Outlaw Country
The defining lane of the family: spare, hard-edged country driven by punchy bass, brushless backbeat drums, and biting Telecaster lead, stripped of strings and choirs. Vocals are plainspoken, gravelly, and intimate, the feel is mid-tempo and propulsive, and the production favors road-band tightness over session gloss. The mood is proud, weary, and unbowed, with phased guitars and live-room ambience as common signatures.
History
Outlaw country was born when Waylon Jennings renegotiated his RCA contract in 1972 to win artistic control, recording "Honky Tonk Heroes" (1973) with Billy Joe Shaver's songs and his own road band. Willie Nelson's move to Austin and his concept albums "Shotgun Willie" (1973) and "Red Headed Stranger" (1975) gave the movement an artistic peak, and the platinum "Wanted! The Outlaws" (1976) made it a commercial phenomenon centered on RCA Nashville and Tompall Glaser's "Hillbilly Central" studio.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way — Waylon JenningsSpotifyYouTube
- Honky Tonk Heroes — Waylon JenningsSpotifyYouTube
- Red Headed Stranger — Willie NelsonSpotifyYouTube
- Take This Job and Shove It — Johnny PaycheckSpotifyYouTube
- I'm Not Lisa — Jessi ColterSpotifyYouTube
- Georgia on a Fast Train — Billy Joe ShaverSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Michael Streissguth, "Outlaw" (2013)
- AllMusic "Outlaw Country"
- Rolling Stone, "How the Outlaws Took Over Country Music"