'He
was not the Nashville type'
Whiteface
– Out here west of Levelland, a half-hour outside Lubbock where the
red clay silt is the color of tomato bisque and black iron pump jacks
squat in the cotton fields like giant mosquitoes, the living is close
to the bone, the rows a mile long, the highway straight as a string,
with no shoulders.
Phil 'Bo' Jennings, tired from a day of picking up and delivering tank truck loads of “hot” oil from producing wells that have built up a load of paraffin, looks back on his brother's career and talks about the Waylon Jennings Birthday Bash scheduled for an old cotton gin Friday and Saturday, June 15 and 16.(click here for an audio interview with Waylon Jennings' brother)
“Waylon
didn't care about the money,” he remembers. “He was in it for the
music.” There were times when the Outlaw Waylon Jennings played for
a cheeseburger and enough gas to get to the next gig.
“They
tried to break him...He went bankrupt three times,” he added.
Booking agents would schedule a performance in Phoenix and another in
Chicago the next night. “They were trying to run him broke.”
Then
there was the legendary partnership with Willie Nelson, with whom he
often shared the bill.
“How
do you know that Waylon's gonna show up?” Bo Jennings shakes his
head and laughs. “Because Willie would tell them, I've got his
money.” More laughter. But it's true. They chased each other from
stage to stage, state to state, gig to gig, and the outlaw bidness
was in the forefront every step of the way.
What
was it all about? “He was just like Hank. Hank wasn't in it for the
money, either. It was all about the music. Now, they liked money...”
The living room explodes in more laughter.
Yeah,
this guy was on the bus, all right. And Waylon Jennings' nephew
Justin has the towns of Littlefield and Whiteface seated and ready to
ride, too.
Talk
to Belinda Terrell, Whiteface's City Secretary, and Joey Alvarez of
the Water and Sewer Department.
“They
keep calling and wanting to know if they can park their RV. I tell
them come on down, I've 6 lots back there you can park on. Just fire
up your generator and have at it.”
West
Texas – friendly – you know it.
Hank,
Jr., called earlier in the day. “He said he found out there's an
airport out there and he just might show up, too.”
Then
there are the rumors that Willie will show up.
“Our
promoter (Justin Jennings) got scared and said no, we can't handle
the crowds Willie would bring in.”
She
laughs again, and says that Justin Jennings just called in from his
hot oil hauling rig, had her take a look at The Ranch Radio on-air
personality Charla Corn's Facebook performance of her tunes.
“I
told him, yeah, she's good, all right, and he said, 'Okay, then, I'm
gonna book her.'”
Bands
include Shooter Jennings, Whiskey Myers, Jackson Taylor and Sinners,
Wiliam Clark Green, The Rowdy Johnson Band, Jimmy Miles, Sergio and
the Outta Luck Band, and Tommy Jennings.
Tickets
are $20 a person online or $25.00 at the gate. Bring you coolers –
10 years and under, free. Bring your lawn chairs.
Bike
fun run at 8:30 on Saturdy, June 16, and brisket cook-off, car and
bike show, gun raffles, all to benefit the Diabetes Foundation.
www.Waylonbash.com
806-287-1111
Outlaw You - Shooter
I saw Waylon at the outlaw concert down on the steiner ranch..because I had made friends with Willies 1/2 brother Doyle I was allowed to watch it from on stage..5 feet from who ever was singing..watched nearly the entire show but made a point not to miss waylon and willie..actually made it to the bus..one of my favorite days.
ReplyDeleteKeep on sluggin', Yellowdog Granny. It's real good to hear from you. 100 percent Good! - The Legendary
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