Kid Rock Salutes Waylon
Kid Rock, Metallica’s James Hetfield, Ben Harper, Alison Krauss,
John Mellencamp, Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas and others will
appear on I’ve Always Been Crazy: A Tribute to Waylon
Jennings, a new record honoring the late Outlaw Country
legend, who died in February 2002. The album is due out in April.
Honoring an iconic musician who grew up playing rock & roll,
altered the sound of country music and believed that “country music
and blues was about a beat apart,” I’ve Always Been Crazy
captures Jennings’ different facets. The lineup includes country
contributors old, new and newer (Hank Williams Jr., Dwight Yoakam
and Sara Evans), heartland rockers like Mellencamp, hard rockers
like Hetfield, bluegrass (Krauss), bluesy rock (Harper) and a dash
of redneck rap (Kid Rock). Rock honored Jennings at the 2002 Grammy
Awards with an impromptu salute and tip of the fedora during the
telecast, during which no other mention was made of the past year’s
losses, which included Jennings and George Harrison.
The song selection on I’ve Always Been Crazy includes
some songs written and co-written by Jennings (“Are You Sure Hank
Done It This Way,” “Good Hearted Woman”) as well as others that he
covered and popularized, including Kenny Chesney and Kid Rock’s
cover of Chips Moman’s “Luckenbach, Texas,” Travis Tritt’s take on
Steve Young’s “Lonesome On’ry and Mean” and Krauss’ version of
Billy Joe Shaver’s “You Asked Me To.”
Jennings and his family are also represented. “This Dream” is a
previously unreleased cut by Jennings and one of the last songs he
ever recorded. His widow Jessi Colter has also reprised “Storms
Never Last,” a tune she wrote and originally recorded with Waylon.
And Jennings’ and Colter’s son, Shooter (with his band Stargunn)
puts his stamp on “I’ve Always Been Crazy.”
The track listing for I’ve Always Been Crazy:
“I Ain’t Living Long Like This,” Brooks and Dunn
“Luckenbach, Texas,” Kenny Chesney and Kid Rock
“Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” Sara Evans and
Deana Carter
“This Time,” Andy Griggs
“Waymore’s Blues,” Ben Harper
“Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand,” James
Hetfield
“You Asked Me To,” Alison Krauss
“Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way,” John Mellencamp
“Are You Ready for the Country,” Pinmonkey
“Lonesome, On’ry and Mean,” Travis Tritt
“A Good Hearted Woman,” Phil Vassar and Rob Thomas
“Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line,” Hank Williams Jr.
“Stop the World (and Let Me Off),” Dwight Yoakam
“I’ve Always Been Crazy,” Stargunn
“Storms Never Last,” Jessi Colter
“The Dream,” Waylon Jennings