Today marks the 44th anniversary of one of the most iconic country songs of all time topping the charts for the first time.
Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson teamed up for “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” in 1977 and, even though Waylon originally didn’t like the song, it went on to become one of the genre defining songs every fan knows.
Drummer Richie Albright recalls Waylon talking about it in a later recording session:
“Just remind me when I’m picking singles from now on that I got to sing that motherfucker every night.”
Written by Chips Moman and Bobby Emmons, the song stayed number one on the US Billboard Country Chart for 6 weeks and also peaked at 25 on the US Billboard Pop Chart. Waylon said he believed the song succeeded like it did for a simple reason.
“Every state has a Luckenbach; a place to get away from things.”
The song is a good reminder to not worry about keeping up with the Jones’ and just focus on being happy in your own life, a message that becomes more and more relevant every day…
Years later, at a Waylon Jennings tribute concert, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Eric Church, Sturgill Simpson, Kacey Musgraves, Jamey Johnson, Ryan Bingham and more would perform the song to close out the show.
