Although he often balked at the “outlaw country” label, Waylon Jennings embodied it. Frequently and openly defying the Music Row establishment, he sent 11 albums to the top of the Billboard country albums chart. On this day (September 13) in 1976, he reclaimed his number-one spot with Are You Ready for the Country.
While the album earned mixed reviews, that didn’t stop it from spending 10 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Top Country Albums chart.
After securing that spot earlier in the year with the compilation album Wanted! The Outlaws, Jennings found himself back on top in August 1976 with Are You Ready for the Country. After Red Sovine’s Teddy Bear briefly dethroned it for one week in August, Jennings was back on top by September 13, 1976.
Are You Ready for the Country also reached number 34 on the pop albums chart.
Jennings wrote four songs for the 10-track collection, including the acclaimed “I’ll Go Back to Her.” However, most of the album consists of pop and rock covers. In fact, the title track is the outlaw legend’s rendition of a song from Neil Young’s 1972 album Harvest.
Other covers include the Marshall Tucker Band’s 1973 hit “Can’t You See” and the Jimmy Webb-penned “MacArthur Park”.
How Waylon Jennings Changed the Meaning of This Neil Young Song
When Neil Young released “Are You Ready for the Country?”, many initially believed the Canadian artist was referring to his own foray into traditional country music.
However, a deeper look at the lyrics reveals that Young is actually taking aim at the Vietnam War. During a 1984 appearance on Nashville Now, the multi-Grammy winner shared that he wrote the song after seeing a poster of Uncle Sam with its “I Want You for U.S. Army” messaging. Young said he imagined Uncle Sam singing the words, Are you ready for the country? Because it’s time to go.
In Waylon Jennings’ hands, however, “Are You Ready for the Country” goes from anti-Vietnam to anti-Nashville. The clearest example of this is a slight lyrical change.
Instead of Are you ready for the country? Because it’s time to go, Jennings sings, Are you ready for the country, are you ready for me? Better get ready for the country, better get ready for me. It was less of an urgent plea and more of a full-blown confrontation.
Jennings’ version of “Are You Ready for the Country” peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
The post 50 Years Ago Today, Waylon Jennings Reclaimed No. 1 With an Album That Embraced Neil Young and the Marshall Tucker Band appeared first on American Songwriter.
Go To Source | Author: Erinn Callahan