“Fortunately, He Didn’t Listen to Me”: Behind Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings’ Chaotic, Yet Amazing Friendship

Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings are two of the most recognizable voices and figures in the world of country music. They were each convicted and passionate individuals who held their beliefs close. What this would amount to was a heated yet heartfelt familial friendship between the two musicians.

Videos by American Songwriter

Besides being in The Highwaymen supergroup together, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings collaborated a plethora of times. Furthermore, and more importantly, they spent a lot of time together as friends. When Willie Nelson wrote his memoir, Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die, he had quite a few anecdotes about his time with his good old buddy, the late great Waylon Jennings.

From Phoenix to the End: Willie Nelson Fondly Remembers Waylon Jennings

In his book, Willie Nelson remembers the first time he met Jennings in a restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona. At that point in their careers, neither of the two had scored much success. For context, these were the days when Jennings was playing with Buddy Holly and Nelson had just written “Crazy” for Patsy Cline.

The two seemingly bonded over their less-than-flourishing music careers, and Jennings even asked Nelson if he should move to Nashville. Thanks to Nelson’s infamous move from Nashville, he of course told Jennings ‘no’.

“Fortunately, he didn’t listen to me,” Nelson recalled in his book.

Furthermore, Willie Nelson also recalled how quickly they became friends, as he wrote in the memoir that the two “hit it off pretty good right from the start.”

Of course, this first interaction at a random restaurant would lead to years and years of some of the finest country music to ever be made. However, what it also led to was a friendship that resembled family… and a somewhat dysfunctional one at that. As a matter of fact, when describing their friendship, Nelson said that the two “disagreed on almost everything and argued like old married people.” Regardless, they “stayed great friends all the way” according to Nelson.

Everything about Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings’ friendship is seemingly what everyone wishes for. That being said, not only were the two lucky to have each other, but the rest of the world was lucky to have them together. Their friendship produced songs that will probably loved for decades yet to come.

Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images