings he would co-write with the country legend, Kaye met Waylon’s wife, the musician Jessi Colter. All these years later, Kaye has produced Jessi Colter’s just-released album The Psalms. Its origins go back to their first meeting.

I just wonder how much Kaye is responsible for the tone and style of this autobiography. I have read many such works, hundreds I am sure. This one feels the most intimate and conversational, as if I were riding down that highway in the tour bus with Waylon and we was just recollecting is tall to me: Being there at the birth of rock-n-roll with Buddy Holly, the highs and excesses of touring popularity fueled by cocaine and pills, records/events/films/Highwaymen with Willie Nelson, keeping it outlaw and eschewing the countrypolitan and more.

This is one of the best musician biographies I have ever read.

... I think my role is fairly constant with the people I work with. I just did Waylon Jennings' autobiography. To me that was a lot like literary production. I would find myself relating to him in the same way when we would be riding in a car, as I would to a musical artist sitting in the studio. Listening to what he has to say, trying to find little things about him that he may not even recognize are there. Trying to see what can be made of them, in terms of placing a portrait up on the wall of this artist. I like to think that, if writing is somewhat driven by the rational part of your mind, and music comes from a kind of intuitive spot, then producing blends the two together. You're listening to stuff and thinking about it, but you're also reacting to it in a very musical way.

...Now Waylon had already been through two writers, and he didn't get along with them. He didn't really want to see me, but Tony told me to go down there anyway. So I walked in and we really hit it off. I'm a musician, and told him that I wanted to relate to him musically. I knew that there was a lot of good tabloid stuff happening, but in the end, you are why you get up on that stage. He also like the fact that I wasn't a Nashville guy, I was an outsider. We got along great. I went on his bus the next week, to kind of get the introduction thing together. He took me to Wichita, Kansas, on the bus, and we went up to Milwaukee and by the end of it we were really close buddies. It's a pretty intimate relationship with somebody, when they tell you their life story. We got along really deeply. He's open, and he's a wonderful, wonderful human being. He has tons of integrity and it was a great story to tell. I was proud to be able to tell it. It took a long time. Writing a book is a lot of discipline. When you start thinking, "I have to write over 50,000 words," you don't realize just how many words that is! You know, you're sitting there, day after day, but it came out great. I think it's his voice. He's reflecting himself off me, so I'm hearing certain elements of him, and I think he'd like that...

- interview with lenny kaye, march '96

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am somewhat a fan of Waylon's music, probably not his biggest fan but I'm a fan of his songwriting. Another review mentioned the colloquial style of writing, it did take some getting used to; especially in the beginning. I had to force myself to continue reading but in his defense, he certainly painted a picture of hardscrabble life in West Texas. He did not get very far in school, he dropped out.

The enjoyable parts of the book compensate for the slow beginning. He talks about life on the road with Buddy Holly and the other participants on that tour. Helpfully, he digs into the backstory of The Crickets and Buddy Holly's battle to shake shady managers and producers. He does it without turning this book into a Buddy Holly sidekick story.

Once Waylon hit Nashville the madness escalated into something out of a Fellini film with a country sensibility. Waylon describes scene after scene of madness, including a cocaine delivery investigation. He did not let that get in his way of producing albums and touring. He continued making friends along the way, he also lost a few friends. He describes many of them in great detail. The friends with whom he ceased friendships, he talked about in more minimal detail.

The Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson stories were interesting.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written as if Waylon was sitting around telling his story while drinking a beer. It’s nothing fancy or overly dramatic it’s just his life through his eyes. I listened to the audio book, and he was the narrator so that made the book seem even more real. He stumbled over words but left it as is. It tells of each marriage and subsequent divorce without feeling like anyone was at fault for a failed marriage. He lived and was a victim of the beginning of the opioid epidemic, never knowing they were addictive until it was too late. Switching from pills to cocaine and the crazy amount he would use from one time to the next. His relationship with Buddy Holly and survivors guilt, had me in literal tears. The only thing I wish this book had more of was the details and inspiration behind his hit songs. Especially as he telling of all the struggles in Nashville as an outlaw country music artist. Waylon will always be one of the best and I loved getting to hear him talk about his relationship with Willie, Johnny (John as he called him) & June. If you’re a fan of Waylon you need to read this book. My only regret is not getting to see him perform live while he was still living.

[Clay Moeller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell into country music pretty hard the past few months. Waylon became a standout artist in the mix. Naturally I was curious to see what I could unearth about him in this autobiography.

It was a long one, and sometimes it meandered in chronology and topics, but man was it a good one.

Childhood to late life it covers it all. The juicy rockstar stories and the tender “what does it all mean” rumination.

If there’s one thing I learned from this, it’s that Waylon was a down to earth, honest to God, good person - or maybe he’s just really good at PR *winks*.

Spoiler: his politics are what would be considered today as “Left”.

