Friday Outlaw Show Celebrating the 2024 Birthday of Harry Nilsson and Waylon Jennings

by Robert Wilkinson

Today we celebrate the birthdays of two talents who were remarkable in their similarities and differences. These guys were both legends and outlaws! And we even have a cult movie narrated by Alan Thicke!

One's voice was beautiful, one's was deep and resonant. Both were rebels, and hung around with unique talents. Harry and St. John the Beatle were best friends in their hell-raising Los Angeles era, while Waylon and St. Willie were best friends in the "Outlaw Country" era.

Harry Nilsson (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994) had a voice that was quite amazing, with a 3 ½ octave range that allowed him to create some fairly eclectic interpretations of his own and others' songs. Waylon, on the other hand, had a great voice, but an even greater sound, with a deep driving bass beat keeping his songs steady as they whirled around him in a new form of country no one had ever done before.

Here’s Harry live in 1968, doing his huge hit from the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack, “Everybody’s Talkin’”

From the same soundtrack, a music video set to the studio version of “I Guess the Lord Must Be In New York City”

Here’s a great live performance by Harry of the beautiful and haunting composition by Pete Ham and Tom Evans of Badfinger, “Without You”

3 Dog Night made this Nilsson composition into a huge hit! Here’s Harry’s original! ”One.”

Very live in the late 60s, Harry Nilsson on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

A great live performance of Harry doing Beatle songs! Here’s 8 minutes of Harry Nilsson Live At Beatlefest 84

One of my favorites! Here’s the original studio version from Nilsson Schmilsson of the rockin’ “Jump Into the Fire”

From the weird cult movie Son of Dracula, starring Harry and Ringo, here’s the bizarre performance of “Jump Into the Fire”

I found it again! This is the very charming 1971 movie (the first issue was narrated by Ringo, this third one is by Alan Thicke) that made Harry huge. If you don’t know, it’s “the story about Oblio, the only round headed person in the Pointed Village, where by law everything and everyone had to have a point.” For your enjoyment, The Point (1971)

Here’s the soundtrack to The Point (1971)

Here are two from the soundtrack. This was the hit from The Point, the gentle Beatle-inspired (wasn’t everyone?) shuffle of “Me and My Arrow.” Here’s another small clip titled “Think About Your Troubles.”

For a sense of this man’s incredible set of pipes, here’s the entire 34 minute television show of Harry Nilsson in concert - 1971

Thanks to Steve Taylor, we have this great 40 minute video concert of Harry doing standards! For your enjoyment, A Little Touch of Schmillson In the Night

From 1974, from the studio album he did with John Lennon, here are Harry and John giving up the Jimmy Cliff anthem, “Many Rivers to Cross” and from the same album, “The Flying Saucer Song”

We’ll close this brief set of Harry’s most famous tunes with a very interesting video homage to Ernie Kovac’s “Nairobi Trio” performing Harry’s hit, “Lime in the Coconut”

For an encore, the Nilsson album produced in 1974 by John Lennon during "the lost weekend years," featuring a host of friends including Ringo, Klaus Voormann, Keith Moon, Jim Keltner, Jesse Ed Davis, and Bobby Keys! Pussy Cats. (Their take on “Subterranean Homesick Blues” really rocks!)

For the second encore, the bootleg of when Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder dropped in during the recording of Pussy Cats. It created this real time audio album titled A Toot and A Snore in '74

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And now for "Ole Waylon." While most know Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) as an Outlaw Country archetype, along with his good bud Willie Nelson, most don't know that he started his career in West Texas as a DJ and he was Buddy Holly's close friend. Waylon played Buddy's records at the radio station, and Buddy produced Waylon's first records. Waylon was the bass player for the Crickets the night "the music died," but had given up his seat on the plane before it crashed in Iowa and made immortals of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Richie Valens.

If you want to know more about the unique story of Waylon Jennings and Buddy Holly, please check out Saturday Night Attitude Dancing at the 2023 Birthday of the Immortal Buddy Holly where there's a link toward the bottom of the story related by Tommy Allsup, Buddy's guitarist in 1958-59, of how a flip of a coin saved one life and ended another. It's all part of rock and roll history!

Waylon was a hellraiser and bad boy when he was younger, an itinerant DJ who took up the bass and became a country music legend. Today I won't offer much from his early days, but here are a few you don't want to miss!

Here's his first record, made with Buddy Holly on guitar and producing, accompanied by the legendary King Curtis in late 1958! (Tommy Allsup may or may not also be on guitar). Enjoy this version of the Cajun waltz "Jole Blon."

This was the flip side of "Jole Blon," also with Buddy, Tommy, and King Curtis, who does a seriously wailing sax break. The Fireballs are doing the bops and oohs in the background. "When Sin Stops Love Begins"

In the early 60s he wrote this dirge to pay tribute to Buddy, Richie, the Big Bopper, and Eddie Cochran, who died in a car wreck in 1960. "The Stage (Stars in Heaven)

Here's his hit from 1967, "Just to Satisfy You," which Waylon said was a good example of what he learned from Buddy Holly and his time playing rockabilly.

