Absolutely epic.
Today, Shooter Jennings announced that Diamonds, the next installment of the three-part archival project that includes vintage recordings from Waylon Jennings’ vault that have never been heard before, will be out everywhere on November 13th as a physical copy, and you can stream in on December 11th.
Of course, Waylon’s incredibly talented son Shooter, who is an artist and Grammy award-winning producer, is the man behind it all, and he put out the first installment of this three-part series of sorts last year, which was called Songbird.
It was an album full of archival songs that Shooter discovered just laying around, which were all recorded in the prime of Waylon’s career but never totally finished or release on an album. Shooter explained at the time that it was the first of a three-part project, and of course, Shooter who is Waylon’s son with the legendary Jessi Colter, produced it at Sunset Sound Studio 3, renamed by Jennings as “Snake Mountain,” where he produces all of the music he’s currently working on.
When he initially announced the album, Shooter said they actually didn’t need too much work, but he did add some background vocals and other instrumentation just to polish it up and make it ready to be put on a professional album in the modern world of 2025. You’ll hear gorgeous backing vocals from two current country artists in Elizabeth Cook and Ashley Monroe. The music on Songbird was incredible, all songs that were recorded in some form or fashion between 1973 and 1984, but didn’t make the final cut on any albums at the time for various reasons.
And the fans were ready for it, because Waylon notched his first top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart with Songbird, which came in at No. No. 6 on Top Album Sales chart, while also entering the top 10 on four more charts including the:
“Top Current Album Sales (No. 6), Indie Store Album Sales (No. 7), Americana/Folk Albums (No. 8) and Vinyl Albums (No. 9). It also starts at No. 17 on Top Country Albums, No. 18 on Independent Albums and No. 116 on the all-genre Billboard 200.”
Throughout his legendary career, Waylon scored 16 No. 1s on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs ranking, and 11 No. 1s on the Top Country Albums chart. Songbird marks Waylon’s first top 10 on the 34-year-old Top Album Sales chart, with nearly 9,000 copies sold in the United States according to Luminate data.
The music truly was great, it sounded exactly like everything Waylon actually did release in the prime of his career in the 70s and even 80s. And in addition to announcing the album and release date, they also put out the title track, which features another country legend in Glen Campbell on the guitar.
Shooter says this one was kind of tough to piece together, though he eventually figured out that it was recorded through three different sessions, and at one point, Campbell had stopped by the studio and they “recorded this little gem on a late December night in 1978.” The remaining members of the Waylors helped finish it, and Shooter says it’s one of his favorite songs his dad ever recorded and that’s why it’s the title track to the album:
“This track eluded me. I kept finding it across three different sessions while I was going through my father‘s work. At first, I was very confused because of the sound of the guitar as to what it was. Suddenly, upon listening to the whole thing, I realized Glen Campbell had stopped by the studio and they recorded this little gem on a late December night in 1978.
The remaining members of the Waylors helped put the picture together. It quickly became one of my favorite recordings that my dad ever made and I knew I had to have a whole album centered around it.”
Shooter also explained that the discovery of all this archival material in general was “life altering”:
“Back in 2024 when I opened my dad’s personal recording archives, I found a treasure trove of unheard recordings. It was a life-altering event and immediately ignited a feeling of urgency to get these recordings out there to our family of fans who had so loyally kept him alive by listening to and singing his music.
Last year I released ‘Songbird’ and I was so touched and delighted at how well-received this music was for my dad. With his voice exalted, I was very excited to deliver on my promise for more music. So, here it goes! I give to you guys: ‘Diamonds.’
He explained that Diamonds is a higher energy, “younger man’s album”:
“In the process of combing through and cataloging all of his recordings, I started to get a grasp on all of the music that had not been heard before, and a story started to emerge in my mind. The way I wanted to reveal all of this music to the world was part of my job. With ‘Songbird; I knew it would be an emotional journey, hearing Waylon, in his prime, sing new songs to us was going to hit hard.
A set of songs almost immediately presented itself to me as Songbird. But there was a second set forming, anchored by the mysterious song ‘Diamonds.’ It was a higher energy album, a ‘younger man’s’ album, if you will.”
Surviving members of Waylon’s band, the Waylors, as well as legendary harp player Mickey Raphael (known for his decades of work with Willie Nelson) helped him finish up some of the songs, and some songs belonging to his mom, Jessi Colter, made their way onto the tracklist too:
“I immediately knew which songs were attaching themselves to the second album, and they all shared stories about the rollercoaster of relationships and unrequited love. Among the many Jessi Colter songs I found in the batch, two stood out as part of what ‘Diamonds’ was becoming, so I selected them to add to the album to weave the tale a little more colorfully.
Again, the Waylors and legendary harp player Mickey Raphael helped me close the book on a few of these songs. We had a blast. Now, I’m done and ‘Diamonds’ is in your hands. Pour yourself a cup of something, turn down the lights and let’s take a ride together.”
The music is all from Waylon in his prime, and Shooter previously described it as a “treasure trove,” which is really he only way to describe it. The way he’s gone about preserving the songs is beyond impressive, and it’s really such a beautiful way to honor his dad’s legacy.
He put so much effort into recording everything the way it would’ve been done in the 70s, and that’s very apparent in terms of the fact that they sound exactly how Waylon would’ve finished them back then.
It’s a music lovers dream, the songs are as good as everything out he put out back then, and you can listen to “Diamonds” here:
“Diamonds”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.whiskeyriff.com ’
