Waylon Jennings put the “outlaw” in the outlaw country genre, known for such hits as “Luckenbach, Texas,” “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys,” and the classic theme from TV show “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Jennings’ hard-drinking, fast-living lifestyle caught up with him in 2002, when he died in his sleep due to complications from diabetes at the far-too-young age of 64.
For readers racking their brains trying to remember Jennings’ contribution to “We Are the World” and coming up blank, there’s a reason for that. Jennings didn’t appear on the track or in the video, and doesn’t appear in the iconic group photo — although he was there at the session, and is credited in the final video.
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According to the Independent, at issue were some gibberish lyrics that Michael Jackson had written to appear at the end of the chorus, “sha-lum sha-lingay.” Bob Geldof — who is featured in the “We Are the World” chorus and would go on to launch Live Aid — reportedly took issue with the words, fretting that they could be misconstrued as mockery of an African language. Seeking an alternative, Stevie Wonder called up a Nigerian pal, who suggested a Swahili phrase, “willi moing-gu.” By that point, Jennings had apparently had enough. “No good old boy sings in Swahili,” he declared before storming out of the studio, presumably to the nearest bar.
