{"id":956,"date":"2014-09-03T12:49:34","date_gmt":"2014-09-03T17:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?page_id=956"},"modified":"2015-02-19T11:48:15","modified_gmt":"2015-02-19T17:48:15","slug":"outlaw-country","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/the-history\/outlaw-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Outlaw Country"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Brent Borman,\u00a0Mark Anderson <\/em>& Will Glass. 3 September 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em> During the 1950’s and 1960’s, country music\u00a0experienced the\u00a0commercial and artistic success known as the Nashville Sound<\/span>.\u00a0 By the 1970’s, however, it was clear that the Nashville Sound was simply not working for many country artists.\u00a0 It was nearly impossible for new or unfamiliar artists to get any attention, and the artists that did<\/em> get the producers’ attention were not allowed to write their own songs or hire their own band members.\u00a0 A group of disgruntled Nashville musicians, later known as Outlaws, felt the immediate need to change the system.\u00a0 These musicians began a tradition of creative control and musical experimentation that remain the “bedrock musical values” of country music (Flippo 289).<\/p>\n

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The Grand Ole Opry and the Nashville Sound held steadfast to their conservative image throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s.<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the first musicians to demand creative control over his music is Outlaw country artist Waylon Jennings.\u00a0 Jennings had grown weary of the limitations imposed on him by the record labels, especially as he saw rock bands exercising creative control while operating on a large budget.\u00a0 When it came time for him to re-sign with his record label RCA, Jennings demanded the freedom to record whatever songs he wanted, wherever he wanted, and with whomever he wanted.\u00a0 After tense negotiations, Jennings was granted complete creative control over his music in a contract that Chet Flippo deems “precedent-setting” (277). \u00a0Waylon’s subsequent albums expressed the independent, anti-authoritarian sentiments of the time and portrayed him as a dangerous, masculine figure.<\/p>\n

In 1975, up-and-comer Willie Nelson became the subject of a bidding war between Columbia Records and Warner Bros. Records.\u00a0 He ended up signing a contract with Columbia that granted him complete artistic control over his next album, the same freedom that Waylon Jennings had been given by RCA.\u00a0 After three days and $20,000 in studio costs he presented the Red Headed Stranger<\/em>, an album that the Columbia Records producers\u00a0thought sounded sparse and unfinished.\u00a0 While they thought it sounded more like a demo than an album, the contract required them to release and promote the album as Nelson wanted it.\u00a0 Despite Columbia Record’s doubts, Red Headed Stranger<\/em>\u00a0was an album that Flippo says “legitimized and intellectualized country, and immediately made country a mainstream popular phenomenon” (281). Both country fans and the mainstream praised Nelson’s willingness to incorporate blues and folk elements into his music.<\/p>\n

\"Wanted!<\/p>\n

Outlaw country music reached its climax with the release of Wanted! The Outlaws<\/em> (1976), a compilation of songs from none other than Waylon Jennings, his wife Jessi Colter, Willie Nelson, and Outlaw musician Tompall Glaser.\u00a0 In a music industry where sales of 300,000 were considered exceptional, Wanted! The Outlaws<\/em> sold more than one million copies and became the first country music album to be certified platinum.\u00a0 The Outlaw movement was changing as “their creative period ended, and the commercial period began” (Flippo, 288).\u00a0 Waylon Jennings won CMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year Award<\/em> in 1975 and Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger<\/em> became country music’s first triple-platinum record. \u00a0By the end of the 1970’s, it was nearly impossible to miss one of Willie or Waylon’s\u00a0singles on the radio at any given moment.<\/p>\n

Despite becoming commercialized, Outlaw country undoubtedly imparted core values to the country music community.\u00a0 Waylon Jennings inspired country musicians to stand up for their rights and their own way of doing things, and Willie Nelson’s musical experimentation continues to develop and influence the music community.\u00a0 As a result of the Outlaw movement of the 1970’s, country music artists were able to begin exercising independence and freedom over their music.<\/p>\n

