Waylon Arnold Jennings was born on 15 June 1937, in Littlefield, Texas USA, to Lorene Beatrice and William Albert Jennings. He was a singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for popularizing a new style of music known as outlaw country. Jennings passed away in 2002.
So just how rich was Waylon Jennings? Sources state that Jennings had acquired a net worth of over $7 million, as of mid-2016, which was earned during his music career spanning more than 40 years.
Waylon Jennings Net Worth $7 Million
Jennings learned to play guitar at an early age, and began performing in local clubs. At the age of 12 he formed the band The Texas Longhorns, and two years later started working as a DJ at the radio station KVOW. In 1954 he dropped out of school and moved to Lubbock, taking a job as a DJ at the radio station KLLL. It was here that he met the singer Buddy Holly, who produced Jennings’ first single “Jole Blon”, released in 1958. Soon afterwards, Holly hired him to play bass in his band The Crickets. The following year Jennings gave up his seat on the infamous flight that crashed, killing Holly, singers The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, and the pilot. The day of the flight later became known as the Day the Music Died.
During the ’60s Jennings moved to Phoenix, Arizona and formed a band named the Waylors, releasing several singles through Trend Records label. He then signed with A&M Records and moved to Los Angeles, California, recording only one album with the label, containing the hit singles “Four Strong Winds” and “Just To Satisfy You”. The singer later moved to Nashville and signed with RCA Victor, releasing the popular song “That’s the Chance I’ll Have to Take”. His net worth started to rise.
Several successful albums followed, among them the hit singles “The Chokin’ Kind”, “Stop the World (And Let Me Off)”, “Walk On Out of My Mind” and “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line”, all adding to his wealth.
In 1969 Jennings won his first Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for “MacArthur Park,” which was recorded with the Kimberlys. Jennings’ 70s albums “Good Hearted Woman” and “Ladies Love Outlaws” marked his transition to Outlaw Country, a subgenre that was arising at the time. Upon moving to Austin, Texas, the singer released albums “Lonesome, On’ry and Mean” and “Honky Tonk Heroes”, again under RCA Victor, but now under his own creative control. He went on to release several successful albums during the ’70s, among them the gold albums “Dreaming My Dreams” and “Are You Ready for the Country”, and the platinum “Wanted! The Outlaws”. His collaboration with Willie Nelson brought two hit singles, “Luckenbach, Texas” and “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” the latter winning Jennings his second Grammy Award. His wealth boosted.
During this time, Jennings struggled with drug addiction. After deciding to quit it in 1984 he, Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson formed a group called The Highwaymen, releasing three albums by 1995. He went on with his solo career as well, signing with Music Corporation in America and releasing the album “Will the Wolf Survive” in 1985.
In 1990 Jennings signed with Epic Records and released his album “The Eagle”, however, from that point his career started to decline, but he still perform live at many events during the 90s. He later signed with Justice Records, releasing three albums in the following three years. In 1997 he formed Waylon & The Waymore Blues Band, which primarily consisted of former Waylors, and performed live with the group until 2001. In the meantime, Jennings released his final album, the 2000 “Never Say Die: Live”. In 2001 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Aside from his music career, Jennings was also involved in the film and television industry. In 1979 he served as the narrator for the country comedy series “The Dukes of Hazzard”, and the song “Good Ol’ Boys” which he wrote for the show became one of the biggest hits of his career. In 1985 he made a cameo appearance in the children’s film “Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird”.
In his private life, Jennings was married four times, firstly to Maxine Lawrence(1956-61), with whom he had four children. He then married Lynne Jones(1962-67) with whom he adopted a child. Jennings third marriage was with Barbara Rood(1968-69). His fourth wife was Jessi Colter(1969), with whom he had one child and with whom he remained until his death in 2002. Jennings had suffered from diabetes for years. In 2001 his health worsened, and his foot was amputated. He died of diabetic complications the following year.
