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Outlaw Country

 
 

Description of Outlaw Country

 
By the 1970s, singers like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson had had it with the narrow range of control that producers were allowing artists to have over their own music. Jennings rebelled by demanding creative control over his recordings, and his label relented. He replaced the cleanly, professional session musicians -- favored by producers -- with his much rawer road band, chose some meaty songs from the likes of Billy Joe Shaver, and coupled a spare, Neo-Cowboy sound with a deep rhythm and his own burly voice. The public ate it up; both classic Honky-Tonk fans and new generations of long-hairs were attracted to Jennings' beefy sound, biker image, and no-nonsense attitude. Likewise, Nelson, who moved to Texas from Nashville in the early '70s, devised his own slow-burning, back-to-basics cowboy style on albums like Red Headed Stranger and Phases and Stages.

The so-called outlaw movement culminated in a 1976 compilation album Wanted! The Outlaws that featured Jennings, Nelson, Tompall Glaser and Jessi Colter, but many of the original "outlaws" continue to tour and record. Alt-Country and Americana radio would be nowhere without the pioneering work of these country upstarts.

 

Filed Under

 
Country  >  Outlaw Country
 

Outlaw Country Key Artists

 
Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe Shaver's brand of
outlaw twang is marked by
his whiskey-soaked voice
and narratives of hard living
and hard luck.

David Allan Coe

Known for his rebel
anthems and a
self-perpetuated outlaw
image, Coe remains one of
country's controversial c...

Gary Stewart

With a voice as smooth as
aged rye, Gary Stewart has
given more dipsomaniac
anthems to the outlaw
country movement than...

Guy Clark

Country folk artist Guy Clark
has been sculpting songs
out of pure pastoral soul
and warm vocals since 1975.
Many cover him. Guy Clar...

Hank Williams, Jr.

The son of Honky Tonk's
diety, Jr.'s segue from
traditional to outlaw
country found him working
with the likes of Kid Rock...

Jessi Colter

Jessi Colter is the mom of
Shooter Jennings and
Waylon's widow. Her
womanly voice is one of the
few to grace outlaw coun...

Johnny Cash

Cash's trademark baritone
growl and disdainful sneer
were the crown and
scepter he bore as the king
of outlaw country music....

Johnny Paycheck

Johnny "Take This Job and
Shove It" Paycheck was an
outlaw country icon with a
gritty baritone voice and a
checkered past. Johnny...

Johnny Rodriguez

Johnny Rodriguez is a
Mexican American country
music luminary who walks
the line between outlaw
country and Texas twang...

Kris Kristofferson

Kristofferson is the Bob
Dylan of country; he
influenced his influences
and crossed over into the
rock and pop music chart...

Shooter Jennings

Shooter Jennings is the sole
son of Jessi Colter and the
late Waylon Jennings. Like
his father, Shooter plays
outlaw country. Shooter...

The Highwaymen

A country music
super-group, The
Highwaymen included
Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash,
Kris Krostofferson, and W...

Waylon Jennings

Jennings made the music
industry understand that
country music's appeal
stretches further than
record executives realize...

Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson is one of the
founding fathers of the
outlaw country music
movement. Willie started off
as a songwriter. He wrote...

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