The Waylors

Waymore's Outlaws
Waylon Jennings and the Waylors at the Rocky Gap festival in 1991
Background information
Origin	Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Genres	Country
Years active	1961 (1961)–present
Associated acts	Waylon Jennings Shooter Jennings
Website	http://www.waymoresoutlaws.com
Members	Richie Albright (1961-present) Jerry Bridges (1980-present) Fred Newell (1996-present) Tommy Townsend (2008 - present)
Past members	Jerry Gropp (1961-1968) Ralph Mooney (1976 -1996) Johnny Gimble (1976-2002) Paul Foster Rance Wasson (1980 - 2002) Gordon Payne (1980 -2002) Cliff Robertson (1980 - 2002) Carter Robertson (1980 - 2002) Reggie Young Barney Robertson Rick Gilbreath

The Waylors, later Waymore's Outlaws, is a country music band, best known as the backing and recording band of country music singer Waylon Jennings. Jennings formed the band in 1961, consisting of Jerry Gropp on the guitar and Richie Albright on the drums after moving to Phoenix, Arizona. The band earned a local fan base during its appearances on the night club JD's.

In 1965 RCA Records signed Jennings to a contract. The conservative restrictions of the producers of the label did not allow him to record with the Waylors. In 1972 he renegotiated his contract, and he included the Waylors for the first time on a RCA album in Honky Tonk Heroes. The lineup was expanded during the next decade, they backed Jennings until his death in 2002.

Reformed in 2008, the group performs on its own with Tommy Townsend as their lead vocalist, with occasional performances as the band for Albright's namesake son of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, Waylon Albright "Shooter" Jennings.

Waylon was being managed by Buddy Holly's former first manager 'Hi-Pockets' Duncan who recommended Waylon to Buddy. With money out of his own pocket, Buddy produced Waylon's first record, a Rock & Roll version of 'Jolie Blon' & Waylon is considered to be Buddy's 'protoge'. In 1959 Buddy Holly hired Waylon Jennings to play electric bass for him during his "Winter Dance Party Tour". After a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly chartered a plane for himself, Allsup and Jennings to avoid a long bus trip to Fargo, North Dakota. This is because the tour organizers provided very inadequate transportation & the buses broke down in freezing weather. Jennings gave up his seat to J. P. Richardson, who was suffering from a cold and complaining about how uncomfortable a long bus trip was for a man of his size. During the early morning hours of February 3, 1959, later known as The Day the Music Died, the charter crashed outside Clear Lake, killing all on board. Jennings and Allsup continued the tour for two more weeks, featuring Jennings as the lead singer. When the tour ended, he returned to his DJ spot on KLLL and performed regionally.