Outlaw: Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and the Renegades of Nashville

by Michael Streissguth

Waylon Jennings. Willie Nelson. Kris Kristofferson. Three renegade musicians. Three unexpected stars. Three men who changed Nashville and country music forever.

By the late 1960s, Nashville, Tennessee, was firmly established as the center of the booming country music industry and home to what was known as the Nashville Sound, characterized by slick production and adherence to an increasingly overused formula. But the city was changing. Young people from all over the country were streaming into the bohemian West End and colliding with three trailblazing artists who would soon rock the foundations of Nashville's music business.

Surrounded by the street vibes of the West End's burgeoning underground scene and the outlaw protest tradition of Nashville's unlikely civil rights leaders and antiwar protestors, Waylon, Willie, and Kris began resisting the unspoken rules of Nashville's music-making machine and instead forged their own creative paths. Their music, personal and not easily categorized, was more in the vein of rock acts like the Allman Brothers and Bob Dylan, and it communicated a stark rawness and honesty that would influence artists of all genres for decades to come.

Studded with a diverse secondary cast including Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, Kinky Friedman, Billy Joe Shaver, and others, Streissguth's new book brings to life an incredible chapter in musical history and reveals for the first time a surprising outlaw zeitgeist in Nashville. Based on extensive research and probing interviews with key players, what emerges is a fascinating glimpse into three of the most legendary artists of our times and the definitive story of how they changed music in Nashville and everywhere.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Pop Culture, American History, Audiobook

304 pages, Hardcover

First published June 4, 2013

Reviews

[``Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brought back a lot of memories for me of the late 70's when Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson became the superstars of country music by breaking the power of the Nashville studio system.

Suddenly country was cool and everybody started wearing cowboy boots and hats whether they were from the city or the country with the wildly popular movie "Urban Cowboy" being the culmination of this movement.

Waylon and Willie both had signed with the Nashville studios back in the 60's but their careers were only marginally successful. As hard as the producers tried to make them fit into the mold of their contemporaries in country music they never were able to achieve the success that had seemed possible for them when newly signed.

Country music in the 60's had lush instrumental arrangements with violins and harmonizing background vocals which created quite a few crossover hits but seemed to inhibit the vocal styles of Waylon and Willie. Waylon had been an early rocker in Texas during the late 50's but Nashville only wanted him to sing constrained love songs and softened his edge.

Willie Nelson had been able to write many hit songs for other Nashville artists which had kept the wolves at bay while trying to support his family, but the studio had him singing his songs without moving behind a microphone, which seemed to negate any star quality he ever hinted at having. Old videos show the stiff and downright miserable looking Nelson as he performed in a suit and tie. He just didn't feel comfortable as was plainly revealed.

The miserable Nelson left Nashville, returning to his home state Texas and started playing at large festivals and venues there while continuing to write songs in his down time. After hitting Texas he had very little down time though and was extremely successful as a live performer, just singing his songs the way he wanted to.

He soon encouraged his friend Waylon, also a native Texan, to come home and start performing at the very lucrative events there. The sudden freedom from the restraints of Nashville gave them the courage to buck the system when their contracts came up for renewal. Both insisted on complete control of what they recorded without the lush strings and vocals, wanting to return to the basics of country music.

No more crooning love songs for Waylon and Willie grew his hair long, started wearing jeans instead and become a very successful performing artist. They were able to record their music at any studio they desired instead of the recording studios of the label that signed them. No more producers telling them what and how to sing.

Waylon and Willie both decided to record at the studio of Tompall Glaser and the rest is history. Their fusion of country and rock music met with such unbelievable success, selling millions of country records for the first time in country music history. This resulted in the Nashville studio system soon being broken, with all artists demanding the same control over their careers.

If Nashville didn't want to bend with the times there were other labels that would.

Willie Nelson's first concept album "Red Headed Stranger" sold 10 million copies and stayed on the charts for several years.

After Willie had finished recording this masterpiece the big wigs at Nashville were not the least bit optimistic when his album was released. This unique album was able to bring in millions of new fans to country music as well as amazing prosperity to all involved.

