waylon jennings

This album changed country music forever.

Country music and patriotism have always gone hand in hand.

With "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" hitting theaters this week, I thought it would be cool to have my Country Throwback revisit the song that topped the charts the week the first "Star Wars" film was released.

In the midst of an enormous controversy over some comments he recently made about outlaw country, Luke Bryan has offered an apology to the widow and son of Waylon Jennings.

Waylon Jennings' daughter-in-law has offered an angry response to the comments Luke Bryan made last week, perceived by some to be an attack on legendary country artists like Jennings, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.

Country music is a very supportive genre, but that doesn't mean there aren't a few artists who just can't get along. Sometimes it's professional, sometimes it's personal. For country's most well-known feudsters, it was both.

Make no bones about it, this is Waylon Jennings song!  He recorded it in 1980.  He wrote the song and it actually had two versions, one for the hit TV show, The Dukes of Hazzard, and a radio version. It became Waylon's 12th number one hit in Country music.  But, he wasn't the only one singing it and that lead to some confusion.

In February, we reported that legendary country outlaw Waylon Jennings‘ family had determined to celebrate the singer’s life and career with a new album of primarily unreleased material. This week, the release date and track listing of ‘Goin’ Down Rockin’: The Last Recordings’ was finally announced. Due out September 11, 2012, the record will feature 12 songs, 11 of which Jennings wrote.

This week marked the 10th anniversary of Waylon Jennings‘ death, and in celebration of his life and career, his family announced plans to release an album of unreleased material. ‘Goin’ Down Rockin’: The Final Recordings’ will be released sometime this year.

The second volume of "The Music Inside: A Collaboration Dedicated To Waylon Jennings Volume II is set to hit shelves on Feb. 7th.  There's a lot of country stars singing on the album, and there's even a way to get it early, on January 24th.