“We could never find Waylon” joked Willie Nelson on his VH1 Storyteller session with Johnny Cash. Ghost Riders in the Sky had just finished, and for my money, it’s the best version out there.

Waylon Jennings always had a reputation, akin to being the Keith Moon of Country. Between the alcohol, the drugs, and the lyrics, Jennings was a maverick amongst renegades, part of the so called “Outlaw Country” movement that also included Johnny Paycheck, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and many more.

Are you sure Hank done it this way? is one of those songs critical of its own genre. Last week I wrote about Gretchen Wilson’s reckoning, this week its the OG and his admonishing of the superficiality that took over country. It’s weird how relevant his critique still is, even after so many decades.

Waylon Jennings is mostly known in Mexico for being “that dude who sang the theme tune for Dukes of Hazzard”. Dang shame, if you ask me, because his catalogue is expansive and quite rewarding to dig through. Are you sure Hank done it this way? is a great entry point into his work.

-Sam J. Valdés López