Entertainment Weekly
Well turned, sometimes salty...refreshing...candid...poignant....An honest spotlight on a passel of colorful characters....One of the best of country's tell-alls, as warm, peculiar, and individualistic as Jennings's music itself.
Waylon: An Autobiography
by Waylon Jennings, Lenny KayeView All Available Formats & Editions
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.See more details below
Overview
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.
Editorial Reviews
Washington Post
As good a book about American popular music as one is likely to find.Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
As one of the original "outlaw" country music stars, Jennings (b. 1937) has done his best to live up to the image of the hard-living honky-tonker who doesn't take crap from anybody. With the help of writer and rock guitarist Kaye, an older, calmer, drug-free Jennings now relates his life story, from his childhood in a dirt-floored house in West Texas, through his busted marriages and hard-partying days, to his current existence as happily married man (to country star Jessi Colter) and member of the Highwaymen, the country music supergroup made up of Jennings, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. The narration reads as if Jennings is relating stories over a beer. There are wonderfully evocative accounts of playing bass for Buddy Holly on his last tourJennings gave up his seat on the plane that crashed, killing Holly and the Big Bopperand of Jennings and Johnny Cash sharing an apartment in Nashville in the early '60s. There's a little more than most readers need to know about Jennings's money troubles, sex life, personal feuds and various drug habits, and there are a few too many testimonials from younger performers (e.g., Billy Ray Cyrus telling Jennings, "You're like a god to me"). As a raconteur, Jennings is by turns self-deprecating and self-indulgent, but never less than entertaining, and almost always charming. This soulful book should interest most anyone curious about the life of a pop musician, and is likely to be essential reading for country fans. A selected discography of Jennings's recordings is included. Photos not seen by PW. (Sept.)
Library Journal
A country music star tells of his poor childhood and rise to stardom.
Ray Olson
Lately, we are hearing a lot about country music stars from Texas, what with Daniel Cooper's "Lefty Frizzell" , George Jones' "I Lived to Tell It All" , and a forthcoming life of Ernest Tubb. Fans interested in the professional making of music will probably prefer this autobiography of Nashville rebel Jennings to any of those. Waylon and fellow Texan Willie Nelson led the early-1970s revolt against the slick, sweet Nashville sound. They broke country music out of the nostalgic, pseudorural ghetto it inhabited during the 1950s and 1960s and into the free-spending (long-haired, drug-gobbling) rock market. Waylon tells the story of that achievement from the inside, paying plenty of attention to his squabbles with Nashville and his obsession with crafting a song. Before and during that testimony, he tells of his youth and early days in music (including a short stint with Texas rocker Buddy Holly), his years of pill popping (no drinking, though; he never could stand the stuff), and his satisfied life and mind since his marriage to singer Jessi Coulter. Instead of gussying up a text that probably started out on tape, coauthor Kaye wisely casts the whole book as a long oral history. Jennings' voice--grammatical gaffes, personal idioms, and all--"speaks" throughout, and by golly, it's a charming voice.From the Publisher
"As good a book about American popular music as one is likely to find." —Washington Post
"Folksy, funny, spirited. . . . There are plenty of Waylon moments to be enjoyed . . . loving, insightful . . . filled with backcountry humor. . . . Unflinchingly, the book reads true to the man: if you like Waylon, you'll love Waylon." —Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"Well-turned, sometimes salty . . . refreshing . . . candid . . . poignant . . . An honest spotlight on a passel of colorful characters . . . . One of the best of country's tell-alls, as warm, peculiar, and individualistic as Jennings's music itself." —Entertainment Weekly
“What a life! And what a wonderful story of a country boy who despite hardships unimaginable attained success and stardom. A 'must read' for not anyone, but everyone." —Chet Atkins
"Finally, here is the autobiography we've all been waiting for!" —Willie Nelson
"Read Waylon if you love country music. And read it if you admire renegades who throw away the formula and play it the way they hear it in their heads . . . . Eminently readable . . . . Mr. Jennings tells his tales with humor and detail." —Dallas Morning News
"A no-holds-barred, tell-it-all story, overflowing with the honesty, true humor, and down-home charisma of an authentic honky-tonk hero down to the very last page." —Music City News
"Essential reading for country fans." —Publishers Weekly
Product Details
- ISBN-13:
- 9780446562379
- Publisher:
- Grand Central Publishing
- Publication date:
- 06/27/2009
- Sold by:
- Hachette Digital, Inc.
- Format:
- NOOK Book
- Sales rank:
- 79,920
- File size:
- 5 MB
What People are saying about this
Chet Atkins
What a life! And what a wonderful story....A "must read" for everyone.Johnny Cash
Vast, revealing, exciting, and entertaining....You'll love it.From the Publisher
"As good a book about American popular music as one is likely to find." —Washington Post
"Folksy, funny, spirited. . . . There are plenty of Waylon moments to be enjoyed . . . loving, insightful . . . filled with backcountry humor. . . . Unflinchingly, the book reads true to the man: if you like Waylon, you'll love Waylon." —Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"Well-turned, sometimes salty . . . refreshing . . . candid . . . poignant . . . An honest spotlight on a passel of colorful characters . . . . One of the best of country's tell-alls, as warm, peculiar, and individualistic as Jennings's music itself." —Entertainment Weekly
“What a life! And what a wonderful story of a country boy who despite hardships unimaginable attained success and stardom. A 'must read' for not anyone, but everyone." —Chet Atkins
"Finally, here is the autobiography we've all been waiting for!" —Willie Nelson
"Read Waylon if you love country music. And read it if you admire renegades who throw away the formula and play it the way they hear it in their heads . . . . Eminently readable . . . . Mr. Jennings tells his tales with humor and detail." —Dallas Morning News
"A no-holds-barred, tell-it-all story, overflowing with the honesty, true humor, and down-home charisma of an authentic honky-tonk hero down to the very last page." —Music City News
"Essential reading for country fans." —Publishers Weekly
Kris Kristofferson
Truly inspiring...a beautiful story.Willie Nelson
Finally, the autobiography we've all been waiting for!Customer Reviews
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