By the early 1970s, country music was undergoing a transformation. A new wave of artists was challenging the polished, string-heavy Nashville sound, bringing a raw, rebellious spirit to the genre. Among them were Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, two musicians who refused to conform to industry norms. Their independent approach to music eventually led to the rise of what became known as the “outlaw” movement, though not everyone agreed on what that really meant.
Former RCA division chief Jerry Bradley once dismissed the idea of an organized outlaw movement, insisting, “There was no outlaw movement. It was just an album cover called ‘The Outlaws,’ that’s all. But folklore made it into this great story.” That album—Wanted: The Outlaws—was a 1976 compilation featuring Jennings, Nelson, Jessi Colter (Waylon’s wife), and Tompall Glaser. Most of the songs had already been released, but the album was packaged in a way that captured the growing demand for something different in country music.
The term “outlaw” had been circulating for years. Jennings had recorded Lee Clayton’s “Ladies Love Outlaws” in 1972, but it was Hazel Smith, a publicist for Glaser, who reportedly encouraged a North Carolina radio station to use the label to describe the more progressive side of country music. The timing was perfect. As the media latched onto the idea of “outlaw country,” the Wanted: The Outlaws album skyrocketed in popularity, becoming the first Nashville album to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), meaning it had sold over a million copies.
The album produced two major hits: a new version of Elvis Presley’s 1969 song “Suspicious Minds,” performed by Waylon and Jessi, and a fresh take on Jennings’ 1972 hit, “Good Hearted Woman,” this time as a duet with Willie Nelson.
A Song Born from a Poker Game
The origins of “Good Hearted Woman” go back to 1969, when Waylon and Willie were staying in a motel in Fort Worth, Texas. During a poker game, Jennings came across an ad for Ike and Tina Turner that described how Tina sang about “good-hearted women loving good-timing men.” That phrase stuck with him, and he immediately saw its potential as a song title.
He called Willie over and told him the idea. The two began writing the lyrics right there at the poker table, dictating them to Willie’s wife, Connie, as they continued playing. (For the record, they lost the game.) As they worked, they drew inspiration from their own lives, thinking about how much their wives—Jessi and Connie—put up with by being married to them.
Though Nelson only contributed two lines to the song, he and Waylon had an agreement to split songwriting royalties equally. This kind of deal was typical between them—music came first, and business second.
From Solo Hit to Iconic Duet
Jennings first released “Good Hearted Woman” as a solo single in 1972, and it became a hit, reaching number three on the country charts. He later recorded a live version for his Waylon Live album, a performance that would later serve as the foundation for the famous duet.
By 1975, Wanted: The Outlaws was being assembled, and Jennings saw an opportunity to turn “Good Hearted Woman” into something even bigger. Since he already had the live recording, he had the studio engineers remove his original lead vocal and insert Willie’s voice in key sections. The result made it sound as though the two had performed it together, even though, as Jennings later recalled, “Willie wasn’t within 10,000 miles when I recorded it.”
To enhance the effect, the producers also played with the audience noise, adding canned applause at certain points. One of the most noticeable moments was when Waylon shouts, “Willie!” during the first verse, introducing Nelson’s voice to the record. The fake applause was turned up at that exact moment to make it seem as though the audience was reacting to the surprise duet.
A Lasting Legacy
The reworked version of “Good Hearted Woman” became a massive success, topping the Billboard country chart for three weeks starting on February 21, 1976. Meanwhile, Wanted: The Outlaws dominated the country albums chart for six weeks and even reached number ten on the overall Billboard 200, an impressive feat for a country compilation at the time.
One of the most ironic twists in the song’s history is that after inspiring its creation, Tina Turner went on to record her own version. What began as an offhand remark in an advertisement ended up fueling one of the greatest country songs of all time.
Even decades later, “Good Hearted Woman” remains one of the defining songs of outlaw country. It’s a tribute to the women who stood by their hard-living, free-spirited husbands—and to the rebellious spirit of Jennings and Nelson, two legends who changed country music forever.
