Waylon Jennings started out in the honky-tonks of Texas and Arizona. Buddy Holly helped to set up his first recording sessions and Jennings played bass on the ill-fated Winter Dance Party Tour. Jennings’ first single came out weeks after Holly died but failed to make the charts. After moving to Nashville and signing with RCA Records, Jennings reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart seven times in the 1960s. He was constantly at odds with the Nashville machine. In 1972, as his recording contract was nearing an end, Jennings was hospitalized with hepatitis. As he recovered, he requested a royalty advance of $25,000. RCA Records offered $5,000. Jennings dismissed the offer as his labelmate Willie Nelson had recently left RCA to sign with Atlantic Records, the label on which he experienced a popularity surge.
Jennings hired Jerry Reshen as his personal manager, and the first order of business was to negotiate a new deal. Reshen knew RCA wasn’t happy about losing Nelson, so he used Jennings’s ability to follow suit as leverage. The two parties agreed to a $75,000 advance plus artistic control. While Jennings was in the hospital he let his beard grow out, leading to his next phase: the outlaw. As Jennings broke out of the constraints of the Nashville system, he had bigger hits and crossover success on the Billboard Hot 100. In the ’70s, Jennings reached the Top 10 on the country charts 24 times, with 11 No. 1 songs.
In 1973, Jennings introduced Reshen to Willie Nelson, who also hired him as his personal manager. The duo of Waylon and Willie broke through to the mainstream in ways they could not have imagined. Let’s take a look at the story behind “Good Hearted Woman” by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
A long time forgotten are dreams that just fell by the way
The good life he promised ain’t what she’s living today
But she never complains of the bad times or bad things he’s done, Lord
She just talks about the good times they’ve had and all the good times to come
Written During a Poker Game
Jennings and Nelson were in playing poker in 1969 in a room at the Fort Worther Motel in Fort Worth, Texas, when they started writing the song. Jennings recounted the inspiration in The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits, “I’d been reading an ad for Ike and Tina Turner, and it said, ‘Tina Turner singing songs about good-hearted women loving good-timing men.’ Nelson reportedly only added a couple of lines to the composition, but was rewarded with 50% of the earnings. Jennings and Nelson dictated lyrics to Nelson’s wife Connie as they continued the game. Nelson continued, “I think Connie and [Jennings’ wife Jessi Colter] both were the object of that song. Naturally, we started thinking about the ones who were having to put up with us at that particular time.” Colter would become a part of the story as it unfolded.
She’s a good-hearted woman in love with a good-timin’ man
She loves him in spite of his ways that she don’t understand
Through teardrops and laughter, they’ll pass through this world hand-in-hand,
A good-hearted woman loving her good-timing man
Original Release
In 1971, Jennings recorded “Good Hearted Woman” at RCA Studios in Nashville. It was the lead single for the album of the same name and reached No. 3 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Several years later, he recorded a live version to be included on Waylon Live. However, before that album was released, RCA put together a collection to capitalize on the new trend in country music. Songs by Jennings, Nelson, Colter, and Tompall Glaser made up Wanted! The Outlaws. Each performer contributed two songs as well as three duets. The live version of “Good Hearted Woman” was used. “I just took my voice off and put Willies on in different places,” Jennings said. “Willie wasn’t within 10,000 miles when I recorded it.”
He likes the nightlife, the bright lights, and good-timin’ friends
When the party’s all over, she’ll welcome him back home again
Lord knows she don’t understand him, but she does the best that she can
‘Cause she’s a good-hearted woman; she loves her good timin’ man
Wanted! The Outlaws
The duet of “Good Hearted Woman” was a smash hit, reaching No. 1 on the country chart. It won the 1976 Country Music Association award for Single of the Year. It also marked the first time Jennings reached the Top 40 on the Hot 100. The crossover success led to the album topping the country chart and becoming the first Platinum-selling country album of all time, as it sold more than a million units in the U.S. Ultimately, it would sell 5 million copies. The follow-up single was Jennings and Colter performing the duet on “Suspicious Minds,” which had been released as a single in 1970 but didn’t have the same impact.
She’s a good-hearted woman in love with a good-timin’ man
She loves him in spite of his ways that she don’t understand
Through teardrops and laughter, they’ll pass through this world hand-in-hand
A good-hearted woman loving her good-timing man
Waylon Live
When Jennings released his live album, it contained the original live version of the song without Nelson’s overdubs. Jennings and Nelson had more successful duos, including “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” and “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”
In 1988, Tina Turner released her own version of “Good Hearted Woman,” which she inadvertently inspired in the first place. It was included on her album, Goes Country. The song was also recorded by LeAnn Rimes, Hank Williams III, Guy Clark, Marty Robbins, George Jones, and Mel Street. It has appeared in The Rockford Files, Parenthood, The Unforeseen, Uncle Frank, White Palace, Texasville, UFOria, and The Deer Hunter.
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