So much amazing music history in this book which also included the stories of the bit players who played a part in returning country music to its roots. It also included the story of Kris Kristofferson another Texan who participated in the country/rock fusion revolution.

Take a listen to the links below if you're curious to hear the Outlaws.

Waylon Jennings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVURf...

Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4AxJ...

Urban Cowboy Soundtrack:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

Wanted: The Outlaws with WAylon and Willie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dyZt...

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I've been called an outlaw, a renegade, and a son of a b****. But all we've been fighting for is artistic control. Freedom is what it all boils down to, having your own way." -- Waylon Jennings

Though Willie and Kris are up there in the title trio with Waylon they sort of get lost in the shuffle alongside numerous other personalities (lesser-known artists, producers, and various hangers-on) profiled in Streissguth's dry book on the 'outlaw movement' in country music. Said genre came to prominence in early 70's Nashville, as singers/songwriters that had poured into the city just a few years earlier finally became a force to be reckoned with, garnering both sales and critical acclaim.

For a style (and lifestyle) of music that leaned more towards rock and away from some of the then-ubiquitous slick or bland country songs perfected in the 60's, the stories and anecdotes included here aren't all that wild and crazy. What's more, Johnny Cash (who is often considered part of this movement as well) is a character just lurking on the fringes of the narrative but, frustratingly, is not really much of an involved entity. Now THAT's a man who has got some legends built around him.

Speaking of the Cash family - there was one account, late in the book, that made me laugh out loud at the sheer inappropriateness and 70's-era sleaze that it fully represented: The direct quote: "Even Rosanne Cash, whose maverick singing and songwriting rebelled against corporate country music, was told by [record label] executives that on her album jackets that she must always appear ripe for sex, though in a chaste sort of way." Holy Smokes! Can anyone say 'sexual harassment'? One can only imagine how 'The Man in Black' - especially after one of his notorious benders - would throttle those execs.

[Ron S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author, professor and documentary filmmaker Michael Streissguth looks at three musicians at the forefront of change in country music in the late 1960s and and early 70s. Besides all of the biographical background provided for Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson, this highly readable book is also filled with insight into Nashville, other performers from Lee Emerson to Kinky Friedman, recording and management practices, the Austin scene; even the Dripping Springs Festival gets mention here. An enjoyable read for anyone interested in what marketers came to call Outlaw country music (origins of which are explained), along with the Nashville of the day.

[Ted Lehmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville by Michael Streissguth (!t books, 304 pages, June 4, 2013, $26.99) describes in vivid detail a time of turmoil in Nashville and in the music business when country music, as represented by the corporate image or RCA's country music division with Chet Atkins as the chief of the Nashville office had reached a point of over production and artistic decadence which challenged its listenership and sales. Streissguth describes a time when Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley pioneered the “Nashville sound” by merging soft rock with traditional country and adding crooning strings to develop a marshmallow sound needing refreshment. Into this environment came three singer/songwriters nurtured in Texas and seeking their own ways of expressing themselves. Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson didn't fit the mold that Atkins and men like him tried to force them into. By finding their own sound and audience in a changing Nashville, they established and maintained careers on their own terms that broke the corporate hold on music and established the independence of performers. Read my full review in early June on my blog at www.tedlehmann.blogspot.com

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given this book five stars for the writing alone, but Streissguth tried to pull off something that's just not possible. He tried to write the history of the Outlaw movement from just the Nashville perspective and thereby giving Austin short shrift.

It's also clear that he didn't really understand the impact that Austin musicians, like Jerry Jeff Walker, had on Waylon and Willie. It was Jerry Jeff who first fought for the artistic freedom to record with whomever and wherever he chose and ultimately got that with Decca. He strove to create an unvarnished, impromptu, live feel to his recordings, which became the hallmark of the Austin scene.

The manifesto of the Outlaw ethos was Jerry Jeff's Viva Terlingua, recorded at the dance hall in Luckenbach in 1973. Two years before Red Headed Stranger. This was what Waylon and Willie took back to the Nashville recording studios with them.

