Free time. Something Shooter Jennings does NOT have. Producing up and comers, recording his own music, writing, touring and promoting and hanging with his children takes up most of his life these days. “I always tell people I haven’t been bored in about a year and a half. Airplanes are the only time I get to relax. I love a good airplane flight.” states Jennings. His efforts are what makes him one of the hardest working country artist to date.
Let’s start by talking about Jennings’ album that he released Nov 11th of 2017 Shooter Jennings Live at Billy Bob’s. He was the 48th artist recorded Live at Billy Bob’s Texas on Thursday, November 10th 2016 and was a part of the 35th Anniversary Celebration. “I’m really proud of that record… I’ve always
been a big fan of the Billy Bob’s Series, so to be able to have my own meant a lot. We got to flex all the records. Everything from O Back in Country to Countach.” Shooter used to attend the club with his father, Waylon Jennings and his mother, Jessi Colter, as a child.
Jennings’ new single “Do You Love Texas” is the first to come from his upcoming album, due out early in 2018. The album has him teaming up with his ol’ studio buddy, Dave Cobb. “Dave is one of my favorite people and working with him is always a blast… we have a very special chemistry that goes way back to the beginning. The stuff we were doing on Let’s Put the O Back in Country in 2005, people were looking at us like we were cross eyed and now all the stuff sounds like that” Jennings recalled.
Shooter was working on a dark album that he eventually shelved because, “I felt like right now people need a good time record. Something that gave a voice to people who don’t have a voice these days” he stated. Cobb came up with an idea to help with the flood relief in south Texas. They used the Rebuild Texas Foundation, which country legend, George Strait, had been supporting, plus Dave decided to get some heavy artillery to help promote it. The single has special guest appearances from Ray Benson, Jason Boland, Randy Rogers, Kris Kirstofferson, Kasey Musgraves and Whiskey Myers, all screaming “ Hell Yeah”.
Also released last month, was a collection of his father, Waylon Jennings’ demos that were never released and an album with a song his father never released done by multiple artists. The song was written about Muhummad Ali and includes versions from Willie Nelson and his daughter and son, his mother, Jessi Colter, Kirstofferson, Jesse Dayton, plus Shooter and Jamie Wyatt. “Pretty wild version of that song,” Jennings recalled. All this, plus he kicked off his tour last year and is still going at it full speed. Shooter Jennings can be heard all day long on our local station, 94.9 The Outlaw. Catch him on the dial before catching a show.
-James Cook
