Willie, Waylon, and the Boys

The Washington Independent Review of Books, “Our Favorite Books of 2024”

The Independent, “Best New Books in June (2024)”

“A virtuoso account of the renegade artists who redefined a genre… Fairbanks does a terrific job telling us the origin story of outlaw country, but he’s just as skilled when discussing its lasting impact on contemporary music and culture.”–Washington Independent Review of Books“Bursting with fascinating stories from the annals of country music history…”–Nashville Scene“Fairbanks keeps the story moving, deftly changing from one musician to another throughout the book. This volume sings on each page and is suited to any library’s music history section.”–Library Journal”[A] his no-holds-barred chronicle of the compadres: Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson…[Fairbanks] revels in the eccentricities as well as the peccadilloes of this band of outsiders.“–Wall Street Journal“Fascinating… Fairbanks’ compelling stories bring the reader deep into the worlds of not only Cash, Nelson, Kristofferson, and Jennings but contemporary artists like Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell.”–OUT ALL DAY: New Orleans“The writing is well done - there’s a lot of facts and a lot of quotes, but it never really feels like dense academic oriented text or a philosophical treatise… Very much recommended.”–BookAnon.com“Enthusiastic… a diverting look at how a noteworthy strain of country music came to be.”–Publishers Weekly“An interesting study of the vaunted outlaws of country music, who turn out to be reasonably law-abiding citizens… A pleasure for fans of the smoke-shrouded, hell-raising men in black–and tie-dye.”–Kirkus