The Mother of Outlaw Music, Hazel Smith, Has Died

There were many performing artists, side players, roadies and managers that played a major part in the country music insurgency in the 70’s that came to be known as “Outlaw,” but only one can rightfully claim they coined the phrase, or saw the revolution happen from its early incarnation to its Platinum-selling peak.
Hazel Smith, who was the publicist for the studio known as Hillbilly Central where so many of the most iconic Outlaw albums were recorded, has passed away at the age of 83. She died on Sunday, March 18th after declining heath and issues with dementia. It was her pen stroke portraying Tompall Glaser, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and others as Outlaws that was the marketing push that put the music over-the-top, and allowed country music its most commercially-successful era up to that point. The compilation album Wanted: The Outlaws was the first million-selling album in country music history, and both Willie and Waylon would go on to legendary Hall of Fame careers.
“Outlaw music,” Waylon Jennings said in his autobiography. “Hazel Smith, the great Nashville media specialist, writer, ultimate fan, and publicist for Hillbilly Central, christened it when asked by a disc jockey from WCSE in Ashboro, North Carolina, what to call the renegade sound that was bubbling out of Nineteenth Avenue South. He wanted to base a show around me, Willie, Kris, Tompall, and other others that were making a name for themselves going up against the Nashville establishment.”
Along with being the publicist for Hillbilly Central, Hazel Smith was also a long-time journalist and columnist in Nashville, writing for ‘Country Music Magazine,’ and later ‘Country Weekly’ and CMT.
“‘Hillbilly Central’ was the name of the column Hazel wrote for ‘Country Music Magazine’.” Waylon explains. “She had a bird’s-eye view of all the frenetic comings and goings as she sat out in the front office and directed some of the stranger that started dropping by. The building was open 24 hours, and she’d sometimes come in to work and find people strewn about the offices, passed out next to an empty wine bottle or an open bottle of pills. Another night of ‘losing weight’.”
Hazel Smith’s role in Outlaw music went far beyond simply reporting on it though. She was the manager for multiple artists in different intervals, including Dr. Hook. Something not well known about Hazel, she also was a prolific songwriter, penning some 175 original compositions, including songs that went on to be recorded by Tammy Wynette, and Dr. Hook among others. All of this and more is what led to Hazel being awarded the the Country Music Association’s Media Achievement Award in 1999.
Hazel Smith was born May 31, 1934 in Caswell County in North Carolina. She was married early and had two sons, but the marriage didn’t last. Smith found comfort in country music after her divorce, and it was during this time she met Bill Monroe at a bluegrass festival, and a relationship was kindled. However Bill Monroe proved to not be faithful to Hazel, but the music was. She moved to Nashville where her first job was as the publicist for Kinky Friedman. From there she fell head first into what would become the Outlaw movement, playing an important part in the careers of over a dozen different artists.
Later Hazel Smith would also receive credit for discovering Garth Brooks and Gillian Welch. She also had a passion for food and cooking, publishing the book “Hazel’s Hot Dish: Cookin’ with Country Stars,” with appearances by Trisha Yearwood and Alan Jackson among others. Her column on CMT.com for years was also called “Hot Dish.”
But the term “Outlaw” is what Hazel Smith will always be most synonymous with. “I think the term was in the back of my mind,” she explained on Michael Bane’s book ‘The Outlaws’, “However, later I looked it up in the encyclopedia and found that it meant, literally, someone who lived on the outside of the law. And i knew people like Willie and Waylon and Tompall, David Allan Coe, Jimmy Buffett, Kristofferson—just a lot of people in that category—who were not going along with the Music Row establishment, the Nashville Sound. So I figured they could be living on the outside of the law.”
Hazel Smith is survived by sons Billy and Terry and grandchildren Adam, Jeremy, Mattie, Tyler, Tara and Trevor. Funeral arrangements are pending, but the family has made it known she will be buried in North Carolina.
March 19, 2018 @ 9:59 am
According to David Allan Coe, he said he coined the term first lol
March 19, 2018 @ 10:16 am
…and invented rap, and was on death row, etc. etc. But hey, that’s why he’s David Allan Coe.
March 19, 2018 @ 2:48 pm
hay trigg do the rite thing n apalajize fur wut u sed about lil big town go on n do it
March 20, 2018 @ 3:32 am
I always liked what Waylon said about David Allen Coe in his autobiography: “When it came to being Outlaw, the worst thing he ever did was double-parking on Music Row.”
April 16, 2018 @ 7:16 am
Apparently he didn’t …Waylon God damn Jennings did…out played and out sold in the history of country music…David DIDN’T hold a candle to the outlaw Waylon Jennings..and Smith let it be known that Waylon was real in his beliefs….A REAL MAN that conquered his demons…His Way..Thank you Hazel R.I.P your way..
March 19, 2018 @ 10:17 am
Interesting…never heard of Ms. Smith or the fact she was the one who coined the term outlaw music. RIP and condolences to the family.
March 19, 2018 @ 11:11 am
I knew this was a marketing term, but never knew the person behind it. Thanks for telling her story. It is good to know she was a fan and musician, not simply a publicist.
Have to admit I did a double take though. My first thought was that Hazel died a few years ago, then I realized I just saw “Hazel” and my mind added “Dickens,” another woman well worthy of honor.
March 19, 2018 @ 12:35 pm
I remember reading Hazel’s column in Country Music Magazine. Did not know that she had coined the term “Outlaw”.
March 19, 2018 @ 1:25 pm
I remember I would always go to cmt.com, specifically to read Chet Flippo’s “Nashville Skyline” and Hazel Smith’s “Hot Dish” columns. It was the one reason I always had to go to the site. That picture throws me for such a loop, because it does not go in any way with the image Hazel had later on with her cooking shows and such.
March 19, 2018 @ 2:29 pm
I did not know that she coined this term. Thanks for sharing this story. RIP.
March 19, 2018 @ 3:28 pm
Did CMT do a cooking show with her and a guest on Saturday afternoons?
March 19, 2018 @ 7:34 pm
Yes, it was typically segmented between a movie or show that CMT played.
March 19, 2018 @ 7:36 pm
I loved reading her columns in “Country Music” magazine.
For any fans of the Grascals, Hazel’s son is member Terry Smith.
March 19, 2018 @ 7:57 pm
If you haven’t watched this video, I highly recommend. It includes commentary from the late Hazel Smith. Well worth your 30 minutes.
RIP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZRraffUGfI
March 20, 2018 @ 4:59 am
Lovely. She was a firebrand, a force of nature and a fierce protector of talent.
But even more than all of that, she was true. Hazel only was Hazel, never mind what someone else might relate to, or how somebody might see her. Where Nashville sometimes wants to smooth edges or city people up, Hazel kept it real. With that heart, what else would you need?
We have a big hole here in Nashville, where Hazel’s great big heart beat so strong. The ones who knew her, we’re devastated because there’s not even a pale comparison. The ones who didn’t — even the best descriptions — won’t do her justice, so I’m sorry for your loss in a whole other way.
Heaven got a great big ball of soul/spirit yesterday. Thanks for capturing her essence with your words.
March 20, 2018 @ 1:39 pm
What she said. It’s hard to express just how unique and important Hazel was to making Nashville a cooler, funnier, more musically interesting place to be. She’ll be greatly missed.
March 20, 2018 @ 10:08 am
I used to send country music questions to Hazel, she always took time to help me. She would drop
It in the mail, just like an old friend. RIP
March 20, 2018 @ 1:57 pm
idk if i’m strong enough to watch all these legends pass on.
willie, loretti, kris, dolly, emmy, prine… even the “credibility scare”-era bunch aren’t getting any younger. earle, lu, rodney…
March 21, 2018 @ 8:18 pm
Hazel was my partner in crime at an unforgettable Dolly Parton soundcheck in September 2004. The occasion was a weekend press tour of Dollywood that I attended while working for a daily newspaper in Tennessee. A scheduled highlight was a Saturday afternoon concert by Parton at the Celebrity Theater in Pigeon Forge.
During Saturday morning’s breakfast at Granny’s Kitchen, the media was invited to meet and interview Parton’s backing band, the Grascals, at their soundcheck. We were told that Parton would absolutely not be there. Only four people went to the soundcheck: My wife and myself, along with Hazel and her musician son, Billy (Hazel’s other son, Terry, was playing upright bass in the Grascals).
Shortly after the soundcheck began, Parton, to our surprise, came out to join the band for three songs. Though there were only four people in attendance, she sang as if the theater was jam-packed, waving to the “audience” while thanking us for our applause. It was a remarkable peek at what makes Parton great. Aside from being 100% genuine, she never takes anything for granted.
After the soundcheck ended, I looked to my left and noticed Hazel sobbing. When I asked her why, she said it was the first time she had seen Terry onstage with the great Dolly Parton. Yet another real moment from a “concert” I rank among my 10 favorites.
March 21, 2018 @ 8:25 pm
Thanks for the story Jim.