On June 15, 2008, Shooter Jennings did something unexpected during a concert in Birmingham, Alabama. More than halfway through the show, Shooter Jennings asked the entire band to leave the stage, sat down at a Fender Rhodes piano, and prepared to sing a song that meant more to Waylon Jennings than almost anything else in his catalog.
The date carried an extraordinary coincidence. It was Father’s Day, Shooter Jennings’ first Father’s Day since becoming a father. It was also what would have been Waylon Jennings’ 71st birthday.
Waylon Jennings had died six years earlier, on February 13, 2002. But on that afternoon in Birmingham, a song from 1977 brought Waylon Jennings’ memory back into the spotlight.
Why Jessi Colter and Witt Stewart Were Watching
The performance happened at a particularly important moment for the Jennings family. Producer Witt Stewart had been discussing a tribute album dedicated to Waylon Jennings with Waylon’s widow, Jessi Colter.
During a meeting in Nashville the previous evening, Jessi Colter explained that such a project would need Shooter Jennings’ approval. When Witt Stewart learned Shooter Jennings was performing in Birmingham the following day, Witt Stewart arranged for both to attend the show.
Witt Stewart had never met Shooter Jennings or watched Shooter Jennings perform.
From the side of the stage, Witt Stewart and Jessi Colter watched as Shooter Jennings performed with the band. Then, a little past the show’s halfway point, Shooter Jennings changed the atmosphere entirely.
After the musicians left, Shooter Jennings reminded the audience that the day was Father’s Day and explained that it was Shooter Jennings’ first as a father. The crowd cheered. When Shooter Jennings mentioned that June 15 was also Waylon Jennings’ birthday, the response grew even louder.
Then Shooter Jennings introduced a song Waylon Jennings had often described as the favorite song Waylon Jennings ever wrote.
The song was “Belle of the Ball.”
The Song Waylon Jennings Loved More Than His Biggest Hits
Waylon Jennings originally released “Belle of the Ball” in 1977, on the album Ol’ Waylon. The song also appeared as the B-side of “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love),” one of Waylon Jennings’ most recognizable country hits.
But commercial success did not determine which song meant the most to Waylon Jennings.
Years later, Jessi Colter explained during an NPR interview that Waylon Jennings had personally identified “Belle of the Ball” as the favorite song Waylon Jennings had written.
Its meaning was also more complicated than many listeners might expect. Although “Belle of the Ball” sounds like a romantic story about a beautiful woman, Jessi Colter revealed that Waylon Jennings had explained the song was really about the music business.
The beautiful woman represented the industry that Waylon Jennings had spent a lifetime pursuing, challenging, and trying to understand. Behind the romantic imagery was a songwriter reflecting on the world that had shaped an extraordinary career.
That interpretation makes Shooter Jennings’ Father’s Day performance even more meaningful. Shooter Jennings was not simply covering a familiar country song. Shooter Jennings was performing a piece of music that Waylon Jennings considered deeply personal.
A Performance That Became a Recording
Witt Stewart later remembered the Birmingham performance as an unforgettable moment. In a 2011 interview with Taste of Country, Witt Stewart described being moved to tears while watching Shooter Jennings perform alone at the piano.
Witt Stewart immediately told Jessi Colter that Shooter Jennings needed to record the song for the planned tribute album.
The recording eventually took place in Shooter Jennings’ living room in Los Angeles, with Shooter Jennings again performing at the Fender Rhodes. Witt Stewart later added guitar from Reggie Young, cello from Jenny Young, and additional instrumentation in Nashville.
Witt Stewart even recalled that Shooter Jennings’ bulldog was sleeping nearby during the home recording, with faint snoring audible on the track.
The finished performance appeared on Waylon: The Music Inside, Volume 1, released in 2011.
The Words That Remained With Waylon Jennings
There is one final detail that explains why “Belle of the Ball” held such a special place in the Jennings family.
The song’s opening words, “A Vagabond Dreamer, A Rhymer and Singer of Songs,” were engraved on Waylon Jennings’ headstone.
For Waylon Jennings, those words described the wandering musician and songwriter behind the famous outlaw image. For Shooter Jennings, the song offered a way to honor that man in front of an audience.
On Father’s Day in 2008, Shooter Jennings had a full band, an enthusiastic crowd, and an entire catalog of Waylon Jennings classics to choose from.
Instead, Shooter Jennings chose the song Waylon Jennings loved most, and performed it alone at a piano while Jessi Colter watched from the side of the stage.
That performance eventually became part of a tribute album. But its meaning began with a simple family connection: a son honoring his father on the day that belonged to them both.