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“He Said It Was Too F***ing Heavy” – How Keith Urban Came To Own Waylon Jennings’ Iconic Guitar
Keith Urban can absolutely shred a guitar - in case you didn't know.
There's a case for Keith to be considered country music's best guitarist. I don't want to start any debates by saying that... but I'm just trying to put that out there. Urban at least deserves some credit for being able to work a guitar like no other, and we'll leave it at that.
We'll actually use it as a transition to talk about Urban's vintage guitar collection. He was recently asked about it while he was a guest on Premier Guitar's Shred with Shifty, hosted by Foo Fighters guitar player Chris Shiflett, and he admitted that he loves owning guitars just as much as he loves playing them:
"Guitars I've always loved the sound and feel of, and I was able to acquire a few."
The guitar that likely stands out above the rest in Keith's collection is Waylon Jennings' leather bound telecaster. Broadcaster, really. It's been rumored that he owned the iconic instrument, and Urban confirmed that he owns one of the two that exist:
"I do. It's at my house. One of two, I think his son Shooter Jennings has the other one. I loan it out to people. Certain really good guitar players that I trust want to take it out, use it for different things or use it in a video or something."
So how did Keith Urban end up with it?
Well, country music's outlaw legend first gifted it to a musician named Reggie Young. Reggie played on recordings with the likes of Elvis Presley, John Prine, Jimmy Buffett, George Strait and at one point, the Highwaymen. It was while he was touring with Cash, Kristofferson, Nelson, and Jennings that the guitar was given to him by Waylon himself:
"It was owned by Reggie Young, who is a great session player. Reggie was touring with the Highwaymen in the '90s in the house band for them... the touring band. He told me the story that Waylon came in one day into his hotel room with this case and just said, 'Hoss, I want you to have that.'
And he opens up the case and its this leather bound Tele... and it's actually not a Tele its a Broadcaster, which is insane. I didn't know that when I got the guitar until I got the guitar. It's a 1950 Broadcaster.
And I used the word gifted up there, but the better way of explaining Waylon giving it Reggie would probably be to call it "pawning it off." You see, Waylon liked the guitar, but he had one big problem with it that ultimately led him to be okay parting ways with it:
"He just gave it to Reggie, and the only reason he said he gave it to him... he said it was 'too f**king heavy.' That's what he said. That's what he told Reggie. And it does. It weighs a ton.
So Reggie had it for the next 20-plus years and then decided it was time for him to sell it. He auctioned it, and I wish I would have known about this guitar because I would have saved him the hassle of him auctioning it."
Pretty funny story, right?
Almost as funny as the anecdote of Keith Urban buying the guitar from Reggie Young through an auction. Keith's wife, actress Nicole Kidman, was wanting to get it for him as a gift once she found out it was up for auction, and she made sure Keith couldn't figure out how to register to bid on it so that she could get it for him as a surprise.
Keith was never able to place a bid on the guitar and thought it had been bought by someone out in the world who would hide it away, but he was wrong:
"I was heartbroken because I had just imagined this amazing guitar is now gone, probably overseas somewhere. It's probably in somebody's vault or under someone's bed and we'll never see it again.
And then my wife walks in and goes, 'I just got you Waylon Jennings' guitar.' I was just... it was insane. It's just a beautiful sounding, beautiful playing guitar. But it is really heavy."
Waylon was evidently right in complaining about the weight.
You can hear Keith Urban talk more about his prized possession in the interview below:
https://youtu.be/htXqfEH8hFs?si=tJ0e1Zfwhgxo_VDs&t=230
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