0:00:07 > 0:00:09CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:00:17 > 0:00:19SONG: Highwayman
0:00:26 > 0:00:27# I was a highwayman
0:00:30 > 0:00:32# Along the coach roads I did ride... #
0:00:33 > 0:00:38Well, I had three of my favourite people out there.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40I loved them all like brothers. We all got along good together.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43We had fun together, we made a movie together.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46We toured the world a couple of times.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48It was just some of the best times of my life.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52# The bastards hung me in the spring of '25
0:00:55 > 0:00:56# But I am still alive
0:01:00 > 0:01:02# I was a sailor
0:01:04 > 0:01:07# I was born upon the tide... #
0:01:07 > 0:01:09These were the icons of American music.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Not just country.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Popular American music, you know?
0:01:14 > 0:01:17They had built empires of their own.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22# I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow
0:01:24 > 0:01:28# And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed... #
0:01:28 > 0:01:30For me, it was heaven.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33I was up there on stage with my heroes.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35They were people that I worshipped.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38# I was a dam builder
0:01:38 > 0:01:40# Across the river deep and wide
0:01:42 > 0:01:45# Where steel and water did collide
0:01:47 > 0:01:50# A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado
0:01:52 > 0:01:55# I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below
0:01:58 > 0:02:02# They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound
0:02:03 > 0:02:05# But I am still around
0:02:07 > 0:02:10# I'll always be around and around... #
0:02:10 > 0:02:12The thing that was worth the price of admission
0:02:12 > 0:02:15was to see those four characters walk out on stage.
0:02:15 > 0:02:16It has been said before.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19It truly was the Mount Rushmore of country music.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21It was special.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23# I fly a starship
0:02:23 > 0:02:26# Across the universe divide
0:02:27 > 0:02:30# And when I reach the other side
0:02:32 > 0:02:36# I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
0:02:37 > 0:02:41# Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
0:02:43 > 0:02:47# Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
0:02:48 > 0:02:50# But I will remain
0:02:52 > 0:02:55# And I'll be back again and again
0:02:55 > 0:02:58# And again and again and again
0:02:58 > 0:03:01# And again and again... #
0:03:01 > 0:03:03We did nothing we didn't want to do.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08We stood up for things that we believed in.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11It was a beautiful life that way.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Well, it really all started when John was doing a Christmas show
0:03:17 > 0:03:20in Switzerland and we all just happened to be there.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22# Making music with my friends
0:03:22 > 0:03:25# I can't wait to get on the road again... #
0:03:25 > 0:03:27The Johnny Cash Christmas Special
0:03:27 > 0:03:30from Montreux, Switzerland, was announced.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34It was going to be Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson,
0:03:34 > 0:03:36and Johnny Cash.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40This was the very beginning. The Genesis of The Highwaymen.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43It just started with the fact that everyone enjoyed
0:03:43 > 0:03:44being together as friends.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55It was there in Montreux, Switzerland,
0:03:55 > 0:03:57that The Highwaymen really began.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04We probably are as unlikely a group of team-mates
0:04:04 > 0:04:08to appear together as you will ever see,
0:04:08 > 0:04:13because each one of us has achieved whatever we have done
0:04:13 > 0:04:15by going our own way and speaking our own words.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21The show was incredible.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24I don't know anybody that wasn't just blown away by it.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28# I hear the train a comin'
0:04:28 > 0:04:30# It's rolling round the bend
0:04:30 > 0:04:34# I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when
0:04:34 > 0:04:37# I'm stuck in Folsom Prison... #
0:04:38 > 0:04:41My father was... In many ways, he was a rebel.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43He was the ultimate image of cool,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47and still is to many who know the man in black and whatever.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50But there is a greater mystery beneath the surface.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53# When I was just a baby
0:04:53 > 0:04:55# My mama told me, son
0:04:55 > 0:04:57# Always be a good boy
0:04:57 > 0:04:59# Don't ever play with guns... #
0:04:59 > 0:05:02He has always been larger-than-life.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06I mean, he has been this dark, driven force, you know,
0:05:06 > 0:05:10he was probably the most exciting performer
0:05:10 > 0:05:14that I had seen in my life at that time.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18A lot of people down there in Nashville
0:05:18 > 0:05:20did not appreciate Johnny Cash,
0:05:20 > 0:05:24because he did not represent the status quo.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26He was a visionary.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30I think when he was at his best and he was right within himself...
0:05:30 > 0:05:32If you look back at the Folsom Prison record, to me,
0:05:32 > 0:05:37which was the unlocking of the worldwide Johnny Cash.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39All of a sudden, the whole world was looking at this town
0:05:39 > 0:05:43because of Johnny Cash. So he had to be reckoned with.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46He was able to come into your home as a mainstream artist,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50telling you truths about the rights of Indians,
0:05:50 > 0:05:51the rights of prisoners.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54# I know I can't be free... #
0:05:55 > 0:05:58These were hot-button topics
0:05:58 > 0:06:00that only a guy of his stature
0:06:00 > 0:06:03could have gotten away with, and had the courage to stand up for.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14I didn't really particularly strike out in a country direction,
0:06:14 > 0:06:18but that is the place where I felt at home, where I belonged.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21It was a kind of music that I was raised on.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25All of us have been kind of hard to label.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30I probably identified as much with Bob Dylan as Hank Williams.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34Bob Dylan idolised John.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:06:49 > 0:06:53I met him backstage at the Opry when I was still in the Army.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56When I went to Nashville on leave.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59I saw this guy walk in. He looked like a panther,
0:06:59 > 0:07:04and he was messed up, as he often was in those days.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05He was skinny as a snake,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09but he had an electricity about him in that was...
0:07:09 > 0:07:10That was just...
0:07:10 > 0:07:13It may be the reason I decided to quit the Army
0:07:13 > 0:07:14and go back to Nashville.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Kris was amazing.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27He was a Rhodes Scholar, he was a boxer,
0:07:27 > 0:07:29he was a helicopter pilot,
0:07:29 > 0:07:34he was a football player and a dedicated songwriter.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39He had given up everything to be a janitor so that he could be around.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44# And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad
0:07:44 > 0:07:46# So I had one more for dessert
0:07:52 > 0:07:57# Then I fumbled through my closet for my clothes
0:07:57 > 0:08:00# Found my cleanest dirty shirt... #
0:08:00 > 0:08:04I was a janitor in a recording studio where John recorded.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07I almost got fired one time
0:08:07 > 0:08:12because a couple of songwriters crashed the session.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15They were trying to pitch him a gospel album.
