Whether talking about country music, the country itself, or his personal life, Waylon Jennings was never one to mince his words, including when he talked about a fellow country artist he hated in a 1994 interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer. By this point in Jennings’ career, he was a member of the old guard. He had already helped establish outlaw country—even if this descriptor always gave him pause—with contemporaries and friends like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. Jennings had nothing to prove in the 1990s.
Videos by American Songwriter
Still, he had plenty to say. As a pioneering figure of the 1970s country music sound, Jennings had a unique vantage point while watching other artists come up in his wake. He was complimentary about some new faces in the industry, like Travis Tritt, Suzy Bogguss, and, interestingly, Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor. But Jennings also held no punches when talking about the artists he didn’t like. One fellow country star that Jennings always hated was Garth Brooks.
“I think he’s the luckiest S.O.B. in the world,” Jennings told the Inquirer in 1994. “He’s gotten more out of nothing than anybody I can think of. I’ve always accused him of sounding like Mr. Haney on Green Acres. People may think that’s sour grapes. But I have nothing to be sour about. I had a great run, and I’m still out here doing it.”
Garth Brooks Responded to Being an Artist Waylon Jennings Hated
For a country musician like Garth Brooks, having Waylon Jennings call you an artist that he hated is a pretty devastating blow. Imagine Dolly Parton saying she hated Kacey Musgraves or Willie Nelson saying he hated Tyler Childers. The younger artists have clearly used these older artists as a template for their own musical endeavors, which would make any criticism from the latter all the more heartbreaking. Brooks talked about his reaction to the “feud” between him and a country music legend he never met during a 2014 appearance on Electric Barnyard on Country 92.5 out of Connecticut.
“It’s kind of weird because all the people [that are the reason] why I’m in the business, those people say the reason they were in the business was Waylon,” Brooks said. “So, everyone loves him. He’s a legend. And I just kind of let it go. I never knew what to say. I was definitely the guy that he targeted, and it’s funny kinda being the non-traditionalist then. Now, everyone looks at [me] like, ‘Your stuff is as country as it gets.’ So that’s kind of a weird view.”
“It was tough for me,” Brooks continued, “because he was a country legend, and for some reason, I was the guy that got the brunt of it. I never took it that personal. I just think he was addressing the different sound in country music and the changing of the guard. That’s tough for anybody to handle. The guy’s a legend and deserves nothing but respect.”
Photo by Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.