When Waylon Jennings Questioned the Future of Country Music in the ’70s With “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way”

Rhinestone suits and new shiny cars / It’s been the same way for years / We need to change pleads Waylon Jennings on his Dreaming My Dreams opening track “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way.” The song is Jennings’ homage to Hank Williams‘ contribution to country music, while looking at the glitzier, more produced direction country music was moving by the 1970s.

By the early ’70s rock, funk, soul, R&B, and disco were running through the airwaves, and country music within the Nashville establishment was more about the flash and shiny new cars and produced a flurry of the same old tunes, which ultimately birthed the Outlaw movement led by Jennings and Willie Nelson.

In just under three minutes, Jennings paints a picture of where he sees country music headed and the romanticized moves to Nashville to “make it,” while questioning if Hank did it that way.

Lord, it’s the same old tune, fiddle and guitar
Where do we take it from here?
Rhinestone suits and new shiny cars
It’s been the same way for years
We need to change

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Somebody told me when I came to Nashville
“Son, you finally got it made!
Old Hank made it here, we’re all sure that you will”
But I don’t think Hank done it this way, no
I don’t think Hank done it this way, okay

Ten years on the road, makin’ one-night stands
Speedin’ my young life away
Tell me one more time just so’s I’ll understand
Are your sure Hank done it this way?
Did ol’ Hank really do it this way?

How Did Hank Do It?

Born on September 17, 1923, in Butler County, Alabama, Hank Williams had already released Original Songs of Hank Williams in 1945 and had his first country hit, “Move It On Over” by 1947, before making the move to Nashville with his Drifting Cowboys in 1949.

That year, Williams also made his Grand Ole Opry debut—after being turned down in 1946—followed by a string of Top 5 country hits, including “Lovesick Blues,” which went to No. 1, along with “Wedding Bells,” “Mind Your Own Business,” “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It,” and “You’re Gonna Change (Or I’m Gonna Leave).”

Before Williams’ death on New Year’s Day 1953 at age 29, he released 31 singles (and recorded as many as 55), 11 of which became No. 1 hits and country classics, including “Hey Good Lookin,’” “My Heart Would Know,” “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Ramblin’ Man,” “Take These Chains From My Heart,” and dozens more within his songbook.

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Jennings’ No. 1s and The Highwaymen

Released on Jennings’ 22nd album Dreaming My Dreams, which went to No. 1 on the Country chart, “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, where it remained for 16 weeks, marking his fourth No. 1.

The Highwaymen, the outlaw supergroup with Jennings, Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson later covered “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way,” which was released on the 2010 compilation The Essential Highwaymen, which also featured more odes to Williams with the Cash and Jennings-penned “The Night Hank Williams Came to Town” and Hank Williams Jr. song “If You Don’t Like Hank Williams,” written by Kristofferson.

“Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” was also released on the 2016 album Live: American Outlaws, recorded at Nassau Coliseum in 1990.

Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images