0:08:15 > 0:08:21For some reason, the woman who was the secretary to the producer
0:08:21 > 0:08:24blamed me for letting them in there
0:08:24 > 0:08:25and tried to get me fired.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29The next night, my boss came down and said,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33"I don't think you should go to John's session tonight."
0:08:33 > 0:08:37I hid down in the vault of the recording studio.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40I was erasing tapes down there, doing some kind of busy work,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44and John appeared down there in the basement.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47He said, "I understand you are not coming to the session."
0:08:47 > 0:08:49I said, "No, I've got a lot of work to do down here, I can't."
0:08:49 > 0:08:51He said, "Well, I just wanted to tell you
0:08:51 > 0:08:53"I am not going to record until you come up there."
0:08:55 > 0:09:00So I had to go up and sit on the floor.
0:09:00 > 0:09:01Here, I was the janitor, right?
0:09:01 > 0:09:05I am sitting on the floor, and this woman - who tried to get me fired -
0:09:05 > 0:09:07was watching me the whole session.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10It was the most uncomfortable I have ever been in my life,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13but I thought that was the measure of the man.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17He also recorded the first big song for me.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20The most famous recording of that song
0:09:20 > 0:09:22was live on The Johnny Cash Show.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25The television network had asked my father,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27"Please do not sing the line,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30"'I'm wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.'
0:09:30 > 0:09:33"Will you sing, 'I'm wishing, Lord, that I was home'?"
0:09:33 > 0:09:34My father went to Kris.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Kris said, "Well, I don't know, John,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40"it's really not the same thing. Whatever you think."
0:09:40 > 0:09:42So he climbed up in the balcony,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Kris was watching the show.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47On live television, of course, my father went ahead
0:09:47 > 0:09:51and stood out and sung, "I'm wishing, Lord, that I was stoned",
0:09:51 > 0:09:53and looked up at Kris in the balcony.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56I do believe Kris nearly fell out of the balcony.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04ALL: # On a Sunday morning sidewalk
0:10:07 > 0:10:11# I'm wishing, Lord, that I was stoned
0:10:13 > 0:10:16- JOHNNY:- # Cos there's something 'bout a Sunday... #
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Imagine, though, the hero of your life
0:10:20 > 0:10:23makes you what you are.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Your hero turns your life around.
0:10:26 > 0:10:32ALL: # There ain't nothing short of dying
0:10:32 > 0:10:36# Half as lonesome as the sound
0:10:39 > 0:10:42# Of a sleeping city sidewalk... #
0:10:44 > 0:10:48I find it amazing today
0:10:48 > 0:10:53that the janitor had the audacity to be there in the first place,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57but that he would become my best friend.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:11:02 > 0:11:05I guess these guys, when we did The Highwaymen,
0:11:05 > 0:11:09their solo careers weren't really hitting on all cylinders
0:11:09 > 0:11:10at the time.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13CBS records dropped Johnny Cash
0:11:13 > 0:11:18because he was not making enough money.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Once you get to be a certain age,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23and you get to be a certain intelligence
0:11:23 > 0:11:26of how things are working,
0:11:26 > 0:11:27they don't want to deal with it.
0:11:27 > 0:11:33It is much cheaper to get some young kid who you can say,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36"Hey, you know, we'll give you 30,000
0:11:36 > 0:11:40"and alleviate you of this publishing responsibility."
0:11:40 > 0:11:42That's the kind of shit they did.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44They didn't understand John.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49It would be like dropping Dylan from your label or something, you know?
0:11:49 > 0:11:52There were certain people that are up and beyond the rules.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54There was no soul left in Nashville.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56They didn't care about Johnny Cash any more.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00It's not limited to Johnny Cash, it's also Willie and Waylon.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04To hear somebody tell me that they want...
0:12:04 > 0:12:08That they had a truck and they would back it up to the record company
0:12:08 > 0:12:12and they would take them all and dump them in...at the dump.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16That, to me, was more than I could handle.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Some people were counting my dad as out.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24They saw that he was possibly at the end of his career, in some ways.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27But you could not count out Johnny Cash.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32# Well, a long time forgotten
0:12:32 > 0:12:34# Our dreams are just fell by the way
0:12:37 > 0:12:40# And the good life he promised
0:12:40 > 0:12:42# Ain't what she's living today
0:12:45 > 0:12:48# But she never complains of the bad times
0:12:48 > 0:12:50# Or the bad things he's done
0:12:53 > 0:12:55# She just talks about the good times they've had
0:12:55 > 0:12:58# And all the good times to come... #
0:12:58 > 0:13:02- CASH:- I met Waylon the first time in the early '60s at a club in Phoenix.
0:13:02 > 0:13:03June and I were working there.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06This was before June and I were married.
0:13:06 > 0:13:07We went out and watched him.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Well, you know, Nashville was the only music community
0:13:10 > 0:13:12that I really knew anything about,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16so June and I encouraged Waylon to come over and move to Nashville
0:13:16 > 0:13:20and start recording and get his career going.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Cos, you know, I wasn't half into the show
0:13:23 > 0:13:26until I knew that here was a man who had a whole lot more to offer
0:13:26 > 0:13:29to the world than 400 or 500 people
0:13:29 > 0:13:31that might come into a Phoenix nightclub.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33# He likes the nightlife
0:13:33 > 0:13:34# The bright lights
0:13:34 > 0:13:36# And his good timin' friend... #
0:13:36 > 0:13:39He asked me, "Do you think I should go to Nashville?"
0:13:39 > 0:13:42I said, "how much money are you making here?"
0:13:42 > 0:13:44I think he said, "400 a week."
0:13:44 > 0:13:46I said, "Stay here."
