Honky Tonk Heroes

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For the album by Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty, see
Honky Tonk Heroes (Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty album)
.
Honky Tonk Heroes
RCA Victor
Producer
  • Waylon Jennings (all tracks except 4 & 9)
  • Tompall Glaser (tracks 1-3, 5, 7, 8)
  • Ronny Light (tracks 4 & 9)
  • Ken Mansfield (track 10)
Waylon Jennings chronology
Lonesome, On'ry and Mean
(1973) 		Honky Tonk Heroes
(1973) 		This Time
(1974)
Singles from Honky Tonk Heroes
  1. "We Had It All"
    Released: May 26, 1973
  2. "You Ask Me To"
    Released: October 4, 1973

Honky Tonk Heroes is a

Nashville and added elements of rock and roll
to it.

Jennings had in passing invited the then unknown

The Waylors
.

The executives of RCA Records were reluctant to release the album, and delayed it until June 1973. Honky Tonk Heroes had a good reception by the critics on release. It reached number 14 in Billboard's Top Country albums chart. The singles "You Asked Me To" and "We Had It All" did well, reaching number 8 and 28, respectively. The album was later listed in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die in 2005.

Background

Waylon Jennings and his manager Neil Reshen had renegotiated the singer's contract with RCA Records in 1972, which gave him creative control over his work. By 1973, Atlantic Records was attempting to sign Jennings who, with fellow country singer Willie Nelson, had become dissatisfied with RCA because of the company's conservative influence upon their music. Nelson, who had signed with Atlantic, was becoming more popular, and this persuaded RCA to renegotiate with Jennings before it lost another potential success.[1]

Jennings' creative input in the recording process had increased on the releases of

The Waylors and his own choice of material.[3]

Recording and composition

"Willy The Wandering Gypsy and Me"
During the 1972
Dripping Springs Reunion
 concert, Billy Joe Shaver impressed Jennings with the song.
"Honky Tonk Heroes"
The song that entitled the album, was written by Shaver.
Problems playing these files? See media help.

Jennings met

Dripping Springs Reunion in Dripping Springs, Texas. As Shaver took part on a guitar pull with other songwriters, he interpreted his original "Willy the Wondering Gypsy and Me". Jennings, who was resting at the back of the trailer, heard Shaver and asked him if he had written "any more of them 'ol cowboy songs". Impressed by Shaver's originals, Jennings offered him to record an entire album of his songs. Shaver then travelled to Nashville, Tennessee, where he tried to unsuccessfully locate Jennings, who avoided him for six months. With the help of local D.J. Roger "Captain Midnight" Schutt, Shaver found Jennings at a RCA recording session with producer Chet Atkins. He tried to confront the singer, who offered Shaver $100. Shaver refused the money and told Jennings that he was willing to fight him if he would not listen to his songs.[4]

Jennings offered to record "Willy the Wandering Gypsy and Me" and told Shaver to sing another song – if Jennings liked it he would record it and Shaver could sing another; but if he did not like it, Shaver would have to leave. Shaver sang "Ain't No God in Mexico", followed by "Honky Tonk Heroes" and "Old Five and Dimers and Me".[5] Jennings was impressed, and he decided to record an entire album of Shaver's songs.[6][7]

Jennings pictured in 1973

Atkins was reluctant to record the material of an unknown writer, but since he had creative control, Jennings decided to record the album.

Richie Albright, later recalled: "We were doing the album and Billy Joe was around, and we began 'Honky Tonk Heroes,' so we cut the first part of the song and we stopped, and Waylon said, 'This is the way we're going to do it.' And Billy Joe had been sitting in the back and he come walking up, saying, 'What are you doing? You're fucking up my song. That ain't the way it goes.' Pretty soon Waylon and Billy Joe are just hollering at one another. Billy Joe didn't understand the way we were putting it together...then we put it together and he said, 'Yeah. That's good. That's the way it goes."[10]

Jennings and Shaver co-wrote the song "You Asked Me To" at

Jimmie Rodgers' "T for Texas," and Shel Silverstein's "The Leaving Coming On".[12]

Release and critical reception

Initially, the executives of RCA Records, and Chet Atkins, tried to avoid releasing the album.

You Asked Me To" peaked at number eight.[15] Honky Tonk Heroes was released in July 1973 to good critical reception.[16] [17] It reached number 14 in Billboard's Top Country Albums,[18] while it peaked at number 185 in the Billboard 200.[19]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Music JournalFavorable.
Stereo Review
Negative.[21]
Chicago TribuneFavorable.[22]
Austin American-StatesmanFavorable.[23]
El Paso TimesFavorable.[24]
The Kansas City StarFavorable.[25]

Stereo Review wrote: "Billy Joe Shaver songs have [Jennings] in a corral if not in a box...This is like picking Kris Kristofferson up by the literary ankles, shaking him vigorously, and using every damn nugget that tumbles out."[21]

