Previously Unheard Waylon Jennings Collection ‘Songbird’ To Be Released In October

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A new Waylon Jennings project of previously unheard material compiled and mixed by son Shooter Jennings, Songbird, is being released via Son of Jessi/Thirty Tigers on Oct. 3.

The first of three previously unheard albums by the legendary star, Songbird features recordings produced between 1973 and 1984 in various studios by Waylon and his longtime drummer and co-producer Richie Albright, featuring members of his indelible backing band, The Waylors, including Albright and renowned pedal steel guitarist Ralph Mooney, along with such special guests as Tony Joe White, Jessi Colter and more.

Songbird is heralded by the project’s first single/title track, Waylon’s stirring version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Songbird,” available everywhere along with a video streaming now. Both “Songbird” and the Songbird project were unveiled earlier this week at a special Waylon Jennings Birthday Party/Father’s Day celebration hosted by Shooter Jennings at The Viper Room in West Hollywood. The surviving members of the Waylors served as the house band for Jaime Wyatt, Elizabeth Cook, Ashley Monroe, Charley Crockett and Shooter, as they performed songs from Waylon’ illustrious catalog.

YouTube video

The Songbird project got its start in the summer of 2024 as Shooter began sorting through hundreds of his father’s personal studio recordings. Having just begun an exclusive residency at Hollywood’s historic Sunset Sound Studio 3 (redubbed by Waylon as “Snake Mountain”), the Grammy-winning producer and artist began examining the tapes with veteran engineer Nate Haessly. His initial hope was to simply unearth some previously lost Waylon songs he could share with the world, but instead discovered the rich treasure trove of recordings.

Shooter soon realized there was more than enough gold in his father’s vast musical archive to create not just one, but three new Waylon albums more than two decades after his untimely passing in 2002. The majority of the recordings were fully finished, but he added a few final touches by bringing in a number of surviving members of The Waylors, including guitarist Gordon Payne, bassist Jerry Bridges, keyboardist Barny Robertson and backing vocalist Carter Robertson, with Elizabeth Cook and Ashley Monroe enlisted to help take “Songbird” to new heights. Shooter then mixed the songs in a purely analog fashion on Sunset Sound Studio 3’s custom 1976 DeMedio API mixing board.

“Songbird is the beginning of Waylon’s return to the modern world,” Shooter says. “This is the first of three gifts from me to you: the fans that have kept my father’s voice, songs and legacy alive all these years. The next few years are going to be full of some of the most exciting musical moments that the world never knew they were going to hear. I hope that these records bring the kind of joy to you that they have brought me. This project has given me an entirely new chapter in my relationship with my father and working on this music has brought a whole new understanding about how, when and why my dad made music. The hard work is there on the tapes and the passion and the soul within is as alive today as it was the day it was recorded.”

Lorie Hollabaugh
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