(52) ELVIS WORRIES ABOUT HIS COMPETITION : WAYLON JENNINGS

Elvis also confided in me that he was worried Waylon Jennings as his competition. I honestly don't know exactly why but someone told Elvis he could sound like him. Lots of singers were imitating Elvis. Usually he was honored if one of us tried to.

Now Waylon is today known for being a Country Music "outlaw," but in 1960 Waylon was just about a year away from being on a Rock and Roll tour. Waylon was from Texas, just like Buddy Knox and Buddy Holly were, and he was once considered Holly's protege. He started out in Rockabilly.

He was on tour with the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly when the plane crash killed them. There wasn't enough room for him on the plane. He had stayed behind and avoided the same fate. I never met Waylon, but I admired him. Buddy Knox and I knew that he had been shaken, confronting Fate and his own mortality after that crash. Just as we had.

RCS discography for Waylon in his early years.

http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/artists/j/jenn1000.htm

And here is Waylon's official website linked above!

Replaced 1/11/2011 with WAYLON JENNINGS OFFICIAL (WITH WILLIE NELSON)