Maps of Music

Music Man (1980)

Where the lyrics of Music Man take you, and where it was really made.

The album's biggest hit is a TV theme in which the opening shot shows Jennings only from the neck down, playing guitar.

Key places

Recorded at American Studios, Memphis (1980)

Recording site Ardent Studios — The album is listed as recorded at American Studios in Memphis. The dot marks the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Music Man: 27th studio album by Waylon Jennings
• Released in 1980 on RCA Victor
• Another #1 album for Jennings, his fifth since 1976
• Mood lighter than his previous release, the ballad-heavy What Goes Around Comes Around
• Jennings relied heavily on covers for this album

Background

• Jennings was narrator for the 1975 movie Moonrunners
• He was then tapped for the same role on The Dukes of Hazzard, which premiered on CBS in 1979 and was based on Moonrunners
• The album came out during the new decade that began in 1980
• Covers include songs by J.J. Cale, Kenny Rogers and Jimmy Buffett, and Steely Dan's Do It Again
• Kenny Rogers's 1979 album Kenny had kept Waylon's previous album out of the #1 spot

Recording

• Produced by the singer and Waylon's drummer Richie Albright
• Jerry Reed, Johnny Rodriguez, and Randy Scruggs play on the album
• Mastered at Randy's Roost, per the Discogs release page
• Recording location listed as American Studios in Memphis, given here only at city level

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

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

• The AllMusic review gave a mixed view: not a bad record, but it shows Waylon relying too much on polish, with his ear for material slightly off
• AllMusic added that the album doesn't quite add up to the sound of its parts

Reappraisal

• AllMusic, looking back, heard Waylon on unsteady ground around this time
• AllMusic judged the parts of the album seemed to point toward his commercial and artistic collapse a few years later
• AllMusic still called Music Man a pretty entertaining latter-day Waylon album

Records

• Album reached #1 for Jennings, his fifth since 1976
• Singles Clyde and Storms Never Last reached #7 and #17
• The Dukes of Hazzard theme, from this album, became Jennings' tenth solo #1 hit
• The theme was certified double-platinum by the RIAA, with over 2 million in sales

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Dukes of Hazzard theme exists in two versions: the TV version has a banjo and a bridge, and the commercial version does not
• Jennings wrote the theme song for the show
• The theme's lyric makes a joke about Jennings appearing on TV only from below the neck
• Jennings's song It's Alright pays tribute to J.J. Cale and George Jones
• Jessi Colter's Storms Never Last was recorded for the LP and later reprised on the duet album Leather and Lace

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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