Ladies Love Outlaws (Waylon Jennings album)
| Ladies Love Outlaws | ||||
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| Studio album by Waylon Jennings | ||||
| Released | September 1972 | |||
| Recorded | 1971–1972 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | RCA Records | |||
| Producer | Ronny Light | |||
| Waylon Jennings chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Rolling Stone | Negative. |
| Dean Tudor | Favorable. |
| Allmusic |    |
Ladies Love Outlaws is a country music album by Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Records in 1972. Together with Jennings' previous album Good Hearted Woman, it marks his transition toward his Outlaw Country image and style. "Ladies Love Outlaws" coined the use of the term "Outlaw" to refer to the country music subgenre, which was developing at the time of its release.
At this time, Jennings was suffering from hepatitis and was hospitalized. Frustrated by the studio's control over him, and thinking that he would have no more hit records, Jennings was considering retiring and, after a long time of deficient work, he fired his manager Lucky Moeller. During his recovery, his drummer Richie Albright visited him and persuaded Jennings to try again. Meanwhile, his contract with RCA Records was nearing its end. Albright introduced Jennings to Neil Reshen, a New York lawyer who had experience handling bands and contract problems. Jennings engaged Reshen as his manager, who encouraged the singer to grow his hair and beard long to emphasize his "outlaw" image . The brash Reshen renegotiated Jennings' deal with RCA, and by the time of the agreement, Jennings received complete artistic freedom over producing, recording and selection of his material, and the cover art of his albums. This would set the stage for the "outlaw country" movement that would dominate the industry throughout the 1970s, and Jennings, along with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and a handful of other like-minded renegades, would be its figurehead.
The title of the album originated from the song "Ladies Love Outlaws", written by singer-songwriter Lee Clayton. The composition mentions Jennings in one of its stanzas, describing his relation with his wife Jessi Colter: "Jessi liked Cadillacs and diamonds on her hands, Waymore had a reputation as a ladies man/Late one night her light of love finally gave a sign, Jessi parked her Cadillac and took her place in line." Clayton proposed that Jennings record the track, and Jennings decided to use it for the title of his next RCA Records release. Jennings' usual producer Chet Atkins was delegating the production of albums to other studio members so he could focus on his career as an artist so he assigned Danny Davis to produce the album. Davis' collaboration with Jennings ended when Jennings grew tired of Davis' conservative restrictions, took a gun into the studio and threatened to "shoot off the fingers" of the producer or any musician who would play a pickup note. Atkins replaced Davis with producer Ronny Light. Recording took place at RCA Victor's Nashville studio through 1971-2, with the exception of "Thanks", which was recorded in 1970. The album's liner notes were written by Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn.
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