Waylon Jennings's son set to release fathers new music 23 years after his death
Waylon Jennings' son has released his father's unheard tracks 23 years after his death.
More than two decades after his death, country icon Waylon Jennings is making a posthumous return with newly unearthed music that’s never been heard until now.
A new album titled Songbird, featuring unreleased recordings from Jennings’ prolific years between 1973 and 1984, is set for full release on Oct. 3, 2025.
The first single, also titled Songbird, dropped on June 15 on all streaming platforms.
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“This isn’t just another archival collection,” said Shooter Jennings, Waylon’s son, who spearheaded the project.
“These weren’t demos. These were songs recorded with the intention of releasing them—they just never found the right home at the time.”
Shooter shared the project's origin in a June 15 Instagram post, revealing that he spent months sifting through high-resolution multitrack recordings from his father’s personal studio archive.
“What I found was an audio record of an incredibly profound artist and his legendary band through their peak period of creative expansion,” he wrote.
The recordings feature Jennings’ longtime backing band, The Waylors, with contributions from country greats including Tony Joe White and Jessi Colter.
Shooter teamed up with engineer Nate Haessly and surviving members of The Waylors — Jerry Bridges, Carter Robertson, Barny Robertson, and Gordon Payne, to remaster and complete the sessions.
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“This project has given me an entirely new chapter in my relationship with my father,” Shooter added.
“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 promised that Songbird is only the beginning.
Two more previously unheard albums are on the way, offering a fresh glimpse into Waylon Jennings’ artistry during a transformative period in country music.
Waylon Jennings died on Feb. 13, 2002, at age 64.
He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001 and honored posthumously with the Academy of Country Music’s Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award in 2007.
