Waylon Jennings - Music Style and Image

Music Style and Image

Jennings was characterized by his "powerful" singing voice, noted by his "rough-edged quality", as well as his phrasing and texture. Accompanying his vocals, he played guitar. He was recognized for his "spanky-twang" playing. To create his sound, he used a mixture of thumb and fingers during the rhythmic parts, while using picks for the lead runs. He combined hammer-on and pull-off riffs, with eventual upper-fret double stops and modulation effects. Jennings played a 1953 Fender Telecaster, which was a used guitar purchased as a gift to him by The Waylors. Jennings' bandmates adorned his guitar with a distinctive leather cover, that featured a black background with a white floral work. Jennings did further customizing work on the guitar, by filing down the frets to lower the strings on the neck to obtain the slapping sound. His signature image was characterized by his long hair and beard, as well as his black hat and the black leather vest he wore during his appareances.

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