Even though Waylon Jennings hated one of his biggest hit songs, “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love),” it helped him earn one of the highest-selling albums of his career.
In April of 1977, he released his 24th studio album, ‘Ol Waylon, which was his fourth solo album in a row to reach the top of the country charts.
And on this day 47 years ago, he was topping the country albums chart with the album, which stayed at the top of the charts for 13 weeks to became country music’s first Platinum album by any single solo artist. In terms of his commercial success, Waylon was at a high point in his career thanks to two prior consecutive #1 albums, Dreaming My Dreams (1975) and Are You Ready for the Country (1976).
Of course, ‘Ol Waylon was released at the height of the country outlaw movement, and because of the crossover appeal to a large, diverse rang of fans, it also became Waylon’s highest-charting album on the Billboard 200 chart, where it peaked at #15
In addition to his aforementioned signature song, the tracklist included a cover of the Neil Diamond song “Sweet Caroline,” a version of what would become Kenny Rogers’ first big hit “Lucille” and a medley of the two Arthur Crudup songs previously recorded by Elvis Presley, “That’s All Right” and “My Baby Left Me.”
Though there are some lighthearted moments on the album, a common theme on the record is Waylon’s admission that he sometimes struggled internally with the success he had at this time in his career, which is most evident on songs like “This Is Getting Funny (But There Ain’t Nobody Laughing)” and “I Think I’m Gonna Kill Myself.”
Waylon also picked up a bad cocaine habit around this time, replacing amphetamines he’d been using for years on the road in the 1960s and early 70’s, which likely only amplified a lot of those thoughts and feelings.
And I know he hates it, but featuring some background vocals from his old pal Willie Nelson, “Luckenbach, Texas” has to be one of the best and most recognizable songs from the outlaw movement in country music:
“Sweet Caroline”
“Lucille”
