Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Tagged: Waylon Jennings

1970s, Country

Good Hearted Woman

Co-written and first recorded by Willie Nelson (1972).
Hit versions by Waylon Jennings (C&W #3 1973), Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson (US #25/MOR #16/C&W #1 1976).
Also recorded by Tina Turner (recorded 1974, released 1979).

From the wiki: “Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson wrote ‘Good Hearted Woman’ in a room at the Fort Worther Motel in Forth Worth, TX, in 1969, inspired by an ad for an Ike & Tina Turner show saying: ‘Tina Turner singing songs about good-hearted women loving good-timing men.’ Jennings started writing the song and asked Nelson to help him finish it during a late-night poker game. By all accounts, Nelson’s contribution was minimal, with his third wife Connie recalling, ‘The only part Willie came up with was ‘Through teardrops and laughter they walk through this world hand in hand.’ Waylon said, ‘That’s it! That’s what’s missing’ and gave Willie half the song.’

“‘Good Hearted Woman’ was first recorded by Willie Nelson in 1972 for his album The Words Don’t Fit the Picture. Later the same year, Jennings recorded the song as the title track of his album Good Hearted Woman. Released as a single in 1973, Jenning’s recording peaked at #3 on Billboard magazine’s Hot Country Singles chart.

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1970s, Country

Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys

Co-written and first recorded by Ed Bruce (C&W #15 1975).
Other hit version by Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson (US #42/C&W #1/CAN #1 1978).

From the wiki: “‘Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys’ was first recorded in 1975 by Ed Bruce, written by him and his wife, Patsy Bruce. Bruce’s rendition of the song peaked at #15 on the Hot Country Singles charts in 1975.

“Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson covered the song on their 1978 duet album Waylon & Willie. Unbeknownst to Bruce, Jennings had recorded it himself in 1977. Unfortunately, Waylon was unhappy with his recording. So he brought it to a session with Nelson, who added vocals to the existing recording. Jennings recalls, ‘Me and Willie were talking about recording again, and I said, ‘Willie, I cut this thing, but I ain’t sure about it.’ I said, ‘It don’t sound right, but it might be a great duet.’ {Even though my] whole record was finished, I just took [out] part of my voice and put his on.’

“The Jennings/Nelson cover recording peaked at #1 on the Hot Country Singles chart in March 1978, spending four weeks topping the chart while also crossing-over to the Billboard Hot 100. In 1979, the song won the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Members of the Western Writers of America have also chosen ‘Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys’ as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.”

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1920s, Country

Jolé Blon

First recorded (as “Ma blonde est partie”) by Amede, Ophy & Cleoma Breaux (1929).
Hit version by Red Foley (C&W #1 1947).
Also recorded by Waylon Jennings (1958), Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (1980), Gary “U.S.” Bonds (1981).

From the wiki: “‘Jolé Blon’ is a traditional Cajun waltz, often called ‘the Cajun national anthem’ because of the popularity it had in Cajun culture’; is considered to be the very first Cajun recording. The song was then later popularized on a nationwide scale by a series of renditions and references in late 1940s country songs. There is some mystery to the song’s origin: According to Cleoma Breaux’s daughter, while Amede Breaux is credited with writing the song, it was his sister, Cleoma, who actually wrote the lyrics and Amede sang the song. Dennis McGee claims the original song was written by Angelas Lejeune as ‘La Fille De La Veuve (The Widows Daughter)’ during WWI and Cleoma simply rewrote the lyrics, allegedly about Amede’s first wife.

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1950s, Rock 'n Roll

It’s So Easy!

First recorded by The Crickets (1958).
Also recorded by Bobby Vee (1963), The Trashmen (1963), Waylon Jennings (1969).
Hit version by Linda Ronstadt (US #5/UK #11/CAN #9 1977).

From the wiki: “‘It’s So Easy!'” was written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty, and first released as a single by Holly under the moniker of his band, The Crickets. The single did not chart.

“Bobby Vee, The Trashmen (‘Surfin’ Bird’), and Waylon Jennings were among the several performers who recorded cover versions of ‘It’s So Easy!’ in the decade after its original release, before Linda Ronstadt’s Peter Asher-produced Top-5 single was released in 1977 to promote Ronstadt’s Simple Dreams album.”

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1980s, Country

Leather and Lace

Written and first recorded (as a demo) by Stevie Nicks with Don Henley (ca. 1980).
Hit version by Stevie Nicks & Don Henley (US #6/MOR #10/CAN #12 1981).

From Songfacts, Stevie Nicks recalls:

‘I wrote this song because Waylon Jennings called me up and asked me to write a song called ‘Leather and Lace.’ It was to be a duet for him and his then-wife (Jessi Colter), and I worked very hard trying to explain what it was like to be in love with someone in the same business, and how to approach dealing with each other. It’s probably the hardest thing in the world to do because it falls out of your hands and into the hands of the world, which tends to want you to not be able to handle it.

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1960s, Pop

Love of the Common People

First released by The Four Preps (1967).
Also recorded by The Everly Brothers (1967), Waylon Jennings (1967), John Denver (1969), John Hurley, co-writer (1970), Stiff Little Fingers (1982).
Hit versions by The Winstons (US #54 1969), Nicky Thomas (UK #9 1970), Paul Young (US #45/UK #2/IRE #1/NETH #1 1983).

From the wiki: “‘Love of the Common People’ is a Folk ballad composed by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins (‘Son of a Preacher Man’, 1968), eventually released by the songwriter himself in 1970 on Hurley’s album John Hurley Sings about People. But, the first recorded and distributed arrangement was released in January 1967 as a promotional single by The Four Preps, in a session arranged and conducted by Leon Russell, with no apparent chart impact.

“The song was quickly covered by both the Everly Brothers and country singer Waylon Jennings in 1967, followed by covers by the soul group The Winstons (1969), John Denver (on his 1969 Rhymes & Reason album), reggae artist Nicky Thomas (1970), punk rockers Stiff Little Fingers in 1982, and English pop singer Paul Young in 1982 (re-released in 1983).

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