6 Years Ago Today, the World Lost the Outlaw Country Pioneer Who Wrote Songs Recorded by Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson
Billy Joe Shaver, a pivotal songwriter in outlaw country, died in 2020 aged 81 after suffering a stroke. Though he did not achieve major mainstream success as a performer, his songs helped shape the genre and were recorded by leading artists including Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson.
Shaver wrote or co-wrote nine of the ten tracks on Jennings’s 1973 album *Honky Tonk Heroes*, often cited as the first true outlaw country album. His songs were also recorded by artists ranging from Elvis Presley to Willie Nelson, and John Anderson took “I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal” into the US top ten in 1981. A 2022 tribute album featured covers by performers including Miranda Lambert, George Strait and Lucinda Williams.
In short
- Billy Joe Shaver died in 2020, aged 81.
- He wrote nine songs on *Honky Tonk Heroes*.
- His work was recorded by country greats across generations.
Explained simply
Outlaw country emerged in the 1970s as some country musicians sought more control over their music and a sound less polished than the Nashville mainstream. Billy Joe Shaver was a songwriter closely associated with the movement, though he had limited success as a recording artist himself.
Shaver wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on Waylon Jennings’s 1973 album Honky Tonk Heroes, which helped establish outlaw country. Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson were among the prominent artists who recorded his work, while John Anderson had a US top-ten hit with one of Shaver’s songs.
His influence is reflected in how widely other performers continued to record and honour his songs. His death in 2020, aged 81, marked the loss of a writer whose work helped shape a major strand of country music.