Wayne Scott was a gifted songwriter and musician who could easily hold his own amongst the likes of such respected troubadours as Billy Joe Shaver and Townes Van Zandt. Scott grew up in Kentucky, and although he was writing songs as far back as his teen years, he worked in car factories and steel mills until at the age of 40, he decided to pursue a career in music. Over the years, his band of choice included his four sons, including famed chart topping songwriter, Darrell Scott. Ironically, even though the elder Scott was an extremely prolific songwriter, he chose not to play his songs to his barroom audiences, but rather cover versions of country songs. And it wasn’t until 2005 when he was 71 years old that Darrell finally convinced him to record an album. The stunning collection, This Weary Land, is steeped in folk, country, and blues, and was produced by Darrell. It features such guests as Guy Clark, Tim O’Brien, and Verlon Thompson. Wayne Scott died on November 18, 2011 from injuries he sustained in a car accident. He was 77.
Waylon Jennings was a hugely influential country singer, songwriter and musician who was one of the pioneers of the genre’s “outlaw” movement of the ’70s. Jennings learned to play the guitar and formed his own band before he even hit his teen years. One of Jennings’ first jobs in music was as a disc jockey at a local Texas radio station. It was there that he met an up-and-coming rockabilly singer named Buddy Holly. Before long, Jennings was playing bass in Holly’s band. On February 3, 1959, Jennings career path suffered a tragic setback when Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, and Ritchie Valens all perished in a plane crash while they were on tour of the Midwest. The accident, which has been memorialized as “the day the music died,” almost claimed Jennings’ life as well. At the last minute Jennings gave up his seat to Richardson who hadn’t been feeling well. As the musicians were boarding the plane, Holly quipped to Jennings, “I hope your ‘ol bus freezes up.” Jennings’ retort, “Well, I hope your ‘ol plane crashes” haunted him for the rest of his life. Jennings took a hiatus from performing and moved to Arizona where he went back to DJ’ing. By the mid ’60s, he was making music again. As he began building a following, Jennings met resistance from the Nashville music community for in part, not using the usual session players for his records. Jennings was adamant that he would only use his traveling band in the studio. And the rock edge to his music fell outside what was perceived as the “Nashville Sound,” a more slick country-pop. This “outlaw” movement began to take hold as fellow country men like Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson who preferred to hang on to country’s honky tonk roots. Over the course of his career, Jennings released a series of top-selling and influential country records. That list includes Honky Tonk Heroes, Waylon Live, Are You Ready For The CountryLonesome, On’ry and Mean, Good Hearted Woman, and Dreaming My Dreams. His collaborations with the likes of Nelson, Jessi Colter, the Highwaymen and the Outlaws were critically and commercially acclaimed as well. Jennings stayed active through the ’90s even as his health began to fail due to diabetes. On February 13, 2002, the disease claimed Waylon Jennings’ life. He was 64.
John “Eddy” Shaver
June 20, 1962 – December 31, 2000
Eddy Shaver was an electric guitarist, songwriter and son of legendary country-outlaw, Billy Joe Shaver with whom he performed as Shaver. As a youngster, Shaver was given his first guitar and given lessons by Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers. After growing into a fiery electric guitarist, Shaver played alongside such greats as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson, and of course, his father. As a songwriter, Shaver is best known for “Live Forever,” a song co-written with his father that has been recorded by the likes of the Highwaymen and Patty Loveless. In the mid ’90s, Eddy teamed up with his father, Billy Joe to form the rock-leaning alt-country band, Shaver. Together they released a handful of critically praised albums, including the excellent Tramp on Your Street. On December 31, 2000, Eddy Shaver was scheduled to perform a New Years Eve show with his father, but never made it there. He was dead of a heroin overdose at the age of 38.
Wayne Scott was a gifted songwriter and musician who could easily hold his own amongst the likes of such respected troubadours as Billy Joe Shaver and 
Waylon Jennings was a hugely influential country singer, songwriter and musician who was one of the pioneers of the genre’s “outlaw” movement of the ’70s. Jennings learned to play the guitar and formed his own band before he even hit his teen years. One of Jennings’ first jobs in music was as a disc jockey at a local Texas radio station. It was there that he met an up-and-coming rockabilly singer named 
Eddy Shaver was an electric guitarist, songwriter and son of legendary country-outlaw, Billy Joe Shaver with whom he performed as Shaver. As a youngster, Shaver was given his first guitar and given lessons by Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers. After growing into a fiery electric guitarist, Shaver played alongside such greats as Willie Nelson, 
