Back in the ’70s, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, the iconic rule-breakers who launched the outlaw movement, were redefining country music one twangy hit at a time. Their first major No. 1 to peak on the Billboard charts, and the No. 1 country song on this day 50 years ago, was “Good Hearted Woman.”
The hit duet enjoyed three weeks on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart, beginning Feb. 21, 1976, and became one of the biggest songs off the duo’s Wanted! The Outlaws album, a certified staple of the outlaw country revolution furthered by rebel artists like Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash.
Written by Jennings and Nelson in 1969, and recorded by Jennings alone in 1971, “Good Hearted Woman” was inspired by another music great: Tina Turner. According to The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits, via American Songwriter, the title track off Jennings’ 1972 studio album was sussed out while the two were hanging in an old motel in Fort Worth, Texas.
“I’d been reading an ad for Ike and Tina Turner,” Jennings said. “And it said, ‘Tina Turner singing songs about good-hearted women loving good-timing men.’ I thought, ‘What a great country song title that is!’”
The two wrote the song over a game of poker with their wives, Connie Nelson and Jessi Colter, serving as further inspiration.
"I think Connie and Jessi both were the object of that song," Nelson added. "Naturally, we started thinking about the ones who were having to put up with us at that particular time."
Jennings’ solo version peaked at No. 3 on the country chart in 1972, while the remixed and re-released duet went all the way to top in 1976 and stayed there for three weeks. The song also crossed over to the Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 25, as well as to the Adult Contemporary chart, peaking at No. 16. The song also won Single of the Year at the 10th annual CMA Awards in 1976.
Following the success of the track, the two recorded an entire duet album, Waylon & Willie, in 1978, with “Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” becoming a staple of “redneck rock.”
In 2002, Jennings passed away at 64 years old. Nelson, now 92, remembered his “blood brother” and outlaw pal with a tribute concert, Outlaw: Celebrating the Music of Waylon Jennings, in 2015.
This month, the two are back together again — in a sense — as their documentary series makes its world debut at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas. They Called Us Outlaws - The Cosmic Cowboys, Honky Tonk Heroes and Rise of Redneck Rock debuts March 15 with a 90-minute pilot focused on Jennings and the renowned Armadillo World Headquarters.
Told over 10 episodes, the docuseries is presented in association with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and features archival footage, rare interviews, and more than 120 recording artists, songwriters, and producers. It’s narrated by Texas legend Jack Ingram.
We just know Hank would be proud.
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