Page "Waylon Jennings" Paragraph 18

He followed with Lonesome, On ' ry and Mean and Honky Tonk Heroes in 1973, the first albums recorded and released under his creative control.

The albums were commercial and critical successes.

More hit albums followed, with The Ramblin ' Man and This Time, in 1974, and Dreaming My Dreams, in 1975.

In 1976, Jennings released Are You Ready for the Country, Jennings wanted the record to be produced by Los Angeles producer Ken Mansfield.

Although RCA denied the request, Jennings and The Waylors went to Los Angeles and recorded with Mansfield at his expense.

After a month, Jennings presented the master tape to Chet Atkins who decided to release it.

The album hit number one on Billboards country albums three times the same year, topping the charts for ten weeks.

It was named country album of the year in 1976 by Record World Magazine and it was certified gold by the RIAA.