In 1994, Waylon Jennings appeared on an episode of the comedy Married… With Children. In the episode, “The Legend of IronHead Haynes” (season 8, episode 23), Al Bundy (Ed O’Neill) is in jeopardy of losing his parking space after insulting a customer. Bundy seeks advice from a guru named IronHead who lives at the top of the mountains, played by Jennings, on being politically correct.
“You must be some idiot that doesn’t know there’s a road leading up here from the other side of this mountain,” says Haynes to Bundy, who climbed up the side of the mountain to find the guru, while his friends stayed behind at the campsite. On the mountaintop, Bundy asks Haynes what they can do to “fight back” and he says, “Well I don’t know, maybe this song will say it best.” Haynes picks up a guitar, strums two chords, and sings “Nothing,” before sharing more life advice.
“Men like you and me are like dinosaurs—real-life, dead dinosaurs,” Haynes tells Bundy. “The only problem with being a dinosaur is there ain’t no future in it, but there is one hell of a past. What you need to do is act like the mighty tyrannosaurus and leave deep prints.”
Bundy took note of leaving deep footprints. “That’s it,” said the guru. “Let ’em know that you’ve been there.”
[RELATED: Waylon Jennings Never Liked Having His Name Mentioned in This 1977 Hit]
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In a 1995 interview on Ralph Emery On The Record, Jennings talked about his appearance on the show and gave more background on the scene. “He was trying to be politically correct,” said Jennings. “He wanted to find out what was politically correct, ’cause he’s about to lose his parking spot and everything like that. So that’s what it was about, being … politically correct, which is about as much a chance of me and him being that.”
Of his character, Jennings added, “I was so tough that I gave myself an operation with a knife, no antiseptic.”
[RELATED: The Drug Bust That Made Waylon Jennings Write “Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand”]
Waylon and Ed Meet in Ireland
Years before appearing on Married… With Children, Jennings met O’Neill during a trip to Ireland. Jennings said he was surprised how different O’Neill was from the character he played on TV.
“The guy that plays Al Bundy is Ed O’Neill,” said Jennings. “And I got to talkin’ with him. We met him the first time over in Ireland, he was there doin’ something. This guy—he can be funny when he wants to, but he’s the opposite of Al Bundy. I don’t wanna ruin everything for you, but…”
Remembering his appearance on the show, Jennings said, “I love making people laugh. I really do.”
When Emery asked Jennings who wrote the “Nothing” song he sang on Married… With Children, he laughed and said “Oh, I think it took about four of us.”
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Listen to Jennings chat about his appearance on Married… With Children (5:05) on the Ralph Emery on the Record show in 1995.
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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