“Waylon Jennings was a trailblazing singer, songwriter, and legendary “”Outlaw”” of country music. His career began in Lubbock, where he worked in radio, picked up the guitar, and met his mentor, Buddy Holly.
Jennings played with Buddy Holly on the ill-fated Winter Dance Party, giving up his seat on the chartered plane flight to the Big Bopper shortly before take-off. Haunted by the death of his mentor, Holly, Jennings settled in Arizona and eventually started performing again.
Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson earned the reputation of “”outlaws”” by challenging the “Nashville sound.” Their album Wanted! The Outlaws with Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser became the first country music album to go platinum and won CMA’s Album of the Year. Jennings’ next album Ol’ Waylon had the hit song “”Luckenbach, Texas.”” Jennings also narrated the television series Dukes of Hazard. Towards the end of his career, he joined the revolutionary Highwaymen supergroup with Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson. In 2001, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In the late 1970s, Jennings wanted to recognize his late friend Buddy Holly. With help from Larry Corbin and Jerry Coleman, the tribute to Holly culminated in the West Texas Walk of Fame.
Waylon Jennings was the second inductee into the West Texas Walk of Fame in 1980. “