[Jen K · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history of the Outlaw movement of country music in Nashville especially focusing on the careers of Waylon, Willie and Kris. Johnny and his daughter Roseanne are also regularly mentioned but Johnny managed to break out of the tightly run country music industry early on. The outlaw movement was well researched with the history of the music studios in Nashville and the power of few to really create, make or break a star with few choices given to the singers including even the songs, musicians and producers or even place that they could work. A few of the renegades really struggled with the tight control and fought to change the music industry to allow themselves more artistic licenses and choices. Leading the fight were Willie who had to leave Nashville to his native Texas to really break free and start his rise to the top, Waylon who seemed to fight and struggle his whole career with people and an astounding drug habit. Kris hit Hollywood early but would always be remembered and welcomed back to Nashville as a genius song writer. The studio and Waylon most profited from the Outlaw title. It was lovely to see how gracious his friends and fellow musicians supported him. I appreciated how the music was contextualized by the politics of the civil rights and shift from Democrat to Republican as well also influencing country music.

The history was well done and I enjoyed the photos. While I understand that the Outlaw movement went well beyond Waylon, Willie and Kris, there were entirely too many names and random side stories that were a bit distracting perhaps as I don't know the history as well. I wish there was a soundtrack to the book to listen as I read.

[Michael Franko · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating book for any country music fan who is interested in learning about the history of the industry and the role Nashville and some of its key players had on it from the 60s-80s. “Outlaw” specifically follows the stories of Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson during this era and the impact they had on country music, which I was greatly entertained by. I wasn’t entertained by Streissguth’s mentioning of the roles record companies, government/politics, and pop culture played in the development of the Outlaw country scene in Nashville, however, much of it was necessary to tell the story the right way. Specifically, the roles different record companies/recording labels had that were mentioned throughout this book were hard to follow for me and seemed pretty repetitive.

Nonetheless, gaining an understanding of how Waylon, Willie, Kris, and others created an era that changed country music forever is something every country music fan should seek, and by reading “Outlaw” this is possible.

[Tasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started it because I was hoping there would be some information about Johnny Cash. There really wasn’t. But it was interesting learning about Waylon and Willie’s early careers.

[Margaret Elder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had chosen this work because I have always liked Willie Nelson, and I am fascinated by Kris Kristofferson's life and music. In spite of the title, the book is not a biography of these three country musicians but a history of country music, particularly the outlaw movement, primarily during the 1970s. The writing is good, and the book is thoroughly annotated. While I wasn't really all that interested in the music business that is the focus of much of the work, I did learn a great deal. The thread that seemed to join the three men in the title was individual freedom to write, work, and perform as each pleased. Country music was changed substantially because of them.

[Nick Greenwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at three of the main stars and catalyst musicians for the country "outlaw" movement starting in the mid-60s through the 70s. With inspiration from Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson wrote some of the most interesting and almost non-country lyrics. He wasn't a great singer, but that was the point, neither was Willie. Kris was really the first one, but it's not really about who got there first, it's all about how the three of them rebelled against the countrypolitan sound of the time and tried to forge their own way in the world. If you like this kind of music or country music of any kind this book will give you a new appreciation for those artists and how they influenced a lot of musicians and their influence is still felt today, despite country music being very, very pop oriented.

On the topic of the writing. It's very mediocre. The storytelling that gets you is told through quotes, the writer never really gets you with his own words, he instead lets the artists themselves tell the stories. That's fine and all but it makes for a slightly less than enthusiastic effort. The author's job in these cases is to be the hype man and the author is largely silent throughout the book. It's short. It just sort of ends in the early 80s. Waylon is still riding high on cocaine and Kris and Willie are doing their own things and it just sort of ends. It would've been nice for the book to keep following their careers. Interview people who have been influenced by them, especially current stars and how they've tried to take the outlaw image and keep it going or haven't. There was a pseudo outlaw movement in the mid-00s with the crap that was Big and Rich and Gretchen Wilson, but it was nothing more than the precursor to the pop-country that exists now.

