Maps of Music

It's Only Rock & Roll (1983)

Where the lyrics of It's Only Rock & Roll take you, and where it was really made.

Waylon Jennings himself later called the records he made in this period bad, saying he missed shows because of laryngitis and did not pick up the guitar unless he was paid.

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Album story

Overview

• It's Only Rock & Roll: 29th studio album by Waylon Jennings
• Released in 1983 on RCA Victor
• Track listing: nine songs plus an eight-song medley, 17 entries in all
• Title track written by Rodney Crowell
• "Lucille (You Won't Do Your Daddy's Will)" credited to Albert Collins and Richard Penniman
• "Good Hearted Woman" credited to Jennings and Willie Nelson
• Closing medley includes "Clyde" by J. J. Cale and "Ladies Love Outlaws" by Lee Clayton

Background

• Recorded during a period when Jennings' condition was poor
• Later he judged his own work from this time harshly

Recording

• Jennings said he was making bad records at the time
• He said he missed shows because of laryngitis
• He said he did not pick up the guitar unless he was getting paid
• He said he did not care about the work at that point

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born June 15, 1937 in Littlefield, Texas; American country singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and author.
• Considered one of the pioneers of the outlaw movement in country music.
• Played in the Texas Longhorns as a teen; worked as a DJ at KLLL in Lubbock.
• Played bass for Buddy Holly on the Winter Dance Party tour; gave up his seat on the plane that crashed in 1959.
• Led the Waylors at JD's club in Phoenix, Arizona, developing a rock-influenced country style.
• Signed with RCA Victor in 1965; gained creative control in the early 1970s with Lonesome, On'ry and Mean and Honky Tonk Heroes.
• Had a number-one hit with "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" from Dreaming My Dreams.
• Recorded Wanted! The Outlaws with Willie Nelson, Tompall Glaser, and Jessi Colter, the first platinum country album.
• Narrated and sang the theme for The Dukes of Hazzard, "Good Ol' Boys", which became his biggest hit.
• Joined Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash in the Highwaymen.
• Overcame cocaine addiction in 1984.
• Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001; died February 13, 2002 in Chandler, Arizona.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Crispin Sartwell of Record dismissed the closing medley, saying its material had been done far better on other albums
• Sartwell said every other track on the album is old-fashioned, kick-butt country and rock
• Sartwell especially praised Jennings' version of "Lucille" for its simplicity and straightforwardness

Reappraisal

• Jim Worbois of AllMusic wrote a brief retrospective review
• Worbois said Jennings seemed to have done the medley to himself, in a time when many labels raided their vaults for medley records
• Worbois said there are a couple of nice songs but it is not one of Jennings' best

Records

• Peaked at number 10 on the Billboard country albums chart
• Jennings' worst chart showing since Honky Tonk Heroes in 1973

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Jennings later described this period's records as bad, citing missed shows from laryngitis and a lack of interest in playing guitar without pay
• The album's closing medley joins eight songs, including J. J. Cale's "Clyde" and a co-written track with Willie Nelson
• The title track is credited to Rodney Crowell, one of several outside writers on the album
• Jennings' 1983 chart peak was his lowest since 1973, placing the album at number 10 on the country chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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