Waylon may have picked up a thing or two from his mentor, Buddy Holly (who played a Strat, not a Tele, but they were both Fenders).
Trivia question: How many Waylon LP covers feature him with a cig in his mouth? bonus: how many feature him lighting a cig?
Only thing I know of that is better than owning Waylon Jennings records, is owning lots and lots of Waylon Jennings records. One of the best pickers I ever heard then or now. And still blows me away every time I cue one up!
There's a Fender Waylon Jennings Telecaster signature model which looks like the one he's playing in the 1967 video clip.
I read in the Johnny Cash autobiography that Waylon played lead guitar on some of his live shows when Carl Perkins could not join him. I believe Carl played lead guitar quite a bit for Cash after Luther Perkins dies.
Apparently, I heard that when Waylon was briefly in Buddy Holly's band playing bass, he knew very little about playing guitar or bass. They had to show him on the fretboard where to press for the notes. He must have learned a lot from that period forward.
Incredible. For me that was not born or grew up in the US I have always felt an immense respect for American musicians of the decades of the 50's and 60's. I must confess I did not know this musician. Review the topic because I really like the "Tele Sound" and I've been pleasantly surprised. Thanks for share this!
That's pretty much a myth. Waylon started to play guitar at 8 or 9 and he was recording by the time he was 16 or so. Holly was a perfectionist. There's no way he would he would allow a beginner like that.
I heard that from Waylon himself in a Buddy Holly documentary. Why would he say that if it wasn't true.
In all honesty? A little ... but not enough. I've heard some of him on a compilation Cd called "Country Pickin ': The Don Rich Anthology"
Sure! All that came out of Memphis in the 50's was good. His style of pickin 'was amazing ... it is difficult to achieve these skills without talent. It's one of my favorites as the great Scotty Moore (my favorite ...) Great perfomance.
The difference is of course that Scotty Moore was a Gibson guy and Luther Perkins ... a boy with a Tele. Different sounds and vibes
play in this way is a difficult skill to acquire, you need talent. Even today there are musicians who do not reach this "state of the art."
Don Rich and Luther Perkins were the guys who really defined country music for me. Most of the great tele players today have a lot of homage to pay to these guys. They set the standards that you pretty much hear in today's country music.
Albert Lee too! The first time I saw Waylon I was stunned by what an awesome (do not use that word much) picker he was. From then on I payed close attention and on a good night he was stunning.