Overall, a decent book filled with interesting stories but it never really feels like anything special, almost as if instead of writing the definitive book on Outlaw Country Music, the author wrote a flat textbook. I'm sure there are better books out there, this is just merely a gateway book, culled from interviews but mostly from biographies and autobiographies of the musicians involved. It hurts the book that it's mostly second hand stories, it makes the reader wonder, why did I bother reading this when I could have and should have read the primary source.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up a copy of this book because I am a fan of country music. I grew up on it, so I wanted to read this book as these are three men that are staples in this industry. So I was excited to read this book. Well I do have to say that it is packed full of information, however, I found that sometimes too much information is not always a good thing. Especially if you do not break up the information some with more personality. This is what I was hoping and looking for in this book...personality. I wanted to get to the meat of these men and hear from them more and the special stories they had. Not really to read a book where I felt that I could gather this information from the internet. Sadly, I grew bored of this book and put it down and walked away from it.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

WoW! I was not expecting to like this book at all. However, the information was very interesting --
and the connection to other Nashville historical events at the time was fascinating.

[Timothy Batson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Cliff's Notes as you can get with this history and still retain some juicy details. A nice slice of music history.

[Tim Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Michael Streissguth follows up his biography of Johnny Cash with a look at the birth and short life of the Outlaw Country sub-genre. Streissguth primarily focuses on the three artists in the subtitle, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson with the focus on Nashville's role in the growth of the outlaw movement. Both choices are interesting and potentially problematic. In particular Streissguth focuses very heavily on Waylon, which is, in my opinion, a valid choice.

I want to start out by saying that I enjoyed the book and it was a super quick read. So any short-comings or questions I have about the author's decisions have to be taken within the context of the fact that I not only like the book, but that I would recommend it to folks who are interested in country music history. I definitely understand focusing in on the three named artists. Ultimately the Outlaw movement was about shaking up the Nashville establishment and artists gaining control of their own recordings and music. All three were instrumental in that. Kristofferson was, by far, the most prominent of of the new breed of songwriter who brought a new poetic lyricism to country song-writing. And his prominence, particularly after he became a Hollywood star (though you can very easily argue that the move made his songwriting suffer) helped to establish the new look of country, longer hair, beards, and blue jeans instead of clean-cut fellers in Nudie suits. Waylon and Willie both revolted against the Nashville recording machine (in slightly different ways) and were absolutely the two poster children for what became known as Outlaw Country.

Waylon revolted against RCA and the control of Chet Atkins and ultimately gained complete control of his music and how, and by whom, it was recorded. It was an internal revolt as his best work was still, ultimately, released by RCA. Willie, on the other hand, ended up leaving RCA, which had never figured out how to market him, had a brief stay at Atlantic (one that was creatively excellent, but disappointing in sales) before finally landing at CBS and hitting superstardom. Both stories are incredibly important in what would become the death of the Nashville machine. But they weren't the first. Streissguth, recognizes that Johnny Cash had long been able to do his own thing. But he really doesn't recognize Bobby Bare, who had had his own battle with RCA and Atkins a few years earlier and gained a fair bit of autonomy for his music. And he absolutely gives short shrift to Jerry Jeff Walker and to the Texas music scene in general. But Bare's music never changed the way that Waylon or Willie's did and Walker (and Doug Sahm and the rest of the Texas crowd) doesn't fit in with the Nashville narrative.

I'll also say that unless you have a pretty significant back-ground in country music of the period, including the business side of it, this book could be daunting. Streissguth trots out a LOT of names, including a lot of songwriters and sidemen who may have been fairly well known in the late 60s and the 70s, but are largely forgotten today. And I think that he probably could have gone in to more depth on the way the business of country music worked leading up to Waylon and the rest's revolt. I knew about it, but a lot of people almost certainly won't and will have no idea the kind of power that Chet Atkins and other Nashville execs wielded. I also would suggest a copy editor go over the book. I noticed more than a few misspelled names and at least one song title that was wrong.

Still, this is a good book and it's never less than interesting. And if you pull up your Spotify (or other service) and play the music that is mentioned as you're reading it's an even better experience.

