Waylon Jennings - Love of the Common People/Hangin' On

Waylon Jennings is one of the most resptected and influential stars in Country music history.  With these recordings, Waylon managed to score his biggest hit, amongst multiple choice covers. Here's the birth of a star.

Hangin’ On starts off with a cover of Roy Orbison’s “The Crowd” and the title track was actually on the Love of the Common People album.  Bobby Bare’s “Woman, Don’t You Ever Laugh At Me” is a standout track as is Waylon’s version of John Hartford’s “Gentle On My Mind,” a song that went to the top of the charts in the hands of Glen Campbell.  Roger Miller’s “Lock, Stock and Teardrops,” a small hit for him in 1963 is on this record as well.  These songs all speak to Waylon’s ability to smell out a hit.  One of the biggest hits of Waylon’s early career was “The Chokin’ Kind,” and it was the second Top 10 hit of his career.  The song has since become an R&B staple that has been recorded by the likes of Joe Simon, and more recently, Joss Stone. 

These two albums, like Folk Country/Waylon Sings Ol’ Harlan showoff a burgeoning singer/songwriter who was working as well as he could within the Nashville Studio system.  While he would ultimately lead ‘the outlaws’ in the 1970s outside of the system, Love of the Common People/Hangin’ On shows off a mighty talented artist in the early stages of his career.

0 Comments