Why Waylon Jennings Called Out Johnny Cash: "He's Never Been the Rebel"

if there were ever any names that come to mind when one thinks of the Pioneers to the outlaw movement in country music I'd think it's pretty safe to say Willie whan and well the boys the boys including Johnny Cash Chris kristoferson and of course a few others like Johnny Paycheck Billy Joe Shaver Merl Haggard David Allen Co and so forth and as we all know the outlaw moniker did not only follow these artists while on the stage or cutting a record or cutting a song but the outlaw moniker also hung tightly to these artists while off the stage as well but interestingly enough the man the myth the legend whan Jennings exposed one of these artists and not necessarily for his personal Outlaw achievements if you will or Rebel ways but for the rebel Persona that was seemingly portrayed within the confines of the music business it was no secret that whan and Willie ditched Nashville and the corporate entities and record labels that ultimately tried to control them early on in their career and well because of their Rebel or outlaw ways of doing things on their own with their music it quickly caught the hearts of many fans and the outlaw movement became one of the biggest eras in country music because of it and as mentioned there were several stars who emerged and followed the outlaw ideology when cutting their music not allowing Nashville to be in control of their creativity but there was one who apparently was labeled as a rebel Outlaw that really was not the rebel Outlaw that he perceived to be when it came to the music side of things according to whan in an interview with DJ Johnson of cosmic debris back in the year of 1998 whan Jennings exposed his good friend Johnny Cash whan was asked you and Willie and Johnny Cash and a few others that live outside the Nashville system Jennings chimed in and responded John's inside John's so inside you wouldn't believe it he used to do everything they wanted whan's response was followed up up by him being asked he's really inside my impression was that he had the outlaw Rebel thing going you know that he's playing outside the Nashville parameters Jennings answered trying to I don't think he knows how I love Johnny Cash he's the biggest he's like an Elvis in the business but no he's never been the rebel whan continued and add it now Willie he ran to Austin he did pretty good you know he just said to hell with it and that's what I said to hell with it we were the ones that they were trying to destroy Willie just went back to Austin but I didn't go anywhere I stayed here and faced up to it I knew I had something that was right and I knew Nashville didn't but you know the system almost destroyed itself while it was going on trying to destroy us now another very interesting piece to this interview is whan went into detail on how they attempted to do what he described as destroy him and what the label and Executives did to hold artist back that whan shared one thing is that I wasn't getting booked that well and they had control over who got the awards they had control over who sold and they really did not want Willie or me either one to have a hit record they wanted the money but they didn't want us to be the ones like I told him one time and I guess it was kind of conceited to say it but I said you know what I was a legend before I was ever a hit which meant that inside the business meaning my fellow entertainers everyone thought I was right and they liked what I did but outside nobody had heard he continued and added I'll tell you the things that were bad when I came here you had to use their Studios their producers and you got 4% what they did was they gave you 5% up at the top and then down at the bottom they'd overcharge you so much you wouldn't have hardly anything left and then they'd keep 50% of that they just keep it it was just stealing is all it was by the record companies and if you audited them which I finally did and they owed me quite a bit of money they said well we got enough lawyers to keep this in the courts for years now we'll settle with you for half that was one of the things you had to deal with they had a thing called control composition say you and I wrote a song and I recorded it I would get 75% for my part of the song and you would get a 100% for your part you know on a 5050 basis and they thought that was right you had no artistic control or freedom in any way I was the first to get that and I always insist on it I might give it away to someone who is producing me but basically that's mine and the whole thing is that you're treated like a stepchild here it was down here everything in the black because they were stealing basically stealing from us old country boys down here control over creative is a very important thing to an artist and nowadays with technology the internet and social media it is more profound to see an artist doing things on their own and making music that they want to make back then it was just more difficult it was just more of a difficult thing to try to do as record labels were really one of the only ways to promote the hell out of your music to reach audiences large enough to just sustain a life and career with music and I'll be honest with you thank God for all of the technology and social media that we have today because there are a lot of artists who are not signed that are absolutely talented but whan and Willie had the knack for it and knew that their sounds would transcend country music for the better and again the outlaw sound is one of the most respected and biggest eras of country music and will forever live on without question and even though whan called out Johnny for clinging to the Nashville system as an artist you you can bet they loved one another deeply and had so much respect for each other and as whan said he he's the biggest like an El this in the business but just seemingly didn't know how to do the music thing without Nashville and hell it didn't even hurt Johnny his catalog is legendary now there were a few hits in there that were some pop crossover but let's be real Johnny Cash's catalog is legendary so as always guys we would love to know your thoughts on this down below in the comments and that will be all for today's video here on Country cast

Channel: Country Cast

Views: 48,225

Keywords: country music, country music playlist, outlaw country music, waylon jennings, waylon jennings live, waylon jennings interview, waylon jennings songs, waylon jennings greatest hits, waylon jennings ramblin man, waylon jennings momma don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys, johnny cash, johnny cash live, johnny cash interview, johnny cash songs, johnny cash greatest hits, johnny cash playlist, waylon jennings waymore's blues, johnny cash hurt, johnny cash ring of fire, music

Id: hzk2N8hvbHw

Length: 6min 27sec (387 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 12 2024