NONFICTION

Waylon: Tales of my Outlaw Dad

with David Thomas. Hachette. Apr. 2016. 272p. ISBN 9780316390118. $27; ebk. ISBN 9780316390095. MUSIC
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Waylon Jennings was one of the founders of the country outlaw movement of the 1970s along with Willie Nelson. He is perhaps best known to modern audiences as the narrator and composer of the Seventies television series The Dukes of Hazzard. In rock and roll apocrypha he is renowned for giving up his plane seat to the Big Bopper on Buddy Holly's ill-fated last plane flight. Waylon's son Terry's memoir focuses both on insider stories of his famous father and the burden of growing up in the shadow of a parent who happened to be a country music giant. There are accounts of touring (a perpetual occupation for Jennings), drugs, and many ex-wives. Those seeking a serious appraisal of Jennings's work will be disappointed. Anyone with a curiosity in the more salacious aspects of the superstar and his acclaimed peers will be more than pleased with this slight yet satisfying offering.
VERDICT Strictly for those more interested in the legend than the music.
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