Key Figures:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Waylon-Jennings\"Waylon Jennings<\/strong> (1937-2002) is one of the most important figures in the Outlaw Country movement. \u00a0A musician since his early years, Waylon began performing on KVOW radio at age 12 and had a band called The Texas Longhorns<\/em>. \u00a0When he was 21, Buddy Holly became his mentor and helped arrange his first recording session. \u00a0This was a huge breakthrough for Jennings, as Holly then hired Jennings to play bass in his band. Tired of the producer-run music industry in Nashville, Jennings insisted for creative control over his music and was reluctantly granted his wish after considerable fighting with his record label.\u00a0 Jennings released his album Ladies Love Outlaws<\/em> in 1972, which was one of the first real approaches to Outlaw Country and became a massive hit.\u00a0 Jennings was able to fully embrace the Outlaw movement after being given creative control, and made his contribution with his subsequent albums Lonesome, On’ry and Mean<\/em> and Honky Tonk Heroes<\/em>. \u00a0He also collaborated with other artists such as Willie Nelson, Tomball Glaser, and his wife Jessi Colter on the album Wanted! The Outlaws<\/em>, which became one of the main albums known to the Outlaw movement. \u00a0In addition to being a key player in the movement, Jennings conveyed an overall sense of recklessness and freedom, making him a true Outlaw at heart.<\/p>\n

\"Johnny-Cash-Middle-Finger\" <\/strong>While dominating the Nashville side of the \u201cOutlaw\u201d movement,\u00a0Johnny Cash (1932-2003)<\/strong>‘s use of drugs and drinking during the 1960’s and 1970’s developed him into a true Outlaw. \u00a0According to David Allan Coe, there was a difference between being an \u201cOutlaw\u201d, and simply making Outlaw music.\u00a0\u00a0Cash definitely proved to his audiences that he qualified in both of these aspects. \u00a0These problems lead to a fall in the 1970s, but later Cash regained his stability and his music helped change country music for the better. Cash is\u00a0a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and won several Grammy Awards.<\/p>\n

\"Willie_Nelson_1978\"In the early 1970’s, Texas native\u00a0Willie Nelson<\/strong> (b. 1933) was just another struggling Nashville musician whose records weren’t selling.\u00a0 When a fire burned down his Nashville home, Nelson uprooted himself from the conservative music scene and moved to Austin, Texas.\u00a0 Nelson quickly found himself at the center of Austin’s countercultural activity by playing at venues such as the Armadillo World Headquarters, a club where Nelson was able to play a plethora of unique music ranging from hillbilly to blues to rock to soul.\u00a0 Austin’s sound was much more free-spirited and experimental than Nashville’s, and the city began to inspire and shape Nelson’s identity as an artist.\u00a0 His albums Shotgun Willie<\/em> (1973) and Phases and Stages<\/em> (1974) helped resurrect his music career and establish an identity for himself as an artist.\u00a0 His next album the Red Headed Stranger \u00a0<\/em>(1975) was certified multiplatinum and is one of the most essential albums for Outlaw country music.\u00a0 Red Headed Stranger<\/em> is a concept album that tells the story of a man who kills his cheating wife and mournfully roams the countryside in search of redemption.\u00a0 By insisting on doing things his own way, Willie Nelson brought Outlaw music and his career to the national spotlight.<\/p>\n

\"KrisIn 1965\u00a0Kris Kristofferson <\/strong>(b. 1936) moved to Nashville, the origin of the Outlaw country movement and the place where he would eventually find his success.\u00a0 Kristofferson was a gifted vocalist who knew how to play the guitar very well, but struggled to find success in his music and ended up taking a job at Columbia Studios in Nashville sweeping floors. \u00a0After meeting famous artists such as Johnny Cash, he was given his chance and began collaborating with other famous figures in the Nashville Outlaw scene. \u00a0In 1985 he joined the country music \u201csupergroup\u201d called The Highwaymen<\/em>, which included Outlaw superstars Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash. He was a significant contributor to the Outlaw movement due to his reckless, unmistakable attitude. \u00a0In 2004 Kristofferson would go down in history yet again, as he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame with the other legends of the Outlaw genre.<\/p>\n

Recommended Listening:<\/strong><\/p>\n