On this day (December 17) in 1978, Waylon Jennings was at No 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with I’ve Always Been Crazy. The LP spent eight consecutive weeks in the top spot, reaching its peak in early November and remaining there for the rest of the year.
Jennings saw early success on the country albums chart. His 1966 debut, Folk Country, landed at No. 9, setting the tone for the rest of the decade. He released a total of 10 albums, and three of them missed the top 10. The early 1970s, though, saw his releases slip. His first top 10 of the decade came in 1972 with Good Hearted Woman, his fifth of the decade.
This was around the time that a major shift took place in the country music world. Jennings and Willie Nelson fought the Nashville system and took creative control over their output. As a result, they began making the music they wanted to make and, as a result, they saw their releases climb the charts as their sales numbers soared. In 1975, just a few years after the official beginning of the outlaw country era, Jennings found his first No. 1 on the albums chart with Dreaming My Dreams.
Jennings rode a wave of massive hits into the early 1980s. He released seven albums between 1975 and 1982. Five of those albums topped the chart. The rest landed within the top five.
Waylon Jennings Dominates the Country Charts
The most successful period of Waylon Jennings’ career came in the late 1970s. Many of his albums didn’t just reach No. 1 on the chart. They stayed there for months at a time. For instance, his most successful solo studio album was Ol’ Waylon, which spent 13 weeks at the top in 1977. The year before that, he occupied the top spot for 10 weeks with Are You Ready for the Country. I’ve Always Been Crazy was his third most successful solo studio release on the chart, dominating the peak for eight consecutive weeks.
Jennings and Willie Nelson shared a massive hit with their 1978 collaborative album, Waylon + Willie. It stayed at the top for 11 weeks.
His most successful release, though, was a compilation album. In 1979, Greatest Hits held the peak position for 16 weeks, which is roughly four months.
