Singer Waylon Jennings Dies

A music legend is dead.

Waylon Jennings, whose rebellious songs and brash attitude defined the outlaw movement in country music, has died after a long battle with diabetes-related health problems, his spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday.

Spokeswoman Schatzie Hageman said Jennings died peacefully at home in Arizona. He was 64.

The singer-songwriter-guitarist recorded 60 albums and had 16 No. 1 country singles in a career that spanned more than 30 years. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October.

Jennings, who toured with the likes of Buddy Holly, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, was plagued with health problems in recent years that made it difficult for him to walk. His left foot was amputated in December.

Jennings talked often about the night of Feb. 3, 1959, when he gave up his seat on the tour plane that later crashed in a snowstorm on the way to a concert in Fargo, N.D., from Clear Lake, Iowa. Jennings nearly died in the plane crash, but he gave up his seat to the Big Bopper.

All aboard -- Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and pilot Roger Peterson -- were killed on what has come to be remembered as "the day the music died."

With pal Willie Nelson, Jennings performed duets like "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" and "Luckenbach."

Those 1970s songs nurtured a progressive sound and restless spirit later embraced by Travis Tritt, Charlie Daniels, Steve Earle and others.

Jennings' other hits included "I'm a Ramblin' Man," "Lucille" and "I've Always Been Crazy."

George Jones calls his death a "great loss for country music," and Emmylou Harris said Jennings "had a voice and a way with a song like no one else." She called him a "class act."

Glen Campbell said Jennings was a "great writer, great singer and a dear friend."

And songwriter Bobby Braddock said he was "one of the great all-time country singers. He also said Jennings "did not have a phony bone in his body."

He and his wife, singer Jessi Colter, had one son.

The funeral for Jennings will be private.

But a spokeswoman said a public memorial is in the works.

Fans Remember Jennings

Fans have been gathered elbow-to-elbow in Luckenbach, Texas, to honor Waylon Jennings -- the man who helped make the tiny town famous.

Across Jennings' home state, his songs have been playing on juke boxes and in dance halls as people mark his death. In Luckenbach, the slow waltz "Amanda" was a favorite.

The mayor of Luckenbach, which has a dance hall, a bar and a general store, heard the news of Jennings' death late in the afternoon. She said she went right over to the bar to break the news to everyone.

Jennings and Willie Nelson sang the duet "Luckenbach, Texas," in 1977, and the town's been on the map ever since.

The owner of one of Texas' most famous honky-tonks, Austin's Broken Spoke, says Jennings lived a "country" sort of life -- it was "his way or the highway."