By Kurt Wolff
Let’s be clear: Luke Bryan may sing country, but he is not—repeat, not—an “outlaw.” We know, his fans know and according to a recent interview with Hits Daily Double, he knows it as well.
That said, his idea of what defines “outlaw country” may be different from yours and mine.
“I’m not an outlaw country singer,” Bryan said. “I don’t do cocaine and run around. So I’m not going to sing outlaw country.”
Wait a second: cocaine and ‘running around’? Is that the criteria? In Bryan’s universe it’s a key factor in what separates his music from that of legendary artists like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, the two chief figureheads of country’s so-called ‘outlaw’ movement of the 1970s.
Related: Wear Your Boots for Luke Bryan’s New ‘Kick the Dust Up’ Lyric Video
“I like to hunt, fish, ride around on my farm, build a big bonfire and drink some beers—and that’s what I sing about,” the country singer, whose new album Kill the Lights comes next month, said. “It’s what I know. I don’t know about laying in the gutter, strung out on drugs. I don’t really want to do that.”
To be fair, the context of these quotes came during a discussion of Bryan’s music and how it reflects a huge range of new influences from across genres, including hip-hop and rock. Bryan is a guy who wants to keep looking forward, not checking the rear-view mirror all the time.
On his albums, he said, “there are songs that lend themselves to being extremely country, and there are songs that twist things a little and really may not be considered country. It’s evolved to where that can happen. I’m happy to be a part of this generation of country. Is it what it used to be? Are any genres of music what they used to be?”
Then he brought up the outlaw comparison on his own accord as an example of an “old school” sound that some fans feel is missing from today’s country music.
“Some people get bent out of shape about where country music may or may not be heading,” he said. “I think that people who want Merle, Willie and Waylon just need to buy Merle, Willie and Waylon. I’ve never been a ‘Those were the good old days’ kind of guy. I’m not big on looking back on the past.”
And the mentions of “cocaine” and “laying in the gutter” come from there.
Related: Whitey Morgan’s Top 5 Outlaw Country Songs
A quick history lesson: while drugs and “running around” may have been byproducts of a musician’s life in the 1970s (as they still are for many today), what the outlaw movement was about at its core was artists taking control of their music. The studio system and its famous Nashville Sound meant producers and label executives usually called the shots as to songs, arrangements and even players; Jennings, Nelson and others like Billy Joe Shaver, Mickey Newbury, Tompall Glaser, Kris Kristofferson and David Allan Coe were simply aiming to have more creative control. This ‘rebellion’ led to such now-classic albums as Jennings’ Honky Tonk Heroes, Shaver’s Old Five and Dimers Like Me and Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger.
As Nelson told me last year, executives at Columbia Records were initially perplexed by the stripped-down, low-key sounds of Red Headed Stranger. “They didn’t think it was finished,” Nelson said. “They thought it was a demo.”
Related: Willie Nelson Interview: Looking Back and Looking Forward
This concept of creative control and pushing the boundaries is something that many of today’s artists still grapple with. Just ask Kacey Musgraves, who recently told Radio.com that she isn’t afraid of being an “outlaw” for cutting songs like “Merry Go Round” and “Follow Your Arrow.”
“It’s funny that doing things your way and not conforming makes you an outlaw or a rebel,” Musgraves said. “But if that’s the stamp that you get, then maybe that’s a good one.”