[Garrett Cash · Rating 4 out of 5]

My journey into the so called "outlaw" music genre or label began with the first country record I ever bought with my own money. It was the "Wanted! The Outlaws" compilation that I still have and play, and like many Americans back in the 70's it was my first glimpse into the underground world of Nashville's defiant voices against the slick countrypolitan mainstream.

This led me to an interest in Willie Nelson specifically, and I read all the Willie books and saw him in concert in 2012. Waylon was sort of just a peripheral figure to me who seemed to have too strong a country accent for my rock tastes, and so I didn't dive further into outlaw music for a long time.

Fast forward to 2017 or so, and when I started working at a record store I became interested in these 70's country records coming in with strange songwriting, heavy bass on the production, rock values, and anti-establishment views. I always knew there was many artists to be explored in the outlaw genre that I simply hadn't taken the time to discover as I researched country from the 20's-60's for years. Now was the time I started learning who many artists were I had never heard of. Mickey Newbury, Jerry Jeff Walker, Guy Clark, Billy Joe Shaver, Joe Ely, and many more. Plus I started finally really listening to the catalogs of Waylon, Tompall, and Kris for the first time.

In that time I read Jan Reid's work on the Texas outlaws in The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock, and this book seemed like a worthy companion focusing more on the world of Nashville.
My suspicions were correct, and this book does a superb job of righting the wrong view that Nashville didn't play as big a role as Texas in the outlaw story, and introduced me to more characters and artists from the time I hadn't heard of. It also explores the intertwined relationships, record label dealings, artist eccentricities, and more you would hope for in a look at the rise and fall of an influential movement.

While the story of what the outlaws accomplished may be a bit overly familiar and their imagery a bit too fake/trumped up, this book will remind you of the excitement happening in Nashville's West End in the early to mid 70's that constitutes the reason why we have so much forward thinking and influential music to enjoy to this day.

[Mason Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I've been called an outlaw, a renegade, and a son of a bitch. But all we've been fighting for is artistic control.
Freedom is what it all boils down to, having your own way.”
- Waylon Jennings
The counterculture of the 60s was heavily influenced by Beat literature. Beat literature influenced Dylan to hit the road. Dylan influenced Jerry Garcia. The vagabond experience of the beats led to the experimentation of the hippie movement. Cassady and Kesey’s weird world of psychedelics, rock and roll, and the Hells Angels infiltrated all aspects of American media. The Hells Angels were running security for The Dead in San Francisco and Waylon in Nashville. As a fan of drug fueled rock and roll, psychedelic curiosity, and vagabond induced literature, I’ve always wondered how the Outlaw music scene fit into the larger narrative of challenging the status quo. Turns out, they were right at the center of it.
They didn’t care for the Outlaw title but cared that they lived according to their convictions of the way things should be. It wasn’t about being bad, but questioning the ideas of what it is to be good. All of the counterculture “movements” weren’t supposed to be movements. At the core, they started as groups of people who valued authentic expression. Each of their own unique experiences, whether it was the church, poverty, or Oxford education; culminated in songs that represented what they truly believed and valued.
Willie, Waylon and Kris are the archetypal characters of my favorite era of American history.
But they didn’t care that they’re the face of it. Just as Kerouac criticized younger “beatniks” and Dylan separated himself from the hippies.
They just wanted their own way.

[Joe Buck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Closer to 2.5 but we'll round up. It had been a few years since I first read this, but I remember feeling pretty lukewarm about it at the time. And upon reread, I'm still not too hot about it.

It's kind of all over the place, and perhaps the author would have done better to focus his story on Waylon and Willie, the defacto faces of the whole "Outlaw bit." Kristofferson is one of my favorite songwriters, but his story felt a bit shoehorned in, seeing as how he exits the story for the most part once his film career takes off in the mid-70s.

Likewise, Michael Streissguth spills a lot of ink on absolutely negligible figures (Lee Emerson, Jim Casey, Vince Matthews, and Rodney Crowell [who is about as "outlaw" as a bowl of corn flakes]) while paying the most minimal lip service to figures who were more central to Outlaw Country's development (like David Allan Coe, one of the few who gave his full-throated endorsement to the tag). And honestly, I think this is because the author bit off more than he could chew with so broad a subject. And consequently, in its aim to gloss through everything, it can become a bit tedious. Again, if he had focused his subject just a little more narrowly, there might be more story and less machine-gunning trivia.

