When Waylon Jennings heard Billy Ray Cyrus‘ mega-hit “Achy Breaky Heart,” he knew he wanted to take Cyrus under his wing.
Billy Ray told Rolling Stone Country of their first meeting.
“I sat across the kitchen table in my house in Tennessee looking at my hero Waylon Jennings,” Cyrus said. “Waylon looked at me and said, ‘Son, do you know what the definition of an outlaw is?’ I said, ‘No, sir, what is that?’ And he said, ‘One who has been outlawed.’ He winked and said, ‘Welcome to the club.'”
Waylon introduced the “Some Gave All” singer to his son Shooter’s style of country music, which is a mix of rock and country. Jennings described Shooter’s music as “full-fledged rock & roll, but it has southern roots.”
A friendship formed between Shooter and Billy Ray and they have both proven time and time again that their relationship goes beyond the music.
“The times I was probably most lost in my life, he would randomly show up,” Shooter said.
He was performing a series of shows in Los Angeles and Billy Ray happened to be in the audience, so of course they performed a duet together. In this particular impromptu perforamnce, they sang Waylon’s classic song “I’ve Always Been Crazy” for a rockin’ crowd at Loaded in Hollywood, California.
The reunion got them thinking about actually recording a song together, which they did a few months later. Their song “Killing The Blues” was born, and they recorded “I’ve Always Been Crazy” for the B-side.
The performance that inspired the recording is a must-see for any outlaw fan. Shooter kicked things off with a gritty solo, and Cyrus joined in with the harmonies in the next verse. They vibe so well together; it’s as if they’ve been playing together for years and years.
Their “Killing The Blues” duet was included on Cyrus’ 2016 album, Thin Line. Watch their rockin’ performance below.