The Chicago Tribune opened its review by discussing Jennings's recent performances at The Troubadour and the Shower of Stars Concert, and his change of looks. The publication remarked that the singer appeared "raising his country consciousness but good: longish straggly hair, beginnings of a beard, black leather, laid back". For the reviewer Honky Tonk Heroes signified a "testimony to Jennings' directional attitude", as she considered the album "a pretty powerful example of both the old and 'new' Waylon", as the reviewers noted the change of looks reflected on the cover and the "music typical of the 'old' talent". Jennings was considered to be a "strong, vaguely sensitive singer " with a style "capable of crossing country lines to find wider acceptance". The piece opined that Shaver "deserves more recognition that he's so far received". It called his songs "simple, sometimes reminiscent of Mickey Newbury's in their gentle regret or dont-give-a-damn exuberance", as the review concluded that "They are songs of contemporary cowboys looking for a freedom they're never going to find".[22]

For the

Baltimore Sun declared it "country music at its best".[26] For The Kansas City Star, it offered "straight C&W minus the show biz pretension". The review called the songs "dusty, gritty and above all, honest", as it concluded that they were "like that first beer after a long day in the saddle".[25]

Legacy

Honky Tonk Heroes helped add to the "outlaw" image of Jennings,[27][28] and the album is considered an important piece in the development of the outlaw subgenre in country music.[29][30] Shaver, who was regarded as a major contributor to the subgenre considered that the album was "the touchstone of the Outlaw movement".[31]

The album was reissued on CD in 1994 by RCA Records.[32] Buddah Records released an issue on CD in 1999,[33] while RCA records later reissued the album on LP, CD and digital download through Fat Possum Records in 2013.[34]

Retrospective reviews

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[35]
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You DieFavorable

honky tonk music of Nashville by injecting a rock and roll attitude that would produce outlaw country.[35]

Kenneth Burns, in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, says that Honky Tonk Heroes is "one of country music's landmark albums", and points out Jennings' rock and roll roots as bass player for Buddy Holly.[36] In 2013 author Michael Streissguth wrote, "The album christened country music's outlaw era...and bathed in risk, having gambled on the work of an untested songwriter."[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Billy Joe Shaver, except where noted[27]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Honky Tonk Heroes" 3:36
2."Old Five and Dimers Like Me" 3:06
3."Willy the Wandering Gypsy and Me" 3:03
4."Low Down Freedom" 2:21
5."Omaha"Billy Joe Shaver, Hillman Hall2:38
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You Ask Me To"Billy Joe Shaver, Waylon Jennings2:31
2."Ride Me Down Easy" 2:38
3."Ain't No God in Mexico" 2:00
4."Black Rose" 2:29
5."We Had It All"Troy Seals, Donnie Fritts2:44
Bonus tracks
  1. "Slow Rollin' Low" – 2:44
  2. "You Asked Me To" (Billy Joe Shaver, Waylon Jennings) – 2:38

Personnel

Chart positions

Album
Sales chart performance of Honky Tonk Heroes
Chart (1973) Peak
position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[37] 14
US Billboard 200[38] 185
Singles
Sales chart performance of singles from Honky Tonk Heroes
Song Chart Peak
"You Ask Me To" US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[39] 8
"We Had it All" US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[39] 28

References

  1. ^ Petrusich 2008, p. 106.
  2. ^ Jennings & Kaye 1996, p. 80.
  3. ^ Jennings & Kaye 1996, p. 81.
  4. ^ Corcoran, Michael 2017, p. 125.
  5. ^ a b c Shaver, Billy Joe & Reagan, Brad 2005, p. 34.
  6. ^ Country Music Foundation 1998, p. 24.
  7. ^ Braley 2005, p. 40.
  8. ^ Jennings & Kaye 1996, p. 190.
  9. ^ Jennings & Kaye 1996, p. 133.
  10. ^ Streissguth, Michael 2013, p. 143.
  11. ^ Jennings, Waylon 2008.
  12. ^ Streissguth, Michael 2013, p. 145.
  13. ^ Shaver, Billy Joe & Reagan, Brad 2005, p. 34.
  14. ^ "Chart History – Waylon Jennings – Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  15. ^ "Chart History – You Asked Me To". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  16. ^ Shaver, Billy Joe & Reagan, Brad 2005, p. 35.
  17. ^ a b Streissguth, Michael 2013, p. 146.
  18. ^ "Chart History – Honky Tonk Heroes – Top Country Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  19. ^ "Chart History – Honky Tonk Heroes – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  20. ^ a b Caine 1973, p. 7.
  21. ^ a b Stereo Review 1974, p. 90.
  22. ^ a b Van Matre, Lynn 1973, p. 12-S6.
  23. ^ a b Miller, Townsend 1973, p. B25.
  24. ^ a b Clifton, Jo 1973, p. SM 12.
  25. ^ a b Butler, Robert 1973, p. 18.
  26. ^ Lloyd, Jack 1973, p. D17.
  27. ^ a b c d Jennings, Waylon 1973.
  28. ^ Ward 2012, p. 309.
  29. ^ Pendergast & Pendergast 2000, p. 540.
  30. ^ Country Music Foundation 1994, p. 319.
  31. ^ Shaver, Billy Joe & Reagan, Brad 2005, p. 35.
  32. ^ Jennings, Waylon 1994.
  33. ^ Jennings, Waylon 1999.
  34. ^ Jennings, Waylon 2013.
  35. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Honky Tonk Heroes". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  36. ISBN 978-1-84403-714-8
    . Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  37. ^ "Waylon Jennings Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  38. ^ "Waylon Jennings Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  39. ^ a b "Waylon Jennings Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
Sources

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