In 1984, though, Waylon Jennings did slow down.  His love of, and dependence on, cocaine was destroying his life.  Anything he ever liked, he liked a lot of.  And his addiction was staggering.  His health was suffering, and the quality of his albums was slipping.  He was missing performances, and his priorities changed.  It was becoming all about making money and having a hell of a good time.  But it wasn't such a good time, anymore.  "I've always believed it's your life,"  he says, "and you can do whatever you want with it.  If, that is, you live in a cave like a hermit.  But when it affects other people's lives, when you destroy their lives along with yours, you have no right to make them suffer.  None."  And once he committed to become free of drugs, he had to do it his way.  "I wasn't ever going to do drugs again, as amazing as that sounded ... when I give my word, I don't break it."

He leased a house in Arizona, in Paradise Valley.  He was alone, except for Jessi, who stayed by his side like a guardian angel.  Anyone who knows Waylon or just admires him knows that the greatest thing that ever happened to him is Jessi Colter.  After one month he was standing on the threshold of the rest of his life.  It was only the beginning, but he was like a butterfly fresh out of the cocoon.

Waylon's career had peaked, and would never reach the commercial levels it did in the 1970's.  But that didn't matter, because his personal life would only get better.  And he went back to making albums that were creative and solid.  He approached his music the way he approached his life: as a new beginning.  And he made another decision, to leave RCA and sign on with a new label.  It was once again a matter of artistic freedom.  He signed with MCA, so he could work with Jimmy Bowen, a producer he liked and trusted.  Bowen gave him a good shot, but  Waylon was still trying to get back on his feet, musically and personally, and he felt lost.   .  "Will The Wolf Survive" and "Hangin' Tough" were solid albums that tried to push Waylon into the new musical generation with digital recording techniques.  His most significant MCA album, howver, was "A Man Called Hoss".  That album was co-written by Roger Murrah, a song writer Waylon admired.  It was a musical autobiography, an audio-biography,  subtitled "The story of my life, before somebody gets it wrong".  He wasn't setting the world on fire,  but he was growing, again.

Waylon survived heart surgery at the end of the 1980's.  He was put on a stricter diet, and gave up smoking cigarettes.  His vices were being taken away one by one, but he was still alive.   And he could still sing, write songs, and play guitar.

He went over to CBS, and recorded for Epic.  The Waylon and Willie album, "Clean Shirt", came out of that, as well as "The Eagle" and "Too Dumb For New York City (Too Ugly For L.A.)".  There was chart success with "Wrong", a song from "The Eagle", in 1990.  But executives at Epic were pretty much putting the Outlaw legend out to pasture.  Waylon was told he was washed up, and maybe he believed it, himself.  He was disillusioned with the pasteurized sound coming out of Nashville, and he could see the writing on the wall.  The record companies were pushing young, sexy performers and pseudo-pop country music.  There was no room in the mainstream for a man who never really fit there, anyway.

Waylon started talking about retiring, but thankfully, the music would not let him go.  He fulfilled a long standing ambition by recording a children's album in 1993, called "Cowboys, Sisters, Rascals and Dirt".  The songs sounded fresh, and so did he.  In 1994 he recorded another album for RCA, produced by Don Was, called "Waymore's Blues (Part II)".  After being in the business for some thirty-five years, that album turned out to be one of his best.  The prior year, RCA released a forty song box set titled "Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line: The RCA Years", which Waylon was very proud of.
 
 

 
Health battles have become a fact of life for Waylon in recent years.  He was ill throughout production of "Right For The Time", his 1996 album for Justice Records.  And he overcame a slight stroke to record "Closing In On The Fire", his latest solo album, for Ark21.  Burned out on touring for over thirty years, he pulled off the road in 1998.  Not time to retire: just time to rest.  The man who has been called a living legend has earned the right to remain a living legend.

Though he's slowed down, and decades of picking his Telecaster have brought on painful carpal tunnel syndrome, Waylon is still writing songs and recording.  In 1998 he recorded a two-CD album with his pals Bobby Bare, Mel Tillis, and Jerry Reed called "Old Dogs".  And he appeared with Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson in the television film, "Outlaw Justice".  In 1999 and 2000 Waylon has been on a reunion tour with several members of his original Waylors.  The expanded group is called the Waymore Blues Band.  And on two days in January of 2000 the band will record songs for a  new live album.
 
 

The Old Dogs
with songwriter
Shel Silverstein

Throughout his career, Waylon has met and worked with some of the best country music and rock artists around.  He recorded albums with Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, and made three "Highwayman" albums with his lifelong friends, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson.  The legendary foursome even teamed for a TV movie remake of the classic John Wayne film, "Stagecoach".
 
 

The Highwaymen
Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon

All in all, the best contract Waylon ever signed was when he married Jessi.  Married in Las Vegas on October 26, 1969, Waylon and Jessi renewed their vows twenty-five years later.  This time they did it right, surrounded by their children and presided over by their friend, Reverend Will Campbell.
 
 

"What the Lord has joined together,
man would do well not to piddle with."
- Rev. Will Campbell
 
 

Waylon is heading into the 21st century in style, and keeping in touch with his fans, through his own site on the World Wide Web.   The jewel in the crown of 2000 is his remarkable live album, "Never Say Die: Live".    On this album he shares billing with his top notch band, the Waymore Blues Band.
 
 

On a personal note, when Waylon was considering retiring in the mid - 1990's, I took it upon myself to write a fan letter to old Hoss.  I don't do that kind of thing, because I don't like being just another face in the crowd to anybody.  But I've been listening to Waylon's music since I was fourteen years old, and I'm a strong admirer of his.  I always thought there was something special in the man behind those songs, and he's proven me right more often than not.  For that, he's a hero to me.  I admire his strength, his independence, his integrity, and his good sense to marry a very fine woman (and be good to her).  I've always been a pretty simple person, but I know what I like, and what I don't.  I like Waylon Jennings music, and I bet I'd like the man.  Here's an autographed photo I received after I wrote that letter:
 
 

 

                          Thanks, Waylon.
                Hal Wright
            duke66

  A drawing I did of Waylon.

To see more of my drawings, go to my Art Gallery.

Waylon Jennings Links

Waylon Jennings Official Web Site
 

Waylon's Page at Ark21
 

Mike's Waylon World
(Mike Sheets ... Waylon's Biggest Fan?)

Don G's Waylon Page

Rolling Stone Network - Waylon Jennings

Artists Links

Waylon On SonicNet
 

Buy Waylon's Albums Online
 

Matt W's Billy Joe Shaver Web Site

Willie Nelson's Official Web Page

Johnny Cash's Official Web Page

 

Back to - Waylon Jennings Tribute - Page One

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Reference Sources for this biography:

Waylon: An Autobiography , by Waylon Jennings and Lenny Kaye.
                                                      Warner Books, Inc., 1996

Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line:  The RCA Years , Liner Notes,
                                                      RCA Records, 1993.

Country Music magazine, March/April 1994 issue.

Country Style magazine, June 1976 issue.

Mike Sheets Waylon Web Site ,  http://members.tripod.com/~sheetsm/