Here’s another early live performance clip from 1967 of the folk standard “That’s What You Get For Loving Me”

From 1970 on The Johnny Cash Show, a young Waylon giving us his version of the Chuck Berry classic (one he no doubt played with Buddy on stage!) “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” And here’s Buddy’s version! “Brown Eyed Handsome Man”

I found his entire three song set on Johnny’s show! Waylon’s in peak forms here cranking out his unique country groove in “Only Daddy That’ll Walk That Line,” “When Waylon’s Out of Town,” and “Brown Eyed Handsome Man”

The last time he was clean cut was 1972, since that was the year he went “outlaw country.” As he recorded this tune written by his Highwayman bandmate around that time, this live performance may be the last one where he doesn’t have long hair, beard, and moustache. “Me and Bobby McGee”

We'll close these early tunes with one that was huge in Austin in the early 70s, and one of my all-time favorite Waylon tunes! Check out the groove in this live 1980 Mr. Lucky’s performance of his first hit which went all the way to #1, "This Time."

In the early 70s, Willie and Waylon were the founders of what came to be called “Outlaw Country” because they were stratospherically outside the Nashville orbit, doing their form of country their own way, defying the establishment and creating new forms of country music. They had been friends since Waylon’s time in west Texas as a young bassist, and continued their lifelong friendship to the end.

There are tons of videos out there of Willie and Waylon performing together, so check a few out when you go to any of these tunes, all of which he did with Willie at one point or another. You can find more of them together in Willie’s birthday tribute from a few weeks ago. Some of those shows are posted below.

Picking up the big beat from 1975, here are more great performances of Waylon the Outlaw with his band.

Here’s a live performance from 1975 on Soundstage of “This Time” followed by the classic sound of West Texas, a country rocker written by Waylon called “Rainy Day Woman” (no, not the Bob Dylan tune!)

Also from 1975, Waylon cranking out “Ramblin’ Man” (Not the Allman Brothers classic!)

A great score! Live at the Austin Opry House in 1975, I found 10 from his set that are classic Waylon! First, here’s Waylon giving us “The Taker” and “We Had It All”

From the same gig at the Opry House, his send-up to his drummer! “Me and Paul”

The first and third of these are Billie Joe Shaver tunes! “Ain’t No God in Mexico” which we follow with “Let’s All Help the Cowboys” and “Willie the Wandering Gypsy and Me.”

A very young Waylon delivering classic outlaw country! “Nashville Rebel.”

From “Nashville Now” in 1988, here’s a great live performance by Waylon with Hank Williams Jr. cranking out “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way”

We’ll close with 4 more that are classic Waylon! “It’s Not Supposed to Be that Way” and “Slow Rollin’ Low” followed by “Lonesome On’ry and Mean” and we’ll close with “Ladies Love Outlaws”

Here’s his entire 46 minute set at the Grand Ole Opry in 1978 lost for many years! This is Waylon as “Outlaw Country” at its peak, and proof of its dominance of Nashville! Waylon Jennings - The Lost Outlaw Performance

Here are a few concerts, so kick ‘em up!

We begin with Waylon live in 1974! Waylon Jennings Live in Abbott TX – 1974

Here’s a great 55 minute video from 1983! Waylon Jennings Live in London - 1983

The hour and 3 show from San Bernardino in 1983 is gone, so instead, here’s a 56 minute gem! Waylon Jennings Live From Austin - 1989

From 1983, a 51 minute video set! Waylon Jennings Live in Concert - 1983

From Nashville Rebel, “Luckenbach Texas.”

Waylon at the Ryman in 2000! ” Good Hearted Woman “ and “Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Become Cowboys”

Speaking of the Highwaymen, here are Waylon, Willie, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson doing “Good Hearted Woman”

Here are the Highwaymen - Willie, Waylon, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash, featuring Kris singing his hits "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and "Me and Bobby McGee." Here’s a clip of them doing Willie’s iconic hit that Patsy Cline took to the top! "Crazy"

Here’s a rousing performance of the Steve Goodman hit “City of New Orleans.”

From their 1993 Central Park show, “Farther Down the Line”, followed by “Big River,” and we’ll close that set with several more from that show! The Highwaymen Live in Central Park

Live at the 1993 Farm Aid, here’s a three-fer of the boys doing the famous Guy Clark hit “Desperados Waiting For A Train” and “I’ve Always Been Crazy.” We'll close that incredible show with their “title song,” "Highwayman."

I just found their entire 17 minute set at Farm Aid! For your enjoyment, The Highwaymen at Farm Aid - 1993

In past years I had the entire hour and 37 minute 1990 concert in Nassau County on one clip, but it still isn’t available. However, this year I found this clip which autoloads 34 tunes from that show.

The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum - 1990

In past years I’ve offered you these parts, so here they are again!

Parts 1, 6, 7, 9, and 12 are nowhere to be found this year.

The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 2The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 3The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 4The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 5The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 8The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 10The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 11

Last year’s one hour clip of the Highwaymen in Scotland in 1992 has disappeared, but I found this clip with 11, most from that show! The Highwaymen – On the Road Again in Scotland

For our closer, here’s a video taken off a tv of their classic show in Las Vegas! For your enjoyment, an hour and a half of The Highwaymen Live in Las Vegas

Last year’s encore featured the one hour 2003 show titled “The Highwaymen “On the Road Again” concert, but it’s disappeared. However, I found this early audio only gem of a concert from 1992 in Stockholm, so enjoy 55 minutes of this live show! The Highwaymen Live in Stockholm - 1992

For our second encore, I found a rare clip that’s 9 minutes of pure gold! Here are the 4 legendary Outlaw Country Musicians doing “Highwayman,” “Good Hearted Woman,” and “Dukes of Hazard (clipped).”

Happy RIP birthday, gentlemen. The world is a better place for the music you made while you were here. You sure got a lot of people singing and dancing. And that's a very good thang!

© Copyright 2024 Robert Wilkinson

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