Maybe it was Shaver's rough upbringing.  Maybe it was an act by a desperate man.  Maybe it was because Shaver was just that good.  Whatever made Jennings give him a chance doesn't matter – he did and the rest is history.

Even in a town as steeped in folklore as Nashville, how Waylon Jennings came to record “Honky Tonk Heroes”—and the album of the same name—has to be one of the best tales in country music. The story goes that Jennings had promised Billy Joe Shaver, then an unknown songwriter from Texas, that’d he’d do a full album of Shaver’s songs (according to Shaver’s memoir, Honky Tonk Hero) or just “Willie The Wandering Gypsy And Me” (according to Jennings’ autobiography, Waylon). But everyone agrees that, after Jennings forgot about the promise and blew Shaver off, Shaver showed up at the studio one night and threatened to beat him up. “Waylon, you said you were going to do a whole album of my songs,” Shaver writes in Honky Tonk Hero. “I’ve got those songs, and you’re going to listen to them—or I’m going to kick your ass right here in front of God and everybody.”

Forgot the promise?  Or extended the promise just to get Shaver off his back?  Shaver didn't take it lying down.

It was a bold move for a variety of reasons, not the least of which were Jennings’ biker friends, who could have made short work of Shaver. Jennings took the Texan to the back room and said, “Hoss, you don’t do things like that,” Jennings writes in Waylon. “I’m going to listen to one song, and if ain’t no good, I’m telling you goodbye. We ain’t never going to talk again.”

Well, obviously Jennings like what he heard.  Honky Tonk Heroes is considered to be Waylon Jennings' best work, all due to Shaver's songwriting ability.  Shaver went on to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame.

Are you a fan of Billy Joe Shaver?  Leave a comment and let us know!

Photo & Article Source: AV Club