Maps of Music

Ladies Love Outlaws (1972)

Where the lyrics of Ladies Love Outlaws take you, and where it was really made.

This album's title comes from another writer's song, yet it coined the use of the word "Outlaw" for a country music subgenre.

Key places

Recorded at RCA Victor's Nashville studio (1972)

Recording site RCA Studio B — Recording for the album took place at RCA Victor's Nashville studio through 1971–72, with the exception of "Thanks", which was recorded in 1970. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Seventeenth studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings
• Released on RCA Victor in 1972, in September 1972 according to chart notes
• With the previous album Good Hearted Woman, marks Jennings' transition toward the Outlaw Country image and style
• The title coined the use of "Outlaw" for the country subgenre then developing

Background

• Jennings was suffering from hepatitis and was hospitalized
• Frustrated by RCA Records' control and thinking he would have no more hits, he considered retiring
• After a long period of deficient work, he fired his manager Lucky Moeller
• During recovery, drummer Richie Albright persuaded him to try again
• His contract with RCA Records was nearing its end
• Albright introduced him to Neil Reshen, a New York lawyer experienced with bands and contract problems
• Reshen became his manager and encouraged him to grow his hair and beard long to emphasize the outlaw image
• Reshen renegotiated the RCA deal, giving Jennings complete artistic freedom over producing, recording, material selection and album cover art
• This set the stage for the outlaw country movement that dominated the industry through the 1970s, with Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson as figureheads

Recording

• The title came from the song "Ladies Love Outlaws" by singer-songwriter Lee Clayton
• Clayton proposed that Jennings record the track, and Jennings used it for the title of his next RCA release
• Chet Atkins assigned Danny Davis to produce the album, but the collaboration ended after conflict
• Atkins replaced Davis with producer Ronny Light
• Recording took place at RCA Victor's Nashville studio through 1971–72, except "Thanks", recorded in 1970
• Liner notes were written by Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn

Cover

• The cover shows Jennings in an Old West motif, dressed in black with a revolver at his waist, looking at his five-year-old niece Ladonna
• Before this period he kept his hair short, his face clean-shaven and wore suits
• After the album he started wearing faded jeans and cowboy boots

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

• Chet Flippo of Rolling Stone wrote a negative review, calling the album "vague and unfinished"
• Jennings liked the review, called Flippo, and said RCA released the album early without his consent
• Jennings invited Flippo to accompany him on his tour bus

Reappraisal

• Author Dean Tudor called the songs on the album "exciting"
• Tudor wrote that Jennings "finely calculated the art of creating the 'laid back' country sound"
• Tudor described the album's style as a "blurred" boundary between country and rock and roll
• Thom Jurek of AllMusic gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five
• Jurek wrote that Jennings "wrings emotion from songs rather than merely projecting them into a microphone"

Records

• Peaked at number eleven on Billboard's Top Country Albums
• The duet with wife Jessi Colter, "Under Your Spell Again", was released as a single in 1971
• That single reached number 39 on Billboard's hot country singles

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The cover niece Ladonna was five years old at the time of the photograph
• During a conflict with producer Danny Davis, Jennings took a gun into the studio and threatened to "shoot off the fingers" of anyone who played a pickup note
• In his autobiography Jennings said the album was released with scratch vocals he meant to redo, and that he was unhappy the label released it without asking him
• Jennings said Hoyt Axton's "Never Been to Spain" was never planned for release
• Legacy Recordings remastered the album in 2013 and made it available for download

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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