Outlaw Era
tagStarted 1972Peak 1973-1980Last big hit 1983
Located in 1 route
Country reclaimed by the artists: stripped, road-band toughness with raw electric guitar, loping rhythm sections, and rough, unvarnished vocals, cut where the singers controlled the sessions. Rock and folk attitude, long hair, and self-written songs about freedom, prison, and the open road. Anti-Music-Row grit.
History
Frustrated by producer control, Waylon Jennings won creative autonomy from RCA and Willie Nelson decamped to Austin; together they led a movement codified by RCA's 1976 compilation 'Wanted! The Outlaws,' country's first platinum album. Tompall Glaser, Jessi Colter, and Kris Kristofferson rounded the core before the style merged into the mainstream by the early 1980s.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
- Michael Streissguth, Outlaw
- Bill C. Malone, Country Music U.S.A.
- AllMusic Outlaw Country essay