On This Day in 1977, Waylon Jennings Was at No. 1 With an Album That Proved He Could Turn Pop Hits Into Country Gold

On this day (June 9) in 1977, Waylon Jennings was at No. 1 with Ol’ Waylon, his third chart-topping album of the year. It spent 13 weeks at the top of the tally and earned a Platinum certification from the RIAA. Additionally, it highlighted Jennings’ range with covers of hits from Neil Diamond and Kenny Rogers. It also introduced the world to an outlaw country classic that he hated from the first time he heard it.

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Ol’ Waylon spent more time at No. 1 than any of Jennings’ other solo studio albums. The only album that performed better on the chart was his 1979 compilation Greatest Hits, which spent 16 nonconsecutive weeks at the top.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1976, Waylon Jennings Started a 10-Week Run at No. 1 With an Album Full of Classic Rock Covers]

Much of the album’s success can be attributed to the success of its sole single, “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love).” It spent six consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart between May and June 1977. Today, the song remains one of Jennings’ most popular recordings. Moreover, it is one of the best-known songs to come out of the outlaw country movement. However, Jennings wasn’t among those who loved the song. It was his least favorite single.

Waylon Jennings Steps Outside the Box

Waylon Jennings gave the world an outlaw country anthem with “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love).” However, the cover songs he included on the album exhibited his outlaw spirit more than the ode to a tiny town in Texas ever could.

In his autobiography, Jennings defined “outlaw.” To paraphrase, an “outlaw” artist stuck to their principles and created the art they wanted to create. This came out in his Honky Tonk Heroes album, on which he cut songs from then-unknown songwriter Billy Joe Shaver while backed by his road band, despite the label’s protestations. At the same time, Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger, with its stripped-down, acoustic arrangements, sounds completely different, but is no less “outlaw.”

Jennings stepped outside the country music box and covered Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” He also took on the Kenny Rogers hit “Lucille,” penned by Hal Bynum and Roger Bowling. Diamond’s original was a soft rock smash. Rogers’ rendition of “Lucille” leaned hard into pop production styles. With his covers, Jennings proved that he could take nearly any song and bend it to fit his style.

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