Willie, Waylon, and the Boys

How Nashville Outsiders Changed Country Music Forever

By: Brian Fairbanks

Narrated by: Tyler Darby

The tragic and inspiring story of the leaders of Outlaw country and their influence on today’s Alt-Country and Americana superstars, tracing a path from Waylon Jennings’ survival on the Day the Music Died through to the Highwaymen and on to the current creative and commercial explosion of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Zach Bryan, Jason Isbell, and the Highwomen.

On February 2, 1959, Waylon Jennings, bassist for his best friend, the rock star Buddy Holly, gave up his seat on a charter flight. Jennings joked that he hoped the plane, leaving without him, would crash. When it did, killing all aboard, on "the Day the Music Died," he was devastated and never fully recovered.

Jennings switched to playing country, creating the Outlaw movement and later forming the Highwaymen supergroup, the first in country music, with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. The foursome battled addiction, record companies, ex-wives, violent fans, and the I.R.S. and D.E.A., en route to unprecedented mainstream success. Today, their acolytes Kacey Musgraves, Ryan Bingham, Sturgill Simpson, and Taylor Swift outsell all challengers, and country is the most popular of all genres.

In this fascinating new book, Brian Fairbanks draws a line from Buddy Holly through the Outlaw stars of the 60s and 70s, all the way to the country headliners and more diverse, up-and-coming Nashville rebels of today, bringing the listener deep into the worlds of not only Cash, Nelson, Kristofferson, and Jennings but artists like Chris Stapleton, Simpson, Bingham, and Isbell, stadium-filling masters whose stories have not been told in book form, as well as new, diverse artists like the Highwomen, Brittney Spencer, and Allison Russell. Thought-provoking and meticulously researched, Willie, Waylon, and the Boys ultimately shows how a twenty-one-year-old bass-playing plane crash survivor helped changed the course of American music.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Brian Fairbanks (P)2024 Hachette Books

Great Story, Terrible Narrator

The book itself was wonderful, but it was overshadowed throughout by a narrator who appeared to have never heard of and/or heard the people involved. His attempts to imitate Willie Nelson’s, Kris Kristofferson’s, Waylon Jennings’, Johnny Cash’s & many others’ voices was TRULY cringeworthy. Continuously mispronouncing names such as Lefty Frizzell (calling him Lefty Frizle), listing the Waylon song Stop the World and Let Me Off as if it were two songs (Stop the World, & Let Me Off).

The subject matter is well researched & interesting, it’s the delivery that takes it down!

Rampant mispronunciations

The storytelling was just ok—often so many people are involved in a story that it becomes difficult to determine who the author is talking about. But the biggest issue with the audiobook is the many mispronunciations of names and other words. Perhaps someone with more of a musical background would have been a better choice for narrator.

Great book. Author should have listened to this before it was uploaded

The story is great. The writing is great. The narrator is pleasant but obviously doesn’t know much about the subject. Mispronounces many names and words. The Johnny Cash song title is pronounced “Own-eee”, not Won-eee. She’s Tan-ya Tucker not Ton-ya.

Great history

Story jumps around timeline wise between focuses on Willie, Waylon Kris and Johnny, but very cool and interesting stories. The end is randomly somewhat politically charged. I don’t care either way, it just wasn’t really a part of the beginning except for some anecdotes, where at the end, talking ab present day outlaws it was the only focus really. Kind of a turn off..

Also narrator was great minus the mid pronunciation of Tyler Childers

Great history

Great history and the storyline was easy to follow along with. Would have loved more about Hank.

Stick to the topic

The book was fine while on topic. About 2/3 through, the author got off the topic of Willie, Waylon and the boys and started proselytizing. I’m not one to quit on a book if I’ve bought it, but I couldn’t make it through the liberal, right is wrong lecture. Save your money or only pay 2/3 of the cost - maybe get it at 1/2 Priced Books.

Worst book I’ve read in a long time

The author has no first hand knowledge of any of the events or people in the book. He just copied other authors’ work and added a lot of unnecessary swearing. If you want to learn more about these guys, a much better read is Meet Me at the Boar’s Nest.