Songbirds' Son: Shooter Jennings on Waylon The Artist, Waylon The Dad and The Legacy of Both

This episode needs no introduction: Shooter Jennings joins Donnie and Dave to discuss his dad’s cache of recordings, the process of bringing together three albums' worth of new Waylon Jennings music, and his feelings about the first installment, Songbird. Shooter talks at length about the discovery of Waylon’s previously unreleased music, his relationship with his legendary dad and his own role as a father of two. This one was big for the Country Music Dads, as there couldn’t be a more perfect topic for this podcast.

Show Notes

1:24 -- Shooter tells us about the discovery of these songs and how the Songbird project came together.

6:12 -- Dave says it was surreal to hear these songs in 2025. Shooter felt the same way. And then he knew he had to share this with others so they could have the same experience.

8:26 -- The Myth vs. The Man: Shooter explores what fans might be able to take from these projects.

10:42 -- Shooter’s childhood on the road and why he’s tired at shows regardless of how much sleep he gets.

12:20 -- Waylon the Artist vs. Waylon the Dad. Shooter kept true to the art but modernized it a bit — “letting the music on the tape talk.” That said, the experience of going through this chapter of his dad’s life was very special to Shooter.

20:07 -- As a producer, the process of this project was a bit different for Shooter because Waylon is no longer with us; he is his father, and there was so much more material than usual. So he wanted to make it last to “make it like Waylon is here for a minute.”

23:00 -- Donnie asked about how relationships impact Shooter’s production style. He specifically pointed to Turnpike Troubadour’s last two albums and the fan backlash after Cat in the Rain. Shooter’s direct and honest answer provides an interesting view into his producing style.

28:58 -- The Dads ask Shooter how the production on the next albums fit together and how they tell a story. We also learn that there are several other projects to come from this collection of recordings, including songs by his mother, Jessi Colter. It’s like a little Marvel Universe of Waylon Jennings, they joke. But wouldn’t that be cool?

30:40 -- How this project impacts Shooter’s legacy and his kids’ vision of him.

36:30 -- What’s next for Shooter? He’s working with Charley Crockett and BJ Barham of American Aquarium again.

Thank you for listening. The best way to support us is to subscribe to the show on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or whatever podcast platform you use. If you want to see new episodes and more content delivered straight to your email inbox, please subscribe to our newsletter: countrymusicdads.substack.com. You can find everything we do on our website: countrymusicdads.com. And we’d love to hear what you think, so send us comments, suggestions, friendly banter on Instagram @countrymusicdads, or via email countrymusicdads@gmail.com.

Mentioned in the Episode

• Songbird album by Waylon Jennings
• Countach (for Giorgio) album by Shooter Jennings
• Tony Joe White
• Sometimes Y album by Yelawolf
• Sunset Sound
• Rumours album by Fleetwood Mac
• Rolling Stone Nashville Now podcast with Shooter Jennings
• WSM
• Billy Bob’s Texas’ mural of Waylon is still the King
• Shooter’s Father's Day post about the music

References

• Theme Music: “Dark Country Rock” by Moodmode
• "Loading" by Shooter Jennings
• "I'd Like to Love You Baby" by Waylon Jennings
• "Songbird" by Waylon Jennings
• "Songbird" by Fleetwood Mac
• "After The Ball" by Waylon Jennings
• "I Hate to Go Searchin' Them Bars Again" by Waylon Jennings
• "The Cowboy (Small Texas Town)" by Waylon Jennings
• "The Eagle" by Waylon Jennings
• "Dollar a Day" by Charley Crockett
• "Cat in the Rain" by Turnpike Troubadours
• "Mean Old Sun" by Turnpike Troubadours