0:13:46 > 0:13:48# Their teardrops and laughter
0:13:48 > 0:13:51# They're passed to this world hand-in-hand
0:13:54 > 0:13:58# A good-hearted woman in love with a good-timing man... #
0:14:00 > 0:14:03He came in, looked right up front,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07he bucked against the Nashville music community
0:14:07 > 0:14:10and the way things were cut and dried.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Country music was kind of pretty at that time.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16You had Marty Robbins singing his beautiful cowboy ballads,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19and Eddie Arnold, and Ray Price, and, you know,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22with a lot of strings backing them up.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25So Waylon was raw.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27It was a whole different movement
0:14:27 > 0:14:30from what was going on in the norm in Nashville.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34The old world of Nashville was perhaps comparable
0:14:34 > 0:14:37in a farm club kind of way, in a country kind of way,
0:14:37 > 0:14:39to the studio system in Hollywood.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Every label had its stars, every label had manufactured stars.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45Everybody was assigned producers.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48The publishing industry was tight knit.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50It was pretty much a good-old-boy-run town.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55Things were just kind of set up that way from the foundation up.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58I mean, he had come off a marvellous job here,
0:14:58 > 0:15:03you know, running the roost, so to speak.
0:15:03 > 0:15:04It was a bust.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07John ended up moving to Nashville, and so did Waylon.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Together.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11That was another nightmare.
0:15:11 > 0:15:17In those states, both of us were pretty well hooked on pills.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20But we can honestly say we never gave each other drugs.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Never. We hid it. We thought we were hiding it convincingly.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24- LAUGHTER - We never did.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26See, I knew he couldn't handle it.
0:15:26 > 0:15:27So I had to protect him.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32I think he was thinking the same thing.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34You know, when you grow up in Texas, you are taught
0:15:34 > 0:15:36that you are a little bit bigger and a little bit better
0:15:36 > 0:15:38and a little bit tougher
0:15:38 > 0:15:40and a little bit smarter than anybody else.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Willie and I were both taught that.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Now, I don't know about Willie,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46but it was rough on me when I got out in the world
0:15:46 > 0:15:47and found out I wasn't.
0:15:53 > 0:15:59# In the twilight glow I see them
0:16:03 > 0:16:08# Blue eyes cryin' in the rain... #
0:16:08 > 0:16:11All of the highwaymen, of course, were outsiders.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Willie Nelson sort of wrote the book on being an outsider.
0:16:13 > 0:16:19# When we kissed goodbye and parted... #
0:16:19 > 0:16:23The establishment, you know, they said, "The guy can't sing.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25"Maybe he should be a songwriter."
0:16:25 > 0:16:26He played incredible guitar.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29His main influence was this French gypsy guitar player
0:16:29 > 0:16:31named Django Reinhardt.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39# Love is like a dying ember... #
0:16:39 > 0:16:40So, he was different,
0:16:40 > 0:16:43and it might have put people out of their comfort zone
0:16:43 > 0:16:45for listening to this guy.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48NELSON: All of us, in our own way, compromised in some ways
0:16:48 > 0:16:50and tried to do it their way for a while.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56Not only was it not really that much fun, it just wasn't working.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58It just wasn't clicking.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01He got frustrated with Nashville, moved back to Texas,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04which was where he was from originally, it was his home.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06He moved to Austin, because he heard that
0:17:06 > 0:17:09there was a lot of new music coming out of Austin.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Originally, the audiences were young University of Texas
0:17:12 > 0:17:14and young hippie...
0:17:14 > 0:17:16But then the rednecks were going, "Well, Willie Nelson is there.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19"What is going on over there?" Or, "Look at all the young girls.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22"Maybe we can meet some of them young girls
0:17:22 > 0:17:24"that are at that concert."
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Willie saw he could go into these places.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28He looked out into the audience,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31and there were cowboy hats and longhairs.
0:17:31 > 0:17:32They were getting along.
0:17:35 > 0:17:36You can't put enough emphasis
0:17:36 > 0:17:39on what Waylon and Willie were to Austin.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Waylon said it before, you know, Willie called and said,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44"You need to come out here. I found something."
0:17:44 > 0:17:45That was the whole start of it.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49You have got to remember, 1971, '2, '3, '4, '5, in Texas,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51you could get your ass kicked and killed
0:17:51 > 0:17:56and your hair cut just by having long hair and being a hippie.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00They would flock to this place cos they were safe.
0:18:00 > 0:18:01When I first came to work,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03the band was still wearing brocade tuxedos,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05but Willie was growing his hair long
0:18:05 > 0:18:08and was wearing a long brown leather shirt
0:18:08 > 0:18:11with big billowing pirate's sleeves
0:18:11 > 0:18:15and a beard and long hair and a cowboy hat.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19I remember once, a promotion man said,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22"We love what Willie is doing, we don't want him in a tuxedo.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26"We like the clothing - the sneakers and the long hair."
0:18:26 > 0:18:29I said, "It is guaranteed that he won't go the tuxedo way."
0:18:34 > 0:18:37CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Thank you very much.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40The Outlaw movement was started by Waylon and Willie.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43More so Waylon, because he was the first one to say,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46"Hey, I'm not going to do the things the normal way."
0:18:46 > 0:18:48He said, "I'm going to do them my way."
0:18:48 > 0:18:50So, one time Willie was in town and I said,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53"Willie, come on, let's go cut an album."
0:18:53 > 0:18:56I said, "I want to cut this album. I've got it ready."
0:18:56 > 0:19:00He had a couple of songs. I said, "I want you to play guitar on it.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02"Let's have some fun with it."
0:19:02 > 0:19:06I went over and I cut the album - This Time.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08When I got through with it, I took it to the record company,
0:19:08 > 0:19:10and they said, "Well, that's wonderful.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12"Now we've got to go into the studio and cut it." I said, "No."
0:19:12 > 0:19:14I said, "That's all you've got."
0:19:14 > 0:19:17So they tried every way in the world, even trying to get them
0:19:17 > 0:19:21to allow this one to be released, and finally they released it.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23That more or less broke the system in this town,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26where the record companies own the studios.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30I think anybody that has any artistic freedom in their contracts
0:19:30 > 0:19:33in record deals today owe that to Waylon Jennings.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35Willie was just a little bit more laid back.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38He was just always grinning all the time, picking and singing,
0:19:38 > 0:19:39saying, "Let's go."
0:19:39 > 0:19:45Waylon, he was the bull trying to knock down all of the doors.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Willie was just like, "Oh, you kicked another door in?
