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The Legacy of Texas Outlaw Waylon Jennings Gains a New Foothold in Current Country

“He is the rock of American popular music business, in my mind," says Jessi Colter.

Twenty years after his death, Jennings’ name is appearing in song lyrics, his voice is present on two previously unreleased tracks about to reach the marketplace, and his rebel ways were one of the most talked-about elements in the recent Netflix documentary The Greatest Night in Pop. Jennings, as that film demonstrated, walked out on Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan and other fellow stars during the epic 1985 recording session for “We Are the World,” when the all-star assemblage got sidetracked by efforts to sing part of the song in Swahili. The rough-cut performance -— with its references to cocaine, rhinestones, anger and alcohol — comes close to capturing Jennings’ spirit during “his wild, wooly days,” says Jessi Colter, his wife and musical partner for more than 30 years.

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