Waylon Malloy Payne (born April 5, 1972) is an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He is the son of the country singer

Sammi Smith Jewel Fay "Sammi" Smith (August 5, 1943 – February 12, 2005) was an American country music singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 1971 crossover hit " Help Me Make It Through the Night", which was written by Kris Kristofferson. Sh ...

and guitarist Jody Payne.

Early life

Payne was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, the son of

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Jody Payne and

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning country singer

. His father became a longtime picker for

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

; his mother toured with

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

. Payne is named after Jennings, who is his godfather. Due to the divorce of his parents and their heavy touring schedules, when he was about four months old Payne's mother placed him with her brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Yvonne, in

Vidor, Texas Vidor ( ) is a city in western Orange County, Texas, United States. A city of Southeast Texas, it lies at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Farm to Market Road 105, east of Beaumont. The town is mainly a bedroom community for the nearby ...

. Although he spent summers out on the road with his mother, he lived with his uncle and aunt, who were strict

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, until he was about age 18. After high school, Payne enrolled in a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

to become a minister. Payne had also acquired a taste for

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

, and

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

, which made his downfall complete in the eyes of his aunt and uncle. "I haven't seen them since," he has said. "I was branded a sinner and basically disowned."

Music

Payne's

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

career A career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work (human activity), work and other aspects of personal life, life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ...

began to take shape in the

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He was part of the popular ''Eastbound and Down'' country night at the King King Club in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, which featured musicians playing pure, uncompromising roots music and appealed to such artists as

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayl Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums, ''Ramblin' on My Mind (Lucinda Williams album), Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and ''Happy Woman Blues'' (198 ...

and

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerable s ...

. Prohibited was the playing of anything but traditional classics by

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

and other performers of true country. While in L.A., Payne wrote and recorded some songs with the help of his group of musical friends, which included producer Keith Gattis. With the record completed, but no deal to market it, Payne was playing

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

with Willie Nelson and

Pat Green Patrick Craven Green (born April 5, 1972) is an American country artist. Active since 1995, he has recorded a total of seven studio albums, including three for Republic Records and two for BNA Records, BNA. Fifteen of his singles have charted on ...

when Green suggested he play the album for his

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

, Republic/Universal. Payne was signed with the label and his début album, "The Drifter," was released June 22, 2004. Payne is signed with Carnival Music and since returning to Nashville has had two cuts with

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country music, country singer. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place ...

and has been back writing with

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack (; born August 19, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. She has charted 23 times on the American ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts; her highest peaking single there is her crossover signature song, " I Hope You Dance" ...

which resulted in multiple writing credits on her new album. Womack has previously received a Grammy nomination for Payne's "Solitary Thinkin"in 2010 for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Since 2010 Waylon has received album credits for Cory Marrow 's "Brand New Me," Charlie Robison 's "Live at Billy Bob's Texas" and "Deep in the Heart: Big Songs for Little Texans Everywhere," Lee Ann Womack 's "Hollywood" and "The Lonely, the Lonesome & the Gone," Ashley Monroe 's "Sparrow," Wade Bowen 's "Solid Ground," and Aaron Lewis's "State I'm In."

Acting

Payne was featured in the role of fellow country music artist

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

in the hit

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

Walk the Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies by the American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash: '' Man in Black: His Own ...

'' (

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

), which stars

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix ( ; ; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Widely described as one of the most preeminent actors of his generation and known for Joaquin Phoenix filmography, his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric charact ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

and

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

as June Carter, and did all his own singing. Payne's feature on the soundtrack album allowed him to share the Grammy Award won. Payne then starred as

Hank Garland Walter Louis Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004), known professionally as Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and release ...

in an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature recognition, could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (machine learning), in statistics: individual measurable properties of the phenome ...

about the legendary guitarist's life titled ''

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

'' (

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

). Waylon Payne has also made guest appearances on

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, including the series '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. Waylon Payne also stars in

Monte Hellman Monte Hellman (; born Monte Jay Himmelbaum; July 12, 1929 – April 20, 2021) was an American film director, producer, writer, and editor. Hellman began his career as an editor's apprentice at ABC TV, and made his directorial debut with the ho ...

's thriller ''

Road to Nowhere "Road to Nowhere" is a song by the American band Talking Heads from their 1985 album '' Little Creatures''. The song was written by David Byrne and released as a single in 1985. It reached on the US '' Billboard'' Album Rock Tracks chart and ...

''. Waylon Payne was also featured in the role as Tony Nash in the 2014 film ''

The Identical ''The Identical'' is a 2014 American musical drama film directed by Dustin Marcellino and written by Howard Klausner. The film was released theatrically in the United States on September 5, 2014. It was universally panned by both critics and audi ...

''.

References

External links

Official Waylon Payne Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Waylon 1972 births Living people American male singer-songwriters American country guitarists American male guitarists American country singer-songwriters American male film actors Oklahoma Baptist University alumni American male television actors Singers from Nashville, Tennessee Male actors from Dallas Male actors from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Guitarists from Los Angeles Guitarists from Tennessee People from Vidor, Texas 21st-century American singer-songwriters Country musicians from California Country musicians from Texas Country musicians from Tennessee 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from Texas