On This Day in 2021, We Lost the Legendary Outlaw Country Pioneer and Longtime Sidekick to Waylon Jennings

On this day (February 9) in 2021, Richie Albright, Waylon Jennings’ longtime friend and drummer, died at the age of 81. He was an original member of Jennings’ band, the Waylors, and sat behind the kit during concerts and studio sessions for the outlaw country legend’s entire career.

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Calling Albright Jennings’ drummer is an incredible understatement. He helped Jennings make important decisions and helped build the sound for which he was known. His four-on-the-floor beat was the backbone of that sound and the perfect accompaniment to Jennings’ rock-infused guitar style.

“I’d turn around and look at Richie, and we’d be going off on this tangent, jamming, letting the song carry us along,” Jennings wrote of Albright in his 1996 autobiography. “A smile of satisfaction would spread across our faces. Just knew we musically fit.”

How Richie Albright Joined Waylon Jennings’ Band

Richie Albright was featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Nashville Cats series. During a long-form interview, he revealed how he came to be Waylon Jennings’ drummer and right-hand man.

“I don’t know whether the official thing ever came around,” Albright said jokingly when asked how Jennings made him an official member of the band. “Waylon was so spontaneous. We didn’t rehearse…we just did it. He never named songs. You just wait for that guitar to take off. Then, you jump in there and hang on,” he explained.

“I was delivering beer and working six nights a week up in Prescott, and he called and offered me the job. It wasn’t much money. It was a lot less than I was making, but I said, ‘Well, this guy’s pretty good. I guess I’d better go.’ That was a good decision,” he said.

“About four or five months in, we were doing ‘Mona,’ a Rolling Stones tune, just ripping it up. It was tight, and we were just going. All of a sudden, we both just went into a riff that was exactly together,” Albright recalled. “We looked at one another and went ‘Yeah!’,” he said when asked if their musical chemistry was instant.

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