Maps of Music

I've Always Been Crazy (1978)

Where the lyrics of I've Always Been Crazy take you, and where it was really made.

Waylon Jennings was arrested for cocaine possession during a studio session, and the publicity pushed his solo singles up the charts.

Key places

Recording at Jack Clement Recording Studio (1978)

Recording site Nashville — The album's recording is credited to Jack Clement Recording Studio in Nashville. The pin marks only the city centre of Nashville, not the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at American Studios in Memphis (1978)

Recording site Ardent Studios — The album's recording is credited to American Studios in Memphis, the same studio where the 1977 arrest took place. The pin marks only the city centre of Memphis, not the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• I've Always Been Crazy is the twenty-fifth studio album by American country artist Waylon Jennings
• Released on RCA Victor in 1978; the Italian edition gives September 1978 as the release month
• Produced by Waylon Jennings and Richie Albright
• Track listing includes the title track, 'Billy' by Tony Joe White, a Buddy Holly medley produced by Duane Eddy, and versions of songs by Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard
• Recording is credited to Jack Clement Recording Studio in Nashville and American Studios in Memphis

Background

• By 1978 Jennings was burned out on the outlaw country movement
• Despite a run of three #1 studio albums, a #1 live album, a #1 duet album with Willie Nelson, and ten Top 10 solo singles, he was irritated by the hype around his music
• He resented how Nashville had absorbed a rebellion that began against Music Row
• His cocaine addiction was the more serious problem; by his own account he used the drug constantly
• On August 23, 1977, DEA officers arrested him at American Studios during a session for a Hank Williams Jr. album that he was co-producing
• He was laying down harmony vocals on 'Storms Never Last' when the arrest happened
• Officers had traced a package sent from manager Neil Reshen's New York office through assistant Mark Rothbaum
• He was charged but never convicted, because of critical faults in the legal process against him
• The case cost him about $100,000 in legal fees, and his cocaine use continued

Recording

• Guitars: Reggie Young, Fred Carter, Rance Wasson, Tony Joe White, Gordon Payne
• Steel guitar and dobro: Ralph Mooney
• Keyboards: Barney Robertson; harmonica: Don Brooks; horns: Maurice Spears
• Bass: Sherman Hayes and Bee Spears; drums: Richie Albright
• Backing vocals: Carter Robertson and Stan Reece
• Engineers Rick Horton and Travis Turk; mastered by Randy Kling

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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

• Nick Toches said at release that the album tolled Waylon's 'farewell to outlawry'
• Thom Jurek of AllMusic wrote that the album is a solid recording that still has the piss and vinegar of Jennings' best work
• Jurek noted a deeper lyrical edge on most tracks

Reappraisal

• Jurek called the album necessary listening for any fan of outlaw country in general and Jennings in particular
• Toches framed the record as a turning point away from the outlaw image

Records

• The five solo singles released after the arrest rushed to the top five, according to author Michael Streissguth
• Streissguth wrote that Jennings' albums sailed just as swiftly after the bust
• The publicity did not hurt sales; the arrest only fueled record sales

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The arrest happened during a session for a Hank Williams Jr. album that Jennings was co-producing.
• Drummer Richie Albright flushed the cocaine down a commode before the officers could find it, and Jennings was still charged.
• Jennings said the legal case cost him about $100,000 in fees.
• Jennings and Michael Streissguth both described the bust as a media feeding frenzy that followed him everywhere.
• The Buddy Holly medley on the album was produced by Duane Eddy.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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