Bonus: Tons of songs and musicians and albums are mentioned by name throughout this book, I’ve painstakingly compiled 99% of ‘em in a Spotify playlist that I’ll share here if anyone’s interested. I’ve also heard he narrated the audiobook of this, may be worth a listen if you prefer that medium.

[David Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waylon: An Autobiography by Waylon Jennings and Lenny Kaye (Warner Books Inc. 1996) (782.42164) (4064).

This was a great autobiography. Either Waylon or his ghostwriting partner is a superb storyteller.

I’ve been a fan of Waylon’s since his album Wanted! The Outlaws (1976) came out. I knew that Waylon was a Cricket, but I didn’t know that he and Buddy Holly were good friends in addition to each being Texas small-town homeboys. Waylon’s account focuses in large part on his close and enduring friendships with Johnny Cash, Billy Joe Shaver, George Jones, and Willie Nelson.

Waylon was a serious hardcore long-term “pep pill” addict for much of his life. He had an iron constitution, and he loved amphetamines. He lived to tell an amazing tale.

I purchased a used HB copy in like new condition for $2.00 from my local used book store on 4/1/25.

My rating: 7.25/10, finished 7/10/25 (4064).

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Brendan T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth a read for fans of Waylon or those looking to get a taste of the start of the Outlaw Country genre. Waylon's personality and humor shines through with wandering antidotes, funny stories and biting quips. Waylon gives it all, the poor beginnings, the Buddy Holly years, especially how Buddy's death would haunt him for years, the clean cut Nashville days, the beginnings of Outlaw Country, the non-stop tours, the drug problems, his relationship with Johnny, his love for Jesse and his time with Highwaymen. As I neared the end it became an emotional read because there was a sense of hope/peace and that Waylon had so much more to give, with the troubled days long behind him. It is a shame he could have not hung around a little bit longer, but we will always have his music to speak to us.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a Waylon fan and have not read this, don't put it off any longer. Be ready for the "Hoss" to sit down and tell you his story. He doesn't leave anything out, no matter how controversial it may be. He was both a tough guy who didn't give a rip, while also having a tender heart (even if he did try to hide it sometimes). He was blessed to have a loyal, loving wife and he knew she was the reason he survived what would have killed most people. Expect the raw honesty, the direct tell it like it is, just plain Waylon. Few people would have the nerve to have this conversation with you, but that's just the way ole Waylon was whether recording the outlaw songs or just giving you his story. 5 stars all the way!!

[Kyle Coroneos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive biography and history book on Waylon Jennings told by The Hoss himself that is not just a bulletproof in the portrayal of his life, it's an excellent story of a boy from Texas who becomes a country music legend. This is the real Waylon, not the one that some have made him out to be, a.k.a. the cantankerous "Outlaw" that hated most everything. Honest and forthcoming about his past including warts and all, this autobiography offers invaluable insight into his life, and into the inner workings of country music's "Outlaw" revolution that he very much spearheaded ... even if he hated the name.

This is essential reading and a must own for anyone interested in country music's Outlaw era.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good - gets a bit long in the end, a few too many disconnected anecdotes and memories toward the end, but overall, very good. I particularly loved the stories about playing bass behind Buddy Holly on Holly's last tour, and getting Waylon's feelings on Buddy's death and his own lucky survival. (Waylon gave up his seat on the plane to the Big Bopper, as Bopper was sick.)

Some great stories about trying to find his voice and realizing that the music he wanted to make went against Nashville's standard way-of-doing-things, too. Definitely worth a look if you're a Waylon Jennings fan.

And if you're not a Waylon fan, listen to the album Dreaming My Dreams. You will be. ;)

[Thomas Petri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waylon's mind seems to wander a lot, sort of like mine. Except his wandering was a lot more productive than mine. He talks about best friends who suddenly become, lets say, disappointments. Overall though we do learn about what made Waylon the controversial celebrity he was. And I'm sure the drugs did not help, but who am I to judge? A very good read and tells a lot about the music and the people I love (as entertainers). Even if I had the talent I wouldn't fit in, though I think it would have been fun (not because of the drugs, well not just the drugs.) Anyway, very informative and especially entertaining.

[J L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waylon is a great book. I felt like he was talking to me. More of a conversation. He seemed to own his life and found God in the end. Amazing to think of the things he was connected to and the life he lived. If you like music history and enjoy seeing it through a founding member of the Outlaw country music life. Get it. This is also a book about addiction and overcoming. The highs and lows in life. And how to face it like an American and a man of faith.

Thank you Waylon for opening up - it took guts.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Waylon Jennings and everyday I have a few minutes of a pity party that I never got to see him live . Waylon died at the age of 64 almost 20 years ago (how has it been that long) and after reading this book it’s a wonder he even made it to 64, what a WILD man . I loved the stories he told but I felt like this book was so jumbled up and sometimes I was like “ What in the world are you rambling about Waylon.” But if you are like me and enjoy country music history then I do suggest you read this