Willie, Waylon, and the Boys

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The best thing about Brian Fairbanks’ Willie, Waylon, and the Boys may be the title—a line taken from the 1977 country music hit, Luckenbach, Texas.

The book focuses on country music’s most famous outlaws—Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. 

But the book is all over the place, drifting from topic to topic. Fairbanks may be in the middle of describing the performers’ frustration with Nashville record producers, but interrupts the flow by injecting sudden tales about their excesses of alcohol, drugs and sex. And on occasion, one gets the feeling that it’s simply gossip gathered from surfing the web rather than original insight.

Fairbanks does provide a few well-documented anecdotes not only about the outlaws, but also about Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline, Bob Dylan and a few others.  They are interesting, but sometimes presented without much context.

Another irritation is the use of footnotes. They are used extensively throughout the book and are often fascinating. But the editor chose to use tiny asterisks that are difficult to spot.  You’ll find yourself reading a footnote and going back to search the main text to determine where it belongs.

It’s not all disappointing, though.  Among the highlights is the discussion regarding the origination of the Highwaymen.  Despite some great music, the dynamic of the group wasn’t entirely smooth and congenial.  And throughout the book, Fairbanks sprinkled several dynamite quotes.

Willie, Waylon, and the Boys is uneven and a little clunky at times. It’s certainly not a classic, but if you’re a big fan of the country music of the 1970s and 80s, this is a book that might be worth a casual read.

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Quotes

Willie Nelson

“Give a man a little luck and shit will do for brains” was his motto.  “I’ve had more dumb luck than anybody I know.  There must be a covey of guardian angels working twenty-four hours a day looking after me.”

“If you forgive your enemies, it messes up their heads,” he wrote.  “I never met a pig or a record executive worth holding a grudge over anyway.”

He joked: “Some negative thinker assume I won’t make it another four decades, but my advice is not to bet against me or Keith Richards.”

Waylon Jennings

But most fans cared only about his voice, all “honey and molasses on a biscuit, topped off with a pack of Marlboro Reds.”

Kris Kristofferson

Kristofferson dubbed [the Highwaymen] thusly: “Willie’s the old coyote, Waylon’s the riverboat gambler, I’m the radical revolutionary, and Johnny’s the father of our country.”

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