Worth a read if you're interested but honestly, I think the episode of Ken Burns' documentary that pertains to this whole scene does a better job at telling the story.

[coty ☆]

i get the appeal of putting waylon, willie, and kris in the title, but this definitely reads moreso as a generalized history of a specific period in country music as opposed to a study of their careers specifically, which is what i was hoping for. kris especially doesn't get nearly as much page time dedicated to him; which i suppose is understandable; but that doesn't change the fact that it was slightly disappointing on that front. outisde of that, it's a really interesting book. being a life-long tennessean definitely affords me a level of bias but i loved the exploration of nashville and country music: how streissguth stresses that it wasn't just for conservatives. he challenges stereotypes that continue to persist today, painting instead a vivid and diverse portrait of a beautiful city, and highlighting the various sounds and paths of a genre too easily dismissed. streissguth's picture of nashvile is a cultural meca, a haven for creativity, and willie and kris especially WERE essential to that movement - kristofferson specifically did so much good and pledged himself to so many causes, damning the bridges it might burn professionally.

it's not a city without its issues, of course, because no city is, but it's so unfair to dismiss nashville because it's in the south, and i'm glad streissguth didn't do that. a really engaging little book that's definitely worth the read.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reads like a series of magazine articles rather than a comprehensive look at what these artists accomplished and meant to music. Nothing wrong with that. I enjoyed the anecdotes, of which there are many, concerning the three major artists - Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson - and the many others who were either outlaw adjacent or merely interacted with the big three once or twice.

Kristofferson actually predated outlaw country, but without the commercial success of his more complex lyrics in country music, Willie and Waylon would never have won the freedom to stretch parameters the way they did. Kristofferson comes off as a hard worker who kept on reaching for the next rung of achievement, though somehow it all fell apart after a while. Jennings was the pill popping later coke addict who wrote amazing songs while staying up all night losing thousands of dollars playing pinball with Tompall Glaser. Nelson kept pushing the envelope, making concept albums and collections of pop standards enormously popular.

This book was over almost before I knew it. I'd like to find something that looks at the music in more depth but this did fill in some gaps in my historical knowledge.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very likeable paean to Nashville and the careers of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. Lots of cameo appearances by greater and lesser-known icons, iconoclasts, and persona non grata of country music, along with lots of anecdotes, legends, and hearsay stories, some humorous, some touching, some blood-curdling. The one that I didn't know about was the death of singer-songwriter, producer, and genuine outlaw Lee Emerson at the hands of Barry Sadler, the latter of the 1966 hit "Ballad of the Green Berets" fame. The author takes great pains to underscore the fact that the "outlaw" label was pretty misplaced on all three of the principal subjects of the book, except in the sense that they won (or insisted upon) the right to work with the musicians, producers, and studios they liked, instead of those dictated by the record companies (though even that claim to fame may be a bit overstated). All three are interesting in their own right, but the one who ends up wearing the mantle of the progenitor of the outlaw movement is Kristofferson, who is also given his due in the Ken Burns documentary series on country music.

[Jimmy Godin · Rating 3 out of 5]

To me, this is mostly a book about three country star’s relationships: relationships with each other, within the music industry, and with the music itself.

It narrows in on how Waylon, Willie, and Kris forged their own path through the Nashville institution. It starts rather slow but picks up fast when each musician starts finding their own musical independence—about halfway through the book.

Despite what the title and cover suggest, this book is mostly about Waylon and Willie. Kris gets a short shrift in comparison. Which is okay by me I guess—I’m a big Waylon and Willie fan and admittedly don’t listen to much of Kris’ music. Plus, I think Waylon and Willie’s outsized personalities lend to more exciting stories and anecdotes.

I finished this book with a more robust understanding of what was going on in Nashville in the late-60’s/70’s—and with some entertaining Waylon ‘sex, drugs, and rock n roll’ stories to boot. The man loved his pinball and cocaine. He was just an ordinary dude after all. And Willie… well, he’s just as sweet as they come.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. The title definitely intrigued me since Willie, Waylon and Kris are three of my top 5/10 artists of all time. I've reach much about Willie (several books by him and a few about him), and Waylon (including his autobiography) but not as much about Kris. There are many many interesting stories to tell about these three, and there are others who contributed to the "Outlaw Country" movement of the 70s.

The story itself is compelling. Unfortunately the storytelling did not live up to the story. Instead of drawing me into the stories and finding myself learning more about these men and the movement, I found myself dredging through interesting stories made mundane. I struggled to finish the book. I would not recommend it. It was competent but not compelling.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I've been diving deeply into Willie Nelson's music and in turn artists at the forefront of the Outlaw Country movement, and this book complemented that very well. The journey through time, music, and places offered a unique history and perspective on these well-known artists, especially on beloved songs that have strongly stood the test of time. There were a couple slow parts to this book that I found to be boring. Although, I do appreciate the tremendous detail the author put into this book, at times the content and level of detail (I felt) were irrelevant to the book. Overall, it was still a very interesting book, with cool insight into the journey of these artists and what really made them outlaws!

[Ryan Laferney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outlaw: Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and the Renegades of Nashville serves as a great in-depth overview of the heyday of the Outlaw Country Music Movement that fueled Nashville, TN. and Austin, TX in the 1970s. The book surveys the careers of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson while also mentioning the likes of Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt, and Guy Clark. The book proves that Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson truly changed the Country Music scene in the 1970s. Outlaw shows just how the three singer-songwriters didn't quite fit in, and how they saved country music from itself (at least for a time).

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was an excellent, very enjoyable to read. It was so smooth it read like a novel and yet served as a primer for this extremely significant musical history, and a cultural history of the united states (though how you write about the mainstreaming of outlaw culture without mentioning SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT, which was the biggest thing around until STAR WARS came around, baffles me). It was enjoyable enough that I slowed down because I didn't want it to end (it ended to abruptly, even though the ending itself was poignant) and also because every time an artist or song was mentioned I'd look them/it up and try to listen to a recording.

[Jerry Bunin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a fascinating history of the Outlaw Movement which changed Nashville and Country Music in so many positive ways. It is a great read for all Willie Nelson fans and all those who still listen to Americana music. I previously read and thoroughly enjoyed Streissguth's biography of Johnny Cash. This was extra enjoyable because my wife and I, while permanent West Coast residents, have visited so many Nashville and Memphis musical landmarks.

[Brett buckner · Rating 4 out of 5]

You don't have to love country music to love its characters, and Outlaw covers some of the best of 'em.
Everyone knows Waylon and Willie, but Kris Kristofferson was an artist I only knew in passing (mostly because he wrote Me and Bobby McGee). This book brought to life not only the Nashville rebels that reinvigorated Nashville in the late '60s and early '70s but also the side men and hangers on that made this era of country music one of its most endearing.

[Clay Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great. It is as much a history of Nashville in the 70s as it is biographical about the guys in the title. I assumed Nashville just recently lost its soul, but it seemed to be pretty soulless back then too. Waylon seemed to do as much as anyone to change the ways things were done in Nashville, including the “Nashville Sound.” I don’t think Ken Burns gave him enough credit for that in his country music documentary. I will definitely seek out more books by Streissguth.

[robert wallick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything I have to say about this book has been said in the other 4-5 star reviews I was living in this time and became a fan of this genre of music I grew up on country music and swore I would never listen to it again but they brought me back most of the artists mentioned in this book I followed them down the trail first Gram Parsons and Emmy Lou then a fan of Willie and Waylon and I am still a fan to this day and I also began listening to Merle George and the rest of country’s outlaws

[Andy Greenman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few musicians landed in Music Row in the '60s and changed the Nashville Sound forever. After major success Kristofferson moved to Malibu to star in films, Willie moved back to Texas and Waylon continued to record and do massive amounts of coke. Don't y'all think this outlaw bit has done got outta hand?