20 Years Ago: Shooter Jennings Releases “Put The ‘O’ Back in Country”

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Few if anyone would attempt to