Book review: An Outlaw and a Lady: A Memoir of Music, Life with Waylon, and the Faith that Brought Me Home by Jessi Colter

 I have to admit, despite growing up outside of the USA, I am big fan of traditional country. None of the crossover stuff for me, give me some Waylon, Willie or Johnny and I am good. So this book hit right home with me, a book written by the wife of Waylon about their lives together. Jessi grew up in a religious household, but I guess she had a wild streak in her somewhere because early on she decided to pursue a career and ended up marrying Duane Eddy. Now I had no idea about this relationship because Duane Eddy's guitar tunes are a favorite of mine and so this insight into his life was an added bonus of this book.

Jessi eventually divorced Duane and ended up marrying Waylon. And if marrying a rock musician such as Duane was not wild enough, life with Waylon certainly was. He was well known for his demons, among them a long standing addiction. While Jessi was mild compared to Waylon, she certainly drifted far away from her religious roots and ended up leading a fairly wild life, but eventually found to her faith again and maintained her faith.

This is one angle of the book and I feel that for some people this will be the focus, but I preferred to focus on the biographical aspects and the knowledge that despite his demons, Waylon was a good person at heart. I also think that the biographical aspects of this book made it really unique, a first-hand look into the lives of rock musicians that were groundbreaking and country musicians that were legendary. That aspect of the book should be the primary focus and religion figures into it and at times, such as when Jessi relies on her faith for strength when times are difficult, can be important. But the book overall should be seen as a biography and a very good one at that! I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the music history of the US from the 50 through modern times because you get an interesting, unique look at some of your idols. I loved this book and Jessi has a captivating style that brings the people she met to life in her book.

available through amazon.com

Disclaimer: I received a free book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced by any third party.