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Waylon Jennings has recorded more than 60 albums and had 16 No. 1 country hits and he is one of a handful of towering figures behind country music’s current phenomenal success. At a time when country’s audience easily embraces diversity and when platinum albums are getting to be more and more common, Waylon stands as a true forerunner, a pioneer who was among the first to pull north and south, rural and city, college kids and blue collar workers into a unified movement and who was the first, both as a solo artist and on the collaboration Wanted: The Outlaws, to go platinum as a country artist.
Modern country music owes much of its broad-based appeal and rugged individualism to Waylon, a man whose career stretches from the mid-’50s, when he was a protégé of Buddy Holly, through four decades whose music he has helped shape. He has influenced instrumental and vocal styles, shaped attitudes and launched major trends, all by staying true to himself and his vision.
Waylon’s contributions to the country music industry he helped shape continue unabated. The man who has done so much to define the edge and the attitudes that are part of the current parameters of country continues, through his records and performances, to add to his status as one of the true giants of the business. |