The New Waylon Jennings Album Is Here

The iconic voice of Waylon Jennings lives on in Songbird, a newly released collection of previously unheard recordings, compiled and mixed by his son Shooter Jennings. Out now the album marks the first in a series of three brand-new projects that promise to bring Jennings’ timeless outlaw country legacy into the modern era.

The first glimpse of Songbird was released earlier this year with Jennings’ cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Songbird, a track that quickly turned heads across both country and rock circles. Featuring fresh harmonies by country artists Elizabeth Cook and Ashley Monroe, the single received high praise.

Curated from studio sessions recorded between 1973 and 1984, the tracks on Songbird were originally produced by Waylon himself alongside longtime drummer and co-producer Richie Albright, with contributions from core members of The Waylors including steel guitar legend Ralph Mooney as well as guest appearances by Tony Joe White, Jessi Colter and more.

The journey to Songbird began in mid-2024 when Shooter started combing through hundreds of multitrack transfers of his father’s unreleased studio sessions. The deep dive happened just as he began a creative residency at Sunset Sound Studio with the help of longtime engineer Nate Haessly.

“What became very apparent to me was that my dad was recording constantly with his band The Waylors between tours,” says Shooter. “Just having won the David-and-Goliath battle against RCA for creative control and artistic freedom, Waylon was awarded the ability to record his music on his terms in his own studios, with his touring band, and without label oversight and without any outside influence. There was just so much inside, my mind was blown! These weren’t demos, these were songs that were cut with the intention of releasing, and as time went on, not all of them found places on the albums that Waylon and the Waylors were releasing at the time.”

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Shooter brought in surviving members of The Waylors: Gordon Payne, Jerry Bridges, Barny Robertson, and Carter Robertson to help put the final touches on a project more than 20 years in the making.

“Songbird is the beginning of Waylon’s return to the modern world,” Shooter says. “This is the first of three gifts from me to you: the fans that have kept my father’s voice, songs and legacy alive all these years. The next few years are going to be full of some of the most exciting musical moments that the world never knew they were going to hear. I hope that these records bring the kind of joy to you that they have brought me. 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.”