Waylon Jennings's Real Name: Waylon Jennings

Quick answer: The country singer is known professionally as Waylon Jennings. Biography.com and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame independently date his birth to June 15, 1937, in Littlefield, Texas, and his death to February 13, 2002, in Chandler, Arizona. Sources disagree on a longer original form, so the title uses the public name (Biography.com; Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame).

Real name and early life

He is known professionally as Waylon Jennings. Biography.com, Britannica, Rolling Stone, and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame independently date his birth to June 15, 1937, in Littlefield, Texas. Britannica says he was named Wayland, after which his mother began calling him Waylon, having learned of a Texas school named Wayland Baptist College. Rolling Stone's February 14, 2002, obituary independently says he was born Wayland Arnold Jennings and that his mother changed the spelling to Waylon. The Hall of Fame lists the birth name as Waylon Arnold Jennings, without the Wayland spelling. Those longer forms are recorded here rather than used in the title.

Career highlights

Biography.com and Britannica both describe him as a central figure in outlaw country. Britannica dates two 1973 albums, Lonesome, On'ry and Mean and Honky Tonk Heroes, and says his first number one single was "This Time" the following year. It also says that in 1976 Jennings, Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser released Wanted! The Outlaws, which it calls the first certified million-selling album in country music. Biography.com independently names later hits including "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" and the theme from The Dukes of Hazzard, which Britannica dates to 1979–85 and says Jennings wrote and recorded. Both sources say he formed the Highwaymen in the 1980s with Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson; Biography.com dates the group to 1985. Earlier, both record that he worked with Buddy Holly, including on the 1958 single "Jole Blon" in Biography.com's account, and that he gave up his seat on the plane that crashed on February 3, 1959.

Death

Biography.com says Jennings died on February 13, 2002, at his home in Chandler, Arizona. The Hall of Fame independently lists the same date and Chandler, Arizona. Rolling Stone, published February 14, 2002, independently says he died February 13 at his home in Arizona, without naming Chandler.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Waylon Jennings are looking for the Littlefield-born outlaw-country singer. The Wayland and Arnold forms above are recorded here but are not used in the title.