RCA Country Legends

Performer: Waylon Jennings
Artist: Willie Nelson; Jessi Colter; Charlie McCoy; The Jordanaires; Randy Scruggs; Jerry Reed
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: Waylon Jennings (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin); Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter (vocals); Gordon Payne (acoustic & electric guitars, background vocals); Bobby Dyson, Jerry Bridges (electric guitar, bass); Jerry Reed, Fred Carter (electric guitar); Charlie McCoy (guitar, harmonica, vibraphone); Rance Wasson (guitar, background vocals); Randy Scruggs, Ray Edenton (guitar); Pete Drake, Ralph Mooney (steel guitar); Martin Katahan (violin); Buddy Spicher (fiddle); Marvin Chantry (viola); Martha McCrory (cello); Don Brooks (harmonica); Jim Gordon (saxophone); Ray Stevens (trumpet, vibraphone); Maurice Spears (trombone); Dee Moeller (piano, organ); Duke Goff (bass); Richie Albright (drums, percussion); The Jordanaires (background vocals). Producers include: Chet Atkins, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Ronny Light, Danny Davis. Compilation producer: Rob Santos. Recorded between March 18, 1965 and January 24, 1985. Includes liner notes by Rich Kienzle. Digitally remastered by Elliott Federman (SAJE Sound, New York, New York). Personnel: Waylon Jennings (vocals, guitar); Willie Nelson (vocals); Gordon Payne, Rance Wasson (guitar, acoustic guitar); Fred Carter, Jr. (guitar, electric guitar); Larry Whitmore (guitar, 12-string guitar); Billy Joor, John Leslie Hug, Joseph Allen, John "Bucky" Wilkin, Jim Colvard, Jerry Gropp, Jerry Reed, Johnny Gimble, Paul Foster, Red Lane, Reggie Young , Fred Newell, Billy Ray Reynolds, Fletcher Watson (guitar); Gary Scruggs (electric guitar, 12-string guitar); Dave Kirby, Wayne Moss, Dale Sellers, Bobby Dyson (electric guitar); Sheldon Kurland, Lennie Haight, Martin Katahn, George Binkley III, Carl Gorodetzky, Brenton Banks, Stephanie Woolf (violin); Mark O'Connor , Bill Graham, Buddy Spicher (fiddle); Marvin Chantry, Gary VanOsdale (viola); David Vanderkooi, Roy Christensen, Byron Bach (cello); Charlie McCoy (harmonica, vibraphone); Don Brooks, Roger Crabtree (harmonica); Jim Gordon (saxophone); Ray Stevens (trumpet, vibraphone); Don Sheffield, Kyle Lehning, Mack Johnson, George Tidwell (trumpet); Maurice Spears (trombone); Barny Robertson (piano, organ, keyboards); Dee Moeller (piano, organ); David Briggs , Bunky Keels, Floyd Cramer, Hargus "Pig" Robbins, Charles Cochran (piano); Andy McMahon (organ); Jim Haber (keyboards); Richard Morris (marimba); Ritchie Albright (drums, percussion); Ralph Gallant, Dan Mustoe, D.J. Fontana, Eddie Anderson , Larrie Londin, Tommy Cogbill, Kenny Malone, Jerry Carrigan, Buddy Harman (drums). Liner Note Author: Rich Kienzle. Recording information: American Studios, Nashville, TN (03/18/1965-01/24/1985); Cartee 3 Studios, Nashville, TN (03/18/1965-01/24/1985); Clement Studios, Nashville, TNWestern Place, Dallas, TX (03/18/1965-01/24/1985); Glaser Studios, Nashville, TN (03/18/1965-01/24/1985); Jack Clement Studios, Nashville, TN (03/18/1965-01/24/1985); Moman Studios, Nashville, TN (03/18/1965-01/24/1985); RCA Studios, Nashville, TN (03/18/1965-01/24/1985); Sound Labs Studios, Hollywood, CA (03/18/1965-01/24/1985). Buddha's 2001 release RCA Country Legends theoretically supplants the peerless 1991 collection Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line since it covers roughly the same time period, also spans two discs, and has many of the same songs. There is a big difference, however: this concentrates more on chart hits, which is part of the reason that it extends further into the '80s than the previous collection. That isn't inherently a bad thing since Waylon Jennings had many chart hits and many were terrific; indeed, this contains such seminal items as "Cedartown, Georgia," "Pretend I Never Happened," "You Can Have Her," "Can't You See," "The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You)," and "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." Still, there are some great songs missing from that idiosyncratic collection, songs that give Jennings depth as an artist: "Nashville Rebel," "Love of the Common People," "Just to Satisfy You," "Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)," "Black Rose," "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean," "Honky Tonk Heroes," "Waymore's Blues," "T for Texas," and "It's Not Supposed to Be That Way." These are missed, but so are the songs not on Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line. Ideally, there would be a collection that covers all the territory -- the hits on RCA Country Legends and the album-oriented outlaw on Only Daddy -- but until that happens, both are effective introductions and essential parts of any country collection (hell, any collection of American music of the 20th century). Until then, choose which direction you'd prefer to follow when seeking an introduction, but be forewarned, it's a lot easier to find RCA Country Legends than the out of print Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine This generous two-disc compilation effectively replaces the deleted ONLY DADDY THAT'LL WALK THE LINE double-disc that was initially packaged as a box set (ah, nostalgia). As such, it carries the listener through the various phases of the late country pioneer's groundbreaking career. We get '60s cuts such as Gordon Lightfoot's "That's What You Get For Lovin' Me" and Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man," which show an early eclectic streak seemingly at odds with Waylon's early, more polite "Nashville" material like "Stop the World (And Let Me Off)." Perhaps most importantly, we get the mid-'70s selections that defined the term "outlaw country." "Dreaming my Dreams," "Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way," and the like are gloriously fiesty examples of a hardcore country singer mixing rock flavoring and attitude with his badass cowboy image, to earth-shaking effect. Jennings's later, mega-successful collaborations with pal/fellow outlaw Willie Nelson (most famously "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys") and the not-half-bad-when-you-think-about it theme from DUKES OF HAZZARD represent his most accessible side, but most of RCA COUNTRY LEGENDS bears out the fact that Waylon was a true country rebel.

Texan country singer Waylon Jennings was always a bit of a rocker. Early on, he played bass with Buddy Holly, and his first solo records included Beatles covers, highly unusual for a country artist at the time. Jennings was one of the key figures of the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, rejecting the lush countrypolitan sound in favor of a raw, electrified approach that owed more to the Rolling Stones than to Billy Sherrill. With a small band and simple arrangements, Jennings introduced contemporary rock-oriented grooves into his hard-hitting country sound, adding some funky grit to common-man poetics on tunes about the tougher side of life. He inspired a subsequent generation of country iconoclasts, and spurred on contemporaries like Willie Nelson and Tompall Glaser.

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