Waylon Jennings

Following Buddy Holly’s death, Waylon Jennings took a break from recording, and spent the early ‘60s working as a DJ in Arizona. Eventually he put a band together and started gigging around town, which led to a residency in the summer of 1964 at JD’s, a two-story club in Scottsdale. During that time he and his band recorded an LP to sell at the shows; this eponymous collection contains an expanded version of that album. These songs are the beginning of Waylon’s '60s career, which would blossom when he moved to Nashville in 1966 and started collaborating with Chet Atkins. However, the recordings here prove that his style was already well established. “Crying” and “Dream Baby” show his formidable vocal range, while “Don’t Think Twice” is an early indication of his powers of interpretation. Despite all his impending studio triumphs, Waylon was at heart a honky-tonk performer, and for those of us who missed the shows at JD’s in 1964, “Money,” “Big Mamou” and “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line” offer a good impression of the band’s smoking-hot energy.