0:19:47 > 0:19:49"I will walk through there with you."
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Well, the Outlaw thing started selling.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53They really didn't understand that,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56because we were breaking all of the rules,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59doing it wrong, using our own bands.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01I think the first record that he did for Columbia
0:20:01 > 0:20:03was Red Headed Stranger.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05The deal was that Willie could just do what ever he wanted,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07pick the songs, pick the band -
0:20:07 > 0:20:09he picked his road band, which is never done -
0:20:09 > 0:20:11and just turned in a finished product.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13When he did, it was so sparse...
0:20:13 > 0:20:16I mean Red Headed Stranger was basically Willie and the band
0:20:16 > 0:20:19sitting around in a circle, and he was playing these new songs,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22and while we were recording it was the first time we heard the songs.
0:20:22 > 0:20:23They are pretty sparse.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25We are mainly just listening to what he was doing
0:20:25 > 0:20:27and playing very lightly on it.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Well, when he turned it in, the guys at Columbia said,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32"You know, this is a great demo,
0:20:32 > 0:20:34"why don't you recut it or we will put some strings on it?"
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Willie said, "No, you've got to put it out like it is."
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Reluctantly, they did. It was a hit.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43I don't know how many weeks it has been on the charts, but for years.
0:20:43 > 0:20:44They broke down the system
0:20:44 > 0:20:47and gained their own control by having success.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49The Outlaws, which was Willie, Waylon,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51Tompall Glaser and Jessi Colter,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54was the first country record to go platinum.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56It broke down boundaries.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00People who used to not listen to country music because it wasn't cool
0:21:00 > 0:21:03started listening again, because it looked dangerous.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06At that time, cocaine was a really popular drug
0:21:06 > 0:21:08and everybody was doing it.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Willie didn't like it, because he liked to relax.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13He liked to smoke pot and just relax.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17Cocaine made us all jacked up and play really fast and loud
0:21:17 > 0:21:20and not listen to each other. So, Waylon did like cocaine.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23That was kind of a part of his lifestyle.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26He would take drugs and stay up in the office and go and cut records.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28I'm not saying that he didn't ever do anything
0:21:28 > 0:21:30that didn't challenge our marriage,
0:21:30 > 0:21:34but basically he was working.
0:21:34 > 0:21:35That is what he liked.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38# Cowboys ain't easy to love
0:21:38 > 0:21:40# And they're harder to hold
0:21:43 > 0:21:49# They'd rather give you a song than diamonds or gold
0:21:52 > 0:21:56# Lonestar belt buckles and old faded Levi's... #
0:21:56 > 0:21:59The Highwaymen voices blended together great.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02A lot of the time, it was just two of them at a time singing.
0:22:02 > 0:22:03It was like duets.
0:22:03 > 0:22:08Then, on the choruses, all of them would sing together. So, it was...
0:22:08 > 0:22:10It just got bigger than life.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15ALL: # Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys
0:22:17 > 0:22:21# Don't let 'em pick guitars and drive them old trucks
0:22:21 > 0:22:26# Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such... #
0:22:26 > 0:22:28There is four movies right there.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30There is four folk heroes,
0:22:30 > 0:22:34there is four great lives that have been lived.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37It must have been a weary spot for any of them.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39It is a wonderful thing to be a star,
0:22:39 > 0:22:41it is a wonderful thing to be a legend,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44but at some point, you know, you are a human being, too.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47You know, when you can back up against three other oak trees
0:22:47 > 0:22:50that understand and nothing has to be discussed,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52there is bound to be peace in that.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57# Little warm puppies and children and girls of the night... #
0:22:57 > 0:22:59- Woof woof.- Woof woof.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02WILLIE: # Them that don't know him won't like him
0:23:02 > 0:23:04# And them that do
0:23:04 > 0:23:08# Sometimes won't know how to take him
0:23:08 > 0:23:09# He ain't wrong He's just different
0:23:09 > 0:23:11# But his pride won't let him
0:23:11 > 0:23:14# Do things to make you think he's right
0:23:17 > 0:23:23ALL: # Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys... #
0:23:24 > 0:23:30These men were, you know, icons of our culture and whatever
0:23:30 > 0:23:33they may have been, you know, to the public, but they were buddies.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37They were laughing and just enjoying their time together.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Any time I hear a live Highwaymen show,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42it is a visceral thrill for me.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Am I dreaming this? Did it really happen?
0:23:45 > 0:23:48It is almost too much to take, I am so proud of it.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:23:55 > 0:23:58You know, because these guys were so popular,
0:23:58 > 0:24:00the movie deals started coming in.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08I guess they did Stagecoach.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14- I didn't catch your name. - Well, his name is Doc Holliday.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Is that right? I heard you were pretty handy with a gun.
0:24:20 > 0:24:21I am still alive.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25They wanted him to cut his hair to play Doc Holliday.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29First, I didn't want to cut Willie Nelson's hair, and secondly,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31I didn't see a need.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35When I met him, he was sitting in a chair and I said,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38"Mr Nelson, the producers and director would like me to ask
0:24:38 > 0:24:41"if you would be willing to cut your hair for this part."
0:24:41 > 0:24:44I remember him looking up at me from the chair and saying,
0:24:44 > 0:24:45"What do you think?"
0:24:45 > 0:24:49I said, "I think it is ridiculous.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51"To be perfectly honest, I don't see the need."
0:24:51 > 0:24:53He said, "Let's tell them no."
0:24:53 > 0:24:57I just saw this smart-ass twinkle.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00I went, "Yeah, OK. That's kind of cool."
0:25:00 > 0:25:02I tell everybody we marry what we need.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Kris married lawyer and I got a make-up girl.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08When my father was a little boy,
0:25:08 > 0:25:13he would always go see the film down the road at the local theatre.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Typically on a Friday night,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18it would more often than not be a Gene Autry film.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20Gene Autry was always my father's favourite,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22because he loved to see the singing cowboy.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24It was later on, in the 1990s,
0:25:24 > 0:25:28that he actually got to spend some time with Mr Autry.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32- How have you been, John? - I'm doing fine. I'm doing just fine.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Just make yourself comfortable.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36I'll do my damnedest.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Gene came to the Oceanway Studio,
0:25:39 > 0:25:44and just like the same little kids at that theatre, their eyes lit up.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46There's the cowboy.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48- Hey, Willie, sit down there. - Nice to see you.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51God, I haven't seen you in so long.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55- Excuse me.- You don't come back out here like you used to.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58No, sir, I don't come as much as I ought to.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02They were the singing cowboys. They would make their music,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05ride their horse, they'd act in films,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07they'd have their shows.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11They were real cowboy stars.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14ALL: # Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
0:26:14 > 0:26:16# Rockin' to and fro
0:26:16 > 0:26:20# Back in the saddle again
0:26:20 > 0:26:23# Whoopi-ty-aye-eh
0:26:23 > 0:26:25# I go my way
0:26:25 > 0:26:28# Back in the saddle again. #
0:26:32 > 0:26:35- GENE:- We should have recorded that.
0:26:35 > 0:26:36I think we did.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40# I'm gonna steal me
0:26:40 > 0:26:42# A silver stallion... #
0:26:43 > 0:26:46They had ideas. They wanted to play colleges.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49We played colleges. They wanted to go to Europe. We went to Europe.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52They wanted to go to Asia. We went to Asia.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55It was as if these guys had been on the road together for ever.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59It was a huge band, it was a huge production, but it was a family.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02It was so comfortable.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05It was, sort of, just every time we went out, it was a reunion.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07In the middle of airports.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09In airport lounges all over the world.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12It could have been a little complicated travelling with
0:27:12 > 0:27:1639 people, including infant children,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18but it just worked itself out.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Willie would get down on the ground and play blocks with our kids,
0:27:21 > 0:27:26and make funny jokes and do little magic things with them.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Waylon just love to carry our daughter around everywhere.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32My memory is that they are always on the ground with the kids,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35which is strange for men with such huge stature.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38They were just little boys grown tall.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40They wore boots.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:27:47 > 0:27:50# Maybe I didn't love you
0:27:53 > 0:27:56# Quite as often as I could have
0:27:58 > 0:28:01# Maybe I didn't treat you
0:28:05 > 0:28:08# Quite as good as I should have
0:28:11 > 0:28:14# If I made you feel second best
0:28:17 > 0:28:20# Girl, I'm sorry I was blind
0:28:24 > 0:28:28# But you were always on my mind... #
0:28:29 > 0:28:33When Willie cut Always On My Mind, he called me the night he cut it.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36He said, "Listen to this." I heard it over the phone.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39I went, "Wow, that's a smash."
0:28:40 > 0:28:46That band was the same band that toured with Highwaymen every night.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Chips put together a lot of material, a lot of musicians,
0:28:49 > 0:28:50he's a great producer.
0:28:50 > 0:28:55He put together the band behind us for all the records.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57We couldn't have done it without Chips.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01The way it came to pass with the musicians was that everyone
0:29:01 > 0:29:03agreed that they would bring in
0:29:03 > 0:29:06one or two musicians from their own bands
0:29:06 > 0:29:09and the rest were studio musicians -
0:29:09 > 0:29:12they were the best at what they did.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15The Highwaymen band was a big band that started with the core
0:29:15 > 0:29:17being the Memphis Boys.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20During a five-year period that we were together,
0:29:20 > 0:29:24the Memphis Boys cut 120 chart records, hit records.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28For me, personally, I went into it because Bobby was there.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31Most fun thing I have ever done.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34Reggie Young loved playing live. We all did.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37It was a family organisation, you know, we all loved each other
0:29:37 > 0:29:41so much that there was nobody that could fill in for somebody else.
0:29:45 > 0:29:53# You were always on my mind
0:29:53 > 0:29:59# You were always on
0:29:59 > 0:30:05# My mind. #
0:30:05 > 0:30:07CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:30:12 > 0:30:16We were at Norman, Oklahoma, at the University, near Oklahoma City,
0:30:16 > 0:30:21and we're here for a concert tonight that Willie brought together
0:30:21 > 0:30:25to aid the farmers that are kind of down and out.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28Willie is farm-made, and me and everybody
0:30:28 > 0:30:31are kind of just his helper, really.
0:30:31 > 0:30:37Willie should really get the Nobel Peace Prize for Farm Aid.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40People are becoming aware that people have to get involved.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43I don't think we can sit back and rely on our politicians
0:30:43 > 0:30:47to take care of problems that they are not taking care of.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:31:05 > 0:31:08# I've always been crazy in trouble
0:31:08 > 0:31:10# And it's put me through
0:31:13 > 0:31:17# I've been busted for things that I didn't
0:31:17 > 0:31:19# I didn't do... #
0:31:19 > 0:31:21My father and Waylon were both open
0:31:21 > 0:31:23about their struggles with addiction.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26My father, of course, was on amphetamines in the 1960s,
0:31:26 > 0:31:28but it was later on, in the 1980s,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31that he developed an addiction to painkillers.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35He straightened up, actually, in early 1983.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39Waylon also gave up his drug of choice, which was cocaine.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42# With one foot over the line
0:31:45 > 0:31:47# Winding up somewhere
0:31:47 > 0:31:51# One step ahead or behind... #
0:31:52 > 0:31:55He had tried three times to dry out.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57He could get me up all times, days and night.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00He was dealing with the frenzy that comes
0:32:00 > 0:32:01from trying to come off a drug.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05He called me up one morning, says, "Come out here and sit with me."
0:32:05 > 0:32:07We were out watching the sun rise,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10which was never anything he wanted to do.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15But I guess that was the moment that he knew, you know?
0:32:15 > 0:32:16He had made a decision.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19Shortly after he'd tell me, because he had...
0:32:19 > 0:32:21They had coke out on the bus.
0:32:21 > 0:32:22At one point, he said,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25"Jessi, you can go throw that down the toilet."
0:32:28 > 0:32:33# Never mind I ain't found a rhyme or a reason to change
0:32:36 > 0:32:38# I've always been crazy
0:32:38 > 0:32:41# It's killing me from going insane
0:32:43 > 0:32:46They supported each other in their recovery.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50June had thrown Waylon a sobriety party at her house.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58So Johnny says, "Jessi, June has given Waylon a sobriety party.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01"Will you give me one?" I said, "Yes, Johnny."
0:33:04 > 0:33:06So they really stood behind each other
0:33:06 > 0:33:08throughout their endeavours of sobriety.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25With those four guys,
0:33:25 > 0:33:27the way they all messed with each other was amazing.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30I think Willie was up for anything. Willie just wanted to stir up shit.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33He just liked a little tension going on.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37Waylon didn't like any tension and was always paranoid about it.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41Kris was ready to stir up anything for his causes.
0:33:41 > 0:33:46Kris, at one point, had a Lebanese flag or an Iraqi flag or something.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48I don't even remember what it was.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52Johnny Cash started up with Waylon about that flag.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55John knew what buttons to push with Waylon, and Waylon would get upset.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57Then he would realise, "Well, John was just messing with me.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59"I am upset over nothing."
0:33:59 > 0:34:04See, Waylon... Waylon is going to worry about something.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07- We'll see to it.- We'll see to it.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09Really, they all stood for the same things,
0:34:09 > 0:34:11but their delivery was a little different.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14A really revealing glimpse into their life philosophies
0:34:14 > 0:34:17can be found in the way they each decorated their vocal booth.
0:34:17 > 0:34:22Johnny Cash, he draped his in black and put a big rainbow in it.
0:34:22 > 0:34:27Beneath that man-in-black persona was a sweet, optimistic guy.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30Willie... Willie put a Texas flag in there.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Waylon went for a desert motif, but he also, in the garbage
0:34:34 > 0:34:38somewhere on one of his trips, found a velvet painting of Willie.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41He hung that in there, too.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45Kris asked me to bring a picture head of Noam Chomsky
0:34:45 > 0:34:46to hang it in my house.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48I think there is a picture of Che Guevara...
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Those were the personas they chose, in a way, you know?
0:34:51 > 0:34:54They grew into those characters.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Listen, my name is Waylon.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58His ain't, his ain't, and his ain't.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00LAUGHTER
0:35:00 > 0:35:02That's all you need to know.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05They are not playing against each other,
0:35:05 > 0:35:09they are playing with each other, but they are still competitive,
0:35:09 > 0:35:14and so there is just a kind of swagger
0:35:14 > 0:35:17to each entertainer.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19# It's the same old tune
0:35:19 > 0:35:21# Fiddle and guitar
0:35:21 > 0:35:24# Where do we take it from here?
0:35:24 > 0:35:29# Limestone suits and new shiny cars
0:35:29 > 0:35:31# It's been the same way for years
0:35:36 > 0:35:39# Somebody told me when I first got to Nashville
0:35:39 > 0:35:43# Oh, you've finally got it made
0:35:43 > 0:35:44# Old Hank made it here
0:35:44 > 0:35:46# Now we're all sure that you will
0:35:46 > 0:35:50# But I don't think Hank done it this way
0:35:50 > 0:35:53# Did old Hank really do it this way...? #
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Each time they'd get up to do a show -
0:35:55 > 0:35:59"This is the last time, but we are going to give it hell."
0:35:59 > 0:36:00This is what great athletes do.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15Willie is the outlaw coyote, Waylon is the riverboat gambler,
0:36:15 > 0:36:19I am the Revolutionary Communist, radical,
0:36:19 > 0:36:21and John is the father of our country.
0:36:21 > 0:36:22LAUGHTER
0:36:29 > 0:36:31CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:36:33 > 0:36:36They were all able to have the greatest respect
0:36:36 > 0:36:38for each other as artists.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40The sum of the parts was just humongous.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43Kris, I think, being a songwriter,
0:36:43 > 0:36:46he never considered himself a singer.
0:36:46 > 0:36:47He's a songwriter.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49So to him it was like, you know, the same thing -
0:36:49 > 0:36:52"How did I get in with this bunch of singers?"
0:36:52 > 0:36:53When I first heard Bobby McGee, I said,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55"Well, why didn't I write that?"
0:36:55 > 0:36:58It has all the ingredients of the things that I like to see
0:36:58 > 0:37:01and hear in a song -
0:37:01 > 0:37:04from all about freedom and travelling,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07and even down to the red bandana,
0:37:07 > 0:37:10so naturally I related to that song a lot.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14# Busted flat in Baton Rouge
0:37:14 > 0:37:17# Headin' for the trains
0:37:17 > 0:37:20# Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans
0:37:23 > 0:37:26# Bobby thumbed a diesel down
0:37:26 > 0:37:28# Just before it rained
0:37:30 > 0:37:33# Took us all the way to New Orleans
0:37:36 > 0:37:42# I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana
0:37:42 > 0:37:48# I was blowin' sad while Bobby sang the blues
0:37:48 > 0:37:52# With them windshield wipers slappin' time
0:37:52 > 0:37:54# And Bobby clappin' hands
0:37:54 > 0:37:57# We finally sang up every song
0:37:57 > 0:38:00# That driver knew... #
0:38:00 > 0:38:05Kris is the best songwriter I know. And has been since he showed up.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09I don't think that I could put into words the effect that
0:38:09 > 0:38:11Kristofferson had on country music
0:38:11 > 0:38:15better than Bob Dylan's speech at MusiCares,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18where he called Kris the game-changer.
0:38:18 > 0:38:23Nashville had never seen anything like Kris when he showed up. Never.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30He probably scared the hell out of those people.
0:38:30 > 0:38:36# From the coalmines of Kentucky to the California sun... #
0:38:36 > 0:38:41I found out that I could express myself in songs,
0:38:41 > 0:38:45and that was what I was supposed to do with my life.
0:38:45 > 0:38:50The fact that I got to do it with the heroes
0:38:50 > 0:38:52would be like finding out I could go out and write poems
0:38:52 > 0:38:54with William Blake or something.
0:38:57 > 0:39:04ALL: # Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose
0:39:04 > 0:39:06# Nothing ain't worth nothing
0:39:06 > 0:39:07# But it's free
0:39:10 > 0:39:13# Feelin' good was easy, Lord
0:39:13 > 0:39:15# When Bobby sang the blues
0:39:16 > 0:39:19# And, buddy, that was good enough
0:39:19 > 0:39:23# For me and Waylon and Johnny and Willie
0:39:23 > 0:39:26ALL: # Good enough for me and Bobby McGee... #
0:39:28 > 0:39:33When were travelling with a band, we would pull off at truckstops
0:39:33 > 0:39:35periodically for the guys to get food.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38They would all get their biscuits and gravy and bacon and eggs
0:39:38 > 0:39:40and all the stuff that they love at truckstops.
0:39:40 > 0:39:41Kris would get off the bus,
0:39:41 > 0:39:43and instead of going inside the truckstops,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46he would just start running for an hour in that direction.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48Then, when the guys were all done eating,
0:39:48 > 0:39:49we would get back on the bus.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53We would go down the highway and pick him up wherever he was.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55My father maintained he did the best he could,
0:39:55 > 0:39:57but he never was one for exercise,
0:39:57 > 0:40:00whereas Willie and Kris were always exercising,
0:40:00 > 0:40:03whether it was golf or jogging or whatever,
0:40:03 > 0:40:05they were very, very physically active.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09Johnny was not the healthiest person.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12He had had some implants, some dental implants,
0:40:12 > 0:40:15and the doctor had broken his jaw putting these things in.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18He would still come out and do the show,
0:40:18 > 0:40:20but he was just not a happy camper.
0:40:20 > 0:40:27He did all that in excruciating pain and was still so gracious.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31He didn't make a big deal about it. He hid his pain well.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34The only time he said that he ever felt good
0:40:34 > 0:40:38in the course of a day or night with this problem
0:40:38 > 0:40:42was when he was on stage, when he would sublimate it.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44Just sing over the pain.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47Waylon was having a bypass surgery done.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51My father went and visited him in the hospital.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53The doctors wanted to check him out when he was there,
0:40:53 > 0:40:55because he didn't look quite right.
0:40:55 > 0:41:00It was determined that my father also had a blocked artery, too.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03So he had to have a bypass surgery also.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06So Waylon and my dad were really almost roommates once again
0:41:06 > 0:41:08because they were right down the hall from each other.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11So I'm sure there were some jokes being passed back and forth,
0:41:11 > 0:41:15some old memories that came back because there they were again,
0:41:15 > 0:41:17after all those years.
0:41:17 > 0:41:22# Look here, is that you I see?
0:41:22 > 0:41:25# You sure seem down to me... #
0:41:27 > 0:41:31Waylon, I think he was spiritual down to the bottom of his feet.
0:41:31 > 0:41:37He was able to express it to me in his music.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39Everything that came out of his throat, to me,
0:41:39 > 0:41:42sounded like it was a religious song.
0:41:42 > 0:41:47# Everyone gets crazy now and then
0:41:50 > 0:41:55# I know those empty nights get lonely... #
0:41:55 > 0:41:58My father was an ordained minister. He was a student of the Bible.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01He was able to say, "I've been to the darkness,
0:42:01 > 0:42:05"I've come out the far side and the light is my point.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07"The goodness is what I stand for."
0:42:07 > 0:42:11# I guess these troubled times get scary
0:42:11 > 0:42:15# But that's just ordinary
0:42:15 > 0:42:20# Everyone gets crazy now and then
0:42:23 > 0:42:28# And who can say they'd never stumble... #
0:42:30 > 0:42:34All four of The Highwaymen were very spiritual guys in their own sense.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39Willie was like a yogi. Very spiritual.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Not in-your-face, he didn't try to convert anybody.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44You just kept your mouth shut and listened to Willie
0:42:44 > 0:42:48or listen to his songs - there's all kinds of lessons in life and love.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58They did a song called Everyone Goes Crazy Now And Then.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01They sang the crap out of it.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04I mean, Kris will just break your heart on it.
0:43:04 > 0:43:09# I get crazy just like you
0:43:09 > 0:43:12# Lost and lonely, too
0:43:12 > 0:43:17# Like some old flag left flying in the wind
0:43:21 > 0:43:25# Time has taught me this for sure
0:43:25 > 0:43:29# Time is the only cure... #
0:43:29 > 0:43:32It was very healing for the four guys to be together.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36They had their families on tour, so it was a win-win situation,
0:43:36 > 0:43:39even though each of them had specific...
0:43:39 > 0:43:41Had their own health problems.
0:43:41 > 0:43:46Together, as a unit, you know, it was a very helpful thing.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48- WAYLON:- You better grin, Kris, or I will hate you.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50LAUGHTER
0:43:52 > 0:43:56# Living legends are a dyin' breed and there ain't that many left
0:43:56 > 0:43:58# To tell the truth, I ain't been feeling
0:43:58 > 0:44:00# Real hot lately my damn self
0:44:00 > 0:44:02# I ain't old and I ain't bitter
0:44:02 > 0:44:05# And I ain't mad at anyone
0:44:05 > 0:44:08# So don't go taking seriously what's poked at you in fun
0:44:10 > 0:44:12# But if you have ever been to Nashville
0:44:12 > 0:44:14# Then I think you might agree
0:44:14 > 0:44:16# We've seen a lot of changes
0:44:16 > 0:44:18# Things we never thought we'd see
0:44:19 > 0:44:21# A rock and roller with a banjo
0:44:21 > 0:44:23# Now that I might recall
0:44:23 > 0:44:25# But...
0:44:25 > 0:44:27# A country singer with a briefcase
0:44:27 > 0:44:29# Beats all I ever saw. #
0:44:29 > 0:44:30LAUGHTER
0:44:30 > 0:44:33They laugh all the time.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36They laugh constantly, they crack each other up.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39They respect each other so much that they can also sit in a room
0:44:39 > 0:44:42and have a smoke and not have to say a thing.
0:44:42 > 0:44:47They communicate on a level that I don't speak that language.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50We are friends for ever, as they say.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52All right.
0:44:52 > 0:44:53- Let's play golf.- You got a deal.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55I can beat you any day of the week.
0:44:55 > 0:44:56Let's have lunch sometime.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59- You are no golf-playing son of a bitch...- No way.
0:44:59 > 0:45:04Remember... Remember the Linda Ronstadt hit...
0:45:04 > 0:45:06Blue Bayou?
0:45:06 > 0:45:08LAUGHTER
0:45:11 > 0:45:15That's the way it will be, all day long. Blew by you.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17We did four tours.
