You LOVE to see it. The voice of Waylon Jennings returned in the form of a full-length album at the beginning of October, which was an album called Songbird, a tracklist full of archival songs that he recently discovered, which were all recorded in the prime of Waylon’s career. It’s the first of a three-part project, and of course, Shooter Jennings, Waylon’s son with Jessi Colter, produced it at Sunset Sound Studio 3, renamed by Jennings as “Snake Mountain,” where he produces all of the music he’s currently working on. When he initially announced the album, Shooter said they actually didn’t need too much work, but he did add some background vocals and other instrumentation just to polish it up and make it ready to be put on a professional album in the modern world of 2025. You’ll hear gorgeous backing vocals from two current country artists in Elizabeth Cook and Ashley Monroe. The music on Songbird was incredible, all songs that were recorded in some form or fashion between 1973 and 1984, but didn’t make the final cut on any albums at the time for various reasons. And according to Billboard, Waylon notched his first top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart with Songbird, which came in at No. No. 6 on Top Album Sales chart, while also entering the top 10 on four more charts including the: “Top Current Album Sales (No. 6), Indie Store Album Sales (No. 7), Americana/Folk Albums (No. 8) and Vinyl Albums (No. 9). It also starts at No. 17 on Top Country Albums, No. 18 on Independent Albums and No. 116 on the all-genre Billboard 200.” Throughout his legendary career, Waylon scored 16 No. 1s on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs ranking, and 11 No. 1s on the Top Country Albums chart. Songbird marks Waylon’s first top 10 on the 34-year-old Top Album Sales chart, with nearly 9,000 copies sold in the United States according to Luminate data. It’s so cool to see fans buying the music and really resonating with everything, and a ton of work and care went into making the music with the highest standards. Shooter ensured that the music maintained the original integrity even in the modern world, and he mixed both the original and newly recorded material in a purely analog fashion on Sunset Sound Studio 3’s custom 1976 DeMedio API mixing board, which basically just means it was all done the old-fashioned way, exactly how Waylon would have done it. Shooter considers all three albums a gift to Waylon’s fans that have kept his music and legacy alive for so many years after his death in 2002: “This project has given me an entirely new chapter in my relationship with my father and working on this music has brought a whole new understanding about how, when and why my dad made music. The hard work is there on the tapes and the passion and the soul within is as alive today as it was the day it was recorded.” He certainly made his father proud, and if you haven’t listened to Songbird yet and love classic country music, this is well worth your time and is easily one of the coolest projects released this year. “I’d Like To Love You Baby” “I’d Hate To Go Searchin’ Them Bars Again” “After The Ball” “Wrong Road Again” Songbird tracklist: 1. “Songbird” 2. “The Cowboy (Small Texas Town)” 3. “I’d Like To Love You Baby” 4. “I’m Gonna Lay Back With My Woman” 5. “Wrong Road Again” 6. “I Hate Searchin’ Them Bars Again” 7. “Brand New Tennessee Waltz” 8. “(I Don’t Have) Any More Love Songs” 9. “After The Ball” 10. “Dink’s Blues”The post Waylon Jennings Rightfully Returns To The Country Charts With ‘Songbird,” A Posthumous Record Produced By His Son, Shooter first appeared on Whiskey Riff.