Here I intend to look at three albums done by country music super group, the Highwaymen. This band is not to be confused with the folk group of the same name. It featured four legendary names. Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash. Three records were done by the group in the span of a decade along with them touring the world with a backing band that included some members of each musician's respective band.
The interesting part was that the four of them really enjoyed playing music together, but like anything good, it had to come to an end at some point in time and did so with their last record. "Highwayman" recorded in 1985, "Highwayman 2" recorded in 1990 and "The Road Goes On Forever", released in 1995. These albums combine the best of traditional country music and the rock and roll influenced songwriting and musical ideas that all four of these musicians pioneered in the '70s. Jennings, Nelson, Cash and Kristofferson share vocals on most of the tunes on each album.
Here are the track lists for each album. If you are a fan of country music and want to learn more about some of the genres legends, this is a good starting point to work backwards from. The song choices are very interesting as a lot come from the four legends themselves, or, are well chosen covers of tunes by songwriters that are very well written in a lyrical sense.
Highwayman (1985)
1. Highwayman (Jimmy Webb)
2. The Last Cowboy Song (Ed Bruce)
3. Jim, I Wore A Tie Today (Cindy Walker)
4. Big River (Johnny Cash)
5. Committed To Parkview (Johnny Cash)
6. Desperados Waiting For A Train (Guy Clark)
7. Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos) (Martin Hoffman & Woody Guthrie) (feat. Johnny Rodriguez: guest vocal) *Guthrie wrote the lyrics to the tune.
8. Welfare Line (Paul Kennerley)
9. Against The Wind (Bob Seger)
10. The Twentieth Century Is Almost Over (John Prine)
Highwayman 2 (1990)
1. Silver Stallion (Lee Clayton)
2. Born and Raised in Black and White (Don Cook)
3. Two Stories Wide (Willie Nelson)
4. We're All In Your Corner (Buddy Emmons)
5. American Remains (Rivers Rutherford)
6. Anthem '84 (Kris Kristofferson)
7. Angels Love Bad Men (Roger Murrah)
8. Songs That Make A Difference (Johnny Cash)
9. Living Legend (Kris Kristofferson)
10. Texas (Willie Nelson)
The Road Goes On Forever (1995)
1. The Devil's Right Hand (Steve Earle)
2. Live Forever (Billy Joe Shaver)
3. Everyone Gets Crazy (Kevin Welch)
4. It Is What It Is (John "00" Fleming)
5. I Do Believe (Waylon Jennings)
6. The End of Understanding (Willie Nelson)
7. True Love Travels on a Gravel Road (Dallas Frazier)
8. Death and Hell (John Carter Cash) *this tune was written by Johnny Cash's only son. 9. Waiting For A Long Time (Stephen Bruton)
10. Here Comes Thar Rainbow Again (Kris Kristofferson)
11. The Road Goes On Forever (Robert Earl Keen Jr.)
Bonus Tracks (this version of the album is a 10th anniversary edition released in 2005).
12. If He Came Back Again (Barry Alfonso)
13. Live Forever (Johnny Cash acoustic reprise) (Billy Joe Shaver)
14. I Ain't Song (Waylon Jennings acoustic solo) (Waylon Jennings) *a satire on modern country music in the '90s.
15. Pick Up The Tempo (Willie Nelson acoustic performance) (Willie Nelson)
16. Closer To The Bone (Kris Kristofferson acoustic performance) (Kris Kristofferson)
17. Back In The Saddle Again (acoustic outtake) (Gene Autry)
The album ends with a cover of "Back In The Saddle Again", a song written by legendary singing cowboy, Gene Autry. The Highwaymen had a brief career together. But it was a prolific one with the music that they created on record or on concert tours. Country music fans, and fans of any kind of music, check them out.
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