Legendary Waylon Jennings “The Outlaw Performance” to be Reissued
Any hardcore Waylon Jennings fan worth their salt knows all about what’s been affectionately coined over the years as “The Outlaw Performance” where Waylon Jennings held court at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on August 12th, 1978. Featuring one the most legendary lineups of his backing band including Ralph Mooney on steel guitar, and a big flashing Waylon Flying “W” as a backdrop, it’s arguably one of the best performances Waylon ever gave, with multiple cameras and high-quality audio equipment there to capture it all.
Snippets from the concert can be found on YouTube and such, and many enterprising Waylon fans have turned the concert into an audio bootleg over the years, which for what it’s worth, is probably the best live record from Waylon you can get your hands on, even without any video. A version of the concert was released on CD in Europe in 2015, and was taken from the WSM live broadcast that accompanied the performance.
Getting your own copy of “The Outlaw Performance” will become a lot easier on May 15th when the entire set will once again officially see the light of day via Eagle Rock Entertainment. Comprised of 16 songs, including many of Waylon’s signature hits, it captures the country music Outlaw at the height of his powers.
The DVD and digital release will include the entire concert, as opposed to some previous releases that only included excerpts of certain moments. It also includes a “Friends Remember The Outlaw” segment, featuring 1990 interviews with George Jones, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon’s longtime drummer, Richie Albright about the importance and legacy of Waylon.
“The Lost Outlaw Performance” was released previously in 1994 on VHS, with copies now considered collectibles on sale for $80.00+. The segment has also been shown in part upon occasion as part of local PBS station donation drives, and has turned up in other places.
If you want a DVD itself, it will be $12.69, and is now available for pre-order. Digital options are also said to become available on May 15th.
Track Listing:
Are You Ready For The Country?
Lonesome, On’ry and Mean
Waymore’s Blues
Amanda
A Long Time Ago
Jack A Diamonds
Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down
This Time
You Asked Me To
I’ve Always Been Crazy
Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out Of Hand
Good Hearted Woman
Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys
Luckenbach, Texas
Honky Tonk Heroes
Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way
Don Campbell
April 20, 2020 @ 11:13 am
Ordered 2. Thanks !
GB
April 20, 2020 @ 11:22 am
You should get a cut of these sales! Pre-ordered my copy using the link you provided. Thanks and continue to fight the good fight!
karl
April 20, 2020 @ 11:24 am
There goes another 13 dollars.
Dan Morris
April 20, 2020 @ 2:56 pm
There’s a lot worse things you could spend $13 on though Karl. In a bit of somewhat related news I read that Whitey Morgan is doing a live stream event this coming Saturday afternoon in which he is going to perform all his favourite Waylon songs. That’s something I’ll be making sure not to miss.
karl
April 20, 2020 @ 11:25 am
Woo hoo, look at that pretty thumbs up button, thanks, Trigger.
Di Harris
April 20, 2020 @ 11:29 am
Gave you a thumbs up Karl, to get you started
Kentucky_1875
April 20, 2020 @ 11:26 am
Pure gold that set the standard in my eyes.
Trey
April 20, 2020 @ 11:31 am
Pick in Moon…. all in !!
I miss Stevie Gaines
April 20, 2020 @ 11:53 am
+1+1, Hate Clyde ain’t on it though.
Kevin Davis
April 20, 2020 @ 12:53 pm
I think that should be August 12, 1978, not October. I have the Nashville Rebel DVD (not to be confused with the movie starring Waylon) and just checked it. This DVD is an anthology of videos, beginning with “Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line” from the Johnny Cash Show in 1970. It includes five of the songs from this set-list, described as “live at Opryland, 8/12/1978.” I think that’s the same as this new release of the entire show. Here’s the DVD for anyone interested: https://www.amazon.com/Nashville-Rebel-Waylon-Jennings/dp/B0051YKTUQ/
Trigger
April 20, 2020 @ 1:14 pm
I believe you’re right. I couldn’t find the proper date anywhere for the performance on either the current or previous releases. But I did find the date on a notice the Country Music Hall of Fame posted when they aired it as part of the “Outlaws” exhibit. It says August. Not sure how I transposed that to October in my brain, but it’s fixed now.
Chris
April 20, 2020 @ 6:07 pm
I can’t wait to give this one a spin
Waylon was at the peak of his considerable powers in 1978
All I listened to was Waylon, Willie, DAC, Johnny Paycheck, Johnny Cash, Jessie Colter and Emmylou (sp?)
wayne
April 20, 2020 @ 6:50 pm
I really don’t know anything better than Waylon and Mooney. Music as it should be. They were the best.
J Burke
April 21, 2020 @ 8:08 am
This is the Gold Standard for the music that we love.
Chris
April 21, 2020 @ 11:13 am
And the really good news is that he sounds just like Sturgill.
wayne
April 21, 2020 @ 12:17 pm
Chris,
Don’t make me come down there!
Ells Eastwood
April 21, 2020 @ 2:00 pm
Tis a shame the only way to buy that is on Amazon… The only other ones I could find were PBS type pledge/donations that I wasn’t even sure were the right thing.
Diamond Girl
April 21, 2020 @ 3:04 pm
Wonderful news, thank you! Gonna get my order in. 🙂
PJ
April 22, 2020 @ 5:11 am
My Dad loved Waylon’s music. And the older I get, the more I appreciate his talents as an entertainer. I’ll place an order for Dad…and me.
Big Tex
April 22, 2020 @ 8:34 am
I challenge anyone to name any steel guitar performance that surpasses the one Ralph Mooney laid down on Waylon’s “Rainy Day Woman.”
Trigger
April 22, 2020 @ 10:01 am
The only one that comes close is Marty Stuart’s “Little Heartbreaker,” and that’s only because Ralph Mooney plays on that track as well.
Big Tex
April 22, 2020 @ 10:29 am
Pete Drake’s riff on Tammy’s “Stand By Your Man” is also hard to beat. I can’t imagine that song being nearly as popular as it is without Drake’s contribution.
Kevin Smith
April 22, 2020 @ 1:18 pm
Paul Franklin’s soloing on Alan Jacksons I don’t even know your name is up there in my book. Then there’s Lloyd Greens work on Little Darlin label Johnny Paycheck stuff like Motel Time Again, Lovin Machine, and so many others. Yeah, I love Mooney too and he’s hard to top but l think Franklin and Green are in the discussion. Oh, nearly forgot Speedy West. Now there was a player! Stratosphere Boogie anyone? That might be a contender. I love talking steel and for that matter musician stuff in general.
Dylan Rimbaud
April 23, 2020 @ 5:39 am
just a note to anyone who hasn’t seen ‘Mike Judge presents Tales From The Tour Bus’ check out all of season one and especially season 1 episodes 6 & 7 if you’re a Hoss fan as they are focused specifically on him, just binged watched that again for the (lost count long ago)th time again https://youtu.be/uzCz-zA83q8
Woogeroo
April 28, 2020 @ 6:19 am
I second the Tales from the Tour bus tales about Waylon… worth watching. Laughed my butt off a few times.
Woogeroo
April 25, 2020 @ 1:43 am
Is that the one where he’s high as a kite, singing the notes perfectly for one song and using lyrics for another? The band is looking at each other like, wtf? 😀
Love me some Waylon…