Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an Americancountrysinger-songwriter and guitarist. Jennings first became famous as a member of Buddy Holly's backing band. On February 3, 1959, while playing shows with Holly, he gave up his airplane seat J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson. The airplane crashed after it took-off killing Richarson, Ritchie Valens and Buddy Holly. Jennings claimed that in the years afterward he felt severe guilt over the crash.[1]
By the 1970s, Jennings had become associated with a country music scene known as outlaw country. Jennings recorded a series of albums with Willie Nelson in the late 1970s which increased the popularity of the outlaw country sound.
In 1979, he recorded the theme song for the television show The Dukes of Hazzard. Jennings also became the narrator of the show for all seven seasons.