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

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
• 
  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Let My Love Open the Door”

Pete Townshend | 1980

A peppy, hopeful love song, "Let My Love Open the Door" became a U. S. Top Ten hit for Pete Townshend in 1980, anchored by the kind of repeating synthesizer figures that he'd used in some of the Who's recordings in the previous decade. Although Townshend brushed the song off as "just a ditty" in Rolling Stone shortly after its release, in 1996 he revealed it was about love of the holiest sort. "It's supposed to be about the power of God's love," he remarked. "That when you're in difficulty, whether it's major or minor, God's love is always there for you."

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter