Shooter Jennings Unearths Vault Of Unheard Waylon Tracks For Songbird

More than two decades after his passing, Waylon Jennings is back with new music and not just one track, but an entire album’s worth. Helmed by his son, Shooter Jennings, Songbird arrives October 3, marking the first of three all-new releases made from previously unreleased studio recordings.

Leading the project is The Cowboy (Small Texas Town), a long-lost gem written by Johnny Rodriguez and recorded during the sessions for Waylon’s 1978 album I’ve Always Been Crazy. It’s gritty, it’s poignant, and as Shooter puts it “a beautifully simple song” that somehow hits even harder now than it might have in its own era.

Shooter compiled and mixed the album at the iconic Sunset Sound Studio 3 now renamed Snake Mountain, digging through hundreds of high-res tapes from his father’s personal archives. What he found wasn’t a pile of demos, but they were fully produced songs, many featuring Jennings’ legendary backing band, The Waylors, and friends like Jessi Colter, Tony Joe White, and pedal steel great Ralph Mooney.

The project first gained attention with Waylon’s haunting, country-tinged cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Songbird, which dropped earlier this year featuring backing vocals from Elizabeth Cook and Ashley Monroe.

The tapes span Jennings’ creative peak between 1973 and 1984, a time when he had finally won his fight for creative control and was making music on his own terms. Shooter, clearly moved by the process, sees the project as more than just a tribute.

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“This project has given me an entirely new chapter in my relationship with my father and working on this music has brought a whole new understanding about how, when and why my dad made music. The hard work is there on the tapes and the passion and the soul within is as alive today as it was the day it was recorded.” says Shooter.

Songbird is just the beginning. Two more collections are already in the pipeline, promising more long-overdue moments with the outlaw legend.