Born and raised in the small Panhandle town of Littlefield, Texas, Waylon Jennings came by his country bona fides honestly. After a stint backing Buddy Holly—he gave up his seat on Holly's doomed plane to The Big Bopper—Jennings chafed against the increasingly slick, string-drenched sound of '60s country. In the early '70s, a newly long-haired and bearded Jennings attracted both old-school fans and a new rock audience with his rebellious attitude and rough-edged outlaw sound. Fusing Hank Williams and the Rolling Stones, Jennings redefined country music for a new generation.