Waylon Jennings' career nearly ended before it began when, as Buddy Holly's bass
player, he narrowly escaped being in the 1959 plane crash that killed Holly,
Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, when he gave up his seat to someone else at
the last minute. From Littlefield, Texas, Jennings learned to play guitar when
he was eight and first appeared on his local radio station at 12, going on to
lead his own band the Texas Longhorns and dropping out of school to pursue his
musical ambitions. Moving to Lubbock he met Holly, who arranged Jennings' first
recording session when he laid do...