Out of the Ashes is Jessi Colter's new CD. It has been 20 years since her last one. In the intervening time she toured with husband Waylon Jennings and helped him as he struggled with substance abuse and diabetes until his death in 2002.
Once upon a time, Colter had an active solo career. Her first husband, guitarist Duane Eddy, produced her debut single in 1961. Colter and Eddy divorced in the late 1960s and she met Waylon Jennings back home in Phoenix.
In 1975, she had another hit with the tune "I'm Not Lisa."
Born Miriam Johnson, she took her stage name from a train-robbing ancestor, Jess Colter. Her greatest claim to fame was as part of the "outlaw" country music movement in the 1970s with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Tompall Glaser. Their record Wanted! The Outlaws became the first country album certified platinum, selling 1 million copies.
Colter's new CD features one song with her son -- Shooter Jennings -- and another with Tony Joe White and Waylon Jennings himself. She tells Don Gonyea what made her want to return to a solo recording career.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