0:45:17 > 0:45:19There were some three or four years between each tour.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22Maybe after the last tour,
0:45:22 > 0:45:25I don't know if everybody's health was up to speed.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28My father and Waylon seemed to be beginning to suffer physically.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32ALL: # Like desperados waitin' for a train
0:45:34 > 0:45:39# Like desperado waitin' for a train
0:45:44 > 0:45:46# He's a drifter
0:45:46 > 0:45:49# And a driller of oil wells
0:45:51 > 0:45:53# An old-school man of the world... #
0:45:55 > 0:46:00Waylon, he was still battling diabetes. It had gotten pretty bad.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03He did have heart failure. Towards the end, he would lose his breath.
0:46:03 > 0:46:09But his attitude never, ever showed that he was willing to give up.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12We kept working. It's like... It just didn't change our life.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15That part of him was still the same. He was still a worker.
0:46:15 > 0:46:19# Like desperados waitin' for a train
0:46:21 > 0:46:25# Like desperados waitin' for a train
0:46:31 > 0:46:34- CASH:- # One day I looked up and he's pushin' 80
0:46:37 > 0:46:41# And there's brown tobacco stains all down his chin
0:46:43 > 0:46:48# To me, he's one of the heroes of this country
0:46:50 > 0:46:54# So why's he all dressed up like them old men...? #
0:46:54 > 0:46:57- KRIS:- As soon as Waylon went into intensive care,
0:46:57 > 0:46:58John went into intensive care.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02I guess I was in denial.
0:47:04 > 0:47:09I thought John went into the hospital sometimes just to rest.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16It wasn't. They really were dying.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22In 1997, my father actually retired from the road for good.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24Even though his friendship, of course,
0:47:24 > 0:47:28with Waylon, carried on, Waylon's health also began to decline.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31Waylon came out to my studio not long before he passed -
0:47:31 > 0:47:33a couple of years.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35He said he wanted to record some songs.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37He said, "I want you to finish them someday."
0:47:38 > 0:47:40So, when he passed, I was hurt,
0:47:40 > 0:47:43because Waylon was as much family to me...
0:47:43 > 0:47:46I mean, I still get emotional. I miss him every day of my life.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50I really do. He was a great man. He really was.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55# Lord, help me, Jesus
0:47:55 > 0:47:57# I've wasted... #
0:47:59 > 0:48:02When Waylon passed away,
0:48:02 > 0:48:05my father really felt like he had lost his best friend.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07Dad and Waylon always laughed together.
0:48:07 > 0:48:11Losing Waylon was in many ways like, you know, losing a brother.
0:48:11 > 0:48:16They were that close. But my dad persisted.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18He never turned loose of the music.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22He was chasing songs till the day he died.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26He may be the most spiritual person I have known,
0:48:26 > 0:48:33because he was conscious of his own mortality and his own weaknesses.
0:48:33 > 0:48:38But he used his life to raise the perception
0:48:38 > 0:48:40of other people into the infinite.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50I hope that younger musicians will look at the example
0:48:50 > 0:48:53that The Highwaymen give us and realise
0:48:53 > 0:48:56that if we stay true to what we believe,
0:48:56 > 0:48:58if we follow our dreams with our hearts,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01we can stand together a whole lot stronger.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04That is what The Highwaymen did.
0:49:04 > 0:49:10It is like being in a beautiful dream and not wanting it to end,
0:49:10 > 0:49:14and yet, when the notes of the final song hit,
0:49:14 > 0:49:17you know that it's...
0:49:17 > 0:49:20This isn't for ever.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23# Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas
0:49:23 > 0:49:27# With Waylon and Willie and the boys... #
0:49:29 > 0:49:31I think that The Highwaymen influenced
0:49:31 > 0:49:34so many other young artists...
0:49:34 > 0:49:36as to maybe follow your heart.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39The Highwaymen is like the first dream team in basketball.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43You put Cash and all those guys together and it is like...
0:49:43 > 0:49:46You can't repeat that. That's kind of the Mount Rushmore deal.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49# Out in Luckenbach, Texas
0:49:49 > 0:49:52# Ain't nobody feeling no pain... #
0:49:54 > 0:49:57Everybody has limitations on what they can do,
0:49:57 > 0:50:00how close they can get to the dreams.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04I believe that it is what we are supposed to do -
0:50:04 > 0:50:06live up to our better instincts.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10# This coat and tie are killin' me
0:50:10 > 0:50:13# And in your high society
0:50:13 > 0:50:16# You cry all day
0:50:17 > 0:50:21# We've been so busy keeping up with the Jones... #
0:50:21 > 0:50:25Their spirit lives on, and that type of constitution
0:50:25 > 0:50:27that these guys had,
0:50:27 > 0:50:33they stood for something that most people just don't have in them.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43It was four of the last great American heroes
0:50:43 > 0:50:45from the 20th century that rode into town,
0:50:45 > 0:50:50that made us love country music, that made us love American music.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54You know what? It was a victory lap, and everybody won.
0:50:54 > 0:50:55Especially us, the listener.
0:51:01 > 0:51:08For every detractor, every record company executive who ever
0:51:08 > 0:51:15sold them short or felt that they were irrelevant or over the hill,
0:51:15 > 0:51:17all of those people are out of this business.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19These guys are still in the business
0:51:19 > 0:51:22and their music is still being played.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26It will be played for hundreds of thousands of years.
0:51:26 > 0:51:27ALL: # Hank Williams pain songs
0:51:27 > 0:51:29# ..train songs
0:51:29 > 0:51:33# Blue eyes crying in the rain... #
0:51:35 > 0:51:40They are still honorary, lonesome and mean.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42LAUGHTER
0:51:49 > 0:51:50CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:52:05 > 0:52:09# Well, I taught the weeping willow how to cry, cry, cry
0:52:09 > 0:52:14# And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky
0:52:14 > 0:52:16# And the tears that I cried for that woman
0:52:16 > 0:52:18# Are gonna flood you, Big River
0:52:18 > 0:52:22# Then I'm gonna sit right here until I die
0:52:23 > 0:52:28# I met her accidentally in St Paul, Minnesota
0:52:28 > 0:52:32# And it tore me up to hear her when she'd drawl that Southern drawl
0:52:32 > 0:52:37# Well, I heard my dream went back downstream cavortin' in Davenport
0:52:37 > 0:52:40# But I followed you, Big River, when you called... #