On songs like “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way”, Waylon Jennings flipped the bird to the Nashville old guard without sacrificing commercial success. Decades later, every self-proclaimed outlaw country artist active today still worships at the altar of Waylon Jennings. In April 1977, the Texas-born artist expanded the subgenre’s lore with “Luckenbach, Texas” (Back to the Basics of Love)”, the lead single from his 24th studio album Ol’ Waylon. On this day (June 25) in 1977, “Luckenbach, Texas” reigned atop the the Hot Country Songs chart for the sixth week straight.
Waylon Jennings Put This Tiny Texas Town on the Map
“Luckenbach, Texas” gave Waylon Jennings his first solo crossover hit, peaking at number 25 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart.
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Beyond that, it lent outlaw-country street cred to the small town just 13 miles from Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country. It was on the verge of slipping into ghost-town obscurity when Jennings released “Luckenbach, Texas”.
These days, thousands of travelers descend on the unincorporated community every year to “get back to the basics” and live like “Waylon and Willie and the boys.” (The final verse of Jennings’ recording even features guest vocals from the Red-Headed Stranger himself.)
“It’s a bit of a fantasy, ‘back to the basics,’” Richie Albright, Jennings’ longtime drummer, told Rolling Stone in 2017. “Everybody has those thoughts at times.”
He Loathed the Song From the Start
At the time of recording his biggest crossover hit, Waylon Jennings had never set foot in Luckenbach, Texas. Neither had the song’s writers, Chips Moman and Bobby Emmons.
In fact, Jennings vehemently hated the song from the first time he heard it. But years in the country music industry had taught him what would sell. He knew “Luckenbach, Texas” was a surefire hit.
He was right. Buoyed by the track’s success, Ol’ Waylon became Jennings’ highest-selling studio album. It also became the first by a solo country artist to go Platinum.
Still, he hated singing “Luckenbach, Texas” until the day he died.
“He said, ‘Just remind me when I’m picking singles from now on that I got to sing that motherf—er every night,’” Albright said.
Featured image by Paul Natkin/Getty Images
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