Narrative, vocal staging and masculinity in the ‘Outlaw’ country music of Waylon Jennings

Abstract

Emerging in the early 1970s, the work of Outlaw country artists might be heard as exploring a crisis of masculinity resulting from developments in the women's liberation movement. Building on recent research in recorded sound studies, this essay explores how the vocal staging practices deployed in Outlaw country recordings offer a unique musical exploration of the duality of the outlaw's masculinity. Using case studies drawn from Waylon Jennings' Outlaw-era recordings, this article examines how Jennings, working with co-producers 'Cowboy' Jack Clement, Chips Moman and Willie Nelson, among others, deployed vocal staging practices in conjunction with other musical practices to construct narratives that reveal the 'outlaw' character's psychological turmoil and reflect the complicated state of working-class American masculinity in the age of women's liberation.having worked for RCA Victor since the mid-1960s, negotiated new contracts that challenged Nashville's producer-centred model and granted artists the right to select the songs they would cut, record with their road bands rather than studio musicians, and serve as the final arbiter of decisions about mixes, publicity and tours (Tucker

Outlaw epistemologies: Resisting the viciousness of country music's settler ignorance

“…But their songs were deeply introspective, and the Outlaw is often portrayed as someone who is aware of their shortcomings, seeking to remedy them, and certain that they will fall short in attempts at self‐improvement. The Outlaw is not just someone who retreats to the bottle, he is someone who “turns inward, searching for the source of his discontent, openly expressing his fears, standing alone in an unfriendly world and revealing his vulnerability” (Stimeling, 2013, p. 354). In the concluding section of this paper, we argue that this Outlaw attitude can be productively revised, to reveal a more liberatory form of resistant epistemology; but for now, let's focus on the world the Outlaws built, and their contribution to the vicious sedimentation of settler colonial imaginaries.…”

The aesthetics of country music

“…These styles were perceived as authentic simply because of its harder rock-influenced DYCK -7 of 14 sound rather than because of any sonic or lyrical similarity to the past. Even redneck chic only reached back 15 years to country sounds of the 1950s; but this gave the music an authentic feel against the 'soft' sounds of Nashville country (Stimeling, 2013). Likewise, neotraditional country sounds 'country' because it has fiddles-but it also incorporates rock percussion and guitar work.…”

Manning Up: Modern Manhood, Rudimentary Pugilistic Capital, and Esquire Network’s White Collar Brawlers

“… 1. Masculinity seems to be in a perpetual state of crisis (Corber, 1997; Faludi, 1999; Joyce, 2011; Malin, 2005; Rogers, 2008; Stimeling, 2013). For critiques of the idea of a “crisis of masculinity,” see Allen (2002) and Modleski (1991).…”