Waylon Jennings – Bob Wills Is Still The King

The Tribute That Doubled as a Legendary Friendly Roast

Country music history is filled with rivalry, rebellion, and storytelling — but few tales are as entertaining and heartfelt as the friendship between Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Long before they became bandmates in The Highwaymen, alongside Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson, they were already brothers in outlaw country spirit. And somewhere between the laughter and the legacy, Waylon wrote one of the genre’s most iconic songs — “Bob Wills Is Still The King.”

Who Was Bob Wills?

To understand the impact of Waylon’s message, you first need to know the man the song celebrates. Bob Wills, a Texas musician known as the King of Western Swing, shaped a sound that blended country, jazz, blues, and dancehall energy. His band, the Texas Playboys, brought electric fiddles, steel guitars, and big-band rhythm to the country stage long before the outlaw movement existed.

Wills was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1968, cementing his place as a foundational figure in Texas music. His influence inspired legends like Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, and his work helped give Texas its own powerful musical identity.

A Tribute… With a Wink

By the early 1970s, Willie Nelson had revived his career by moving to Austin, Texas, where he quickly became the face of a rising progressive country scene. He played constantly, built a passionate following, and was beginning to transform into the superstar the world now knows.

Waylon Jennings was proud of his friend — but also slightly amused and mildly concerned. He felt Willie was becoming too swept up in Austin’s rising fame, maybe even a little too confident for his own good.

Waylon wasn’t a die-hard Bob Wills fan himself, but he knew Willie was. So he did what any clever best friend would do: he wrote a tribute to Bob Wills that also served as a good-natured, tongue-in-cheek reminder to Willie — that no matter how big Austin made him, Bob Wills still sat on the throne of Texas music.

The lyric that carried the hidden wink?

“It’s the home of Willie Nelson, the home of western swing… He’ll be the first to tell you, Bob Wills is still the king.”

To outsiders, it sounded like praise. To Willie? It was a friendly smirk that said: You’re doing great, but remember who the real king is.

Performed on Willie’s Home Turf

The joke didn’t stop with writing. Waylon had already planned to record a live album at Willie’s Texas Opry House, so he seized the perfect opportunity to perform the song right in front of Willie, in his own arena, in his own state, with his own fans watching.

Bold? Absolutely. Disrespectful? Not even a little. It was Waylon doing what he always did best — delivering truth, wrapped in charisma and humor, set to a fiddle-driven Texas rhythm.

Willie’s Reaction: The Perfect Punchline

Willie eventually addressed the story in his 2015 memoir, recalling Waylon’s performance with amusement and admiration. Instead of taking offense, he laughed along and even admitted:

“He’d sung the gospel truth: far as I was concerned, Bob Wills was still the king.”

He genuinely liked the song, agreed with its sentiment, and understood the heart behind the jab. Their bond only grew stronger from it.

Waylon later pushed the joke further by swapping the line to “Willie what’s-his-name,” continuing the playful ribbing — and Willie simply laughed again.

More Than a Joke: A Message to Country Music

Beyond the personal roast between friends, the song also carried a larger cultural critique. Country music at the time was becoming more commercial, more trend-driven, and less rooted in dancehall grit and rural truth. Waylon used the song to remind the industry — not just Willie — that progress should never erase tradition.

Nashville may have been the home of country music, Waylon acknowledged, but once you cross the Red River into Texas, titles change, rules shift, and soul matters more than spotlight.

In his words during the live recording:

“This is a song about a guy that probably did as much for our kind of music as anybody.”

It was reverence. It was rebellion. It was Texas.

Legacy Locked in a Song

Today, “Bob Wills Is Still The King” is celebrated not just as a tribute to a Western Swing pioneer, but as a piece of outlaw country identity — humorous, honest, proud, and rooted in the Lone Star spirit.

It began as a plane-ride idea, became a friendly challenge, and lives forever as a Texas anthem.

Because sometimes the best songs don’t come from admiration alone —
they come from truth, loyalty, and a little laughter between legends.