Waylon Jennings had no problem walking out when his patience was tested.
If something turned south, Waylon was often known to just walk away, leaving bystanders and producers stunned in his wake. Frankly, you’ve got to respect the “give-no-shits” attitude of the man…especially when you compare it to today’s country artists.
In 1970, Jennings famously walked out of the CMA Awards after being scheduled to perform his hit, “Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line.” Producers wanted him to cut down his performance, and he didn’t take kindly to the request.
He recalled:
“One year I’d stormed out of the awards and didn’t mind telling anyone who would listen why. It was Kris Kristofferson’s night… he was a shoo-in for several categories. I had been scheduled to perform ‘Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line.’
They said they were strapped for time, and they wanted me to cut the song to one verse and chorus. I said, ‘Why don’t I just dance across the stage and grin? Maybe do one line. That’ll give you a lot of time.’
They told me to not get smart. Either I did it or I got out. They said, ‘We don’t need you.’ I decided that was true, and I left.”
And he also walked out of the massive group recording of “We Are The World” in 1985, but that’s another long story…
But those weren’t the only times that Waylon had enough and decided to bail.
In 1998, Waylon was scheduled to be interviewed by talk show host, Tom Snyder. According to publicists, Waylon only agreed to come on The Late Late Show if he was the only guest.
But the show started with an interview with Dr. Laura – and according to his wife Jessi Colter, Waylon wasn’t happy about it:
“He’s sitting there watching Dr. Laura and Tom talk. ‘In 20 minutes,’ he says, ‘we’re leaving.'”
Honestly, I can’t say I blame Waylon for getting annoyed as he watched the segment with Dr. Laura. I watched part of the segment, and most of it is just them taking calls from viewers asking for personal advice. If you really want to learn about life, talk to Waylon Jennings about the shit he’s been through, not some radio host with a talk show.
But anyway…
Colter recalled Waylon watching the interview backstage, as Waylon just got more and more annoyed:
“Somebody came over and said, “It’s not gonna be very long, just a few minutes.’
So we sat there. At about 35 minutes, he said, ‘call the car.’ And Waylon Jennings walks out on Tom Snyder.”
Don’t mess with Waylon.
This walk-out left host Tom Snyder stunned with over 15 minutes of television time to fill by himself. And when the show went live after Waylon’s exit, Snyder was left tripping over words. He told the live audience:
“Waylon Jennings walked out of here about 5 or 10 minutes ago. He is not here…
I have never had anybody leave before they came on…The guy just got on the elevator and left.”
Willie Nelson recalled the event, and how it became such a legendary moment at the time, and even still today:
“Had it not happened it would’ve just been another television show that Waylon did, but since it did everybody talks about it.”
Waylon Jennings, folks… he didn’t play games.
Ol’ Tom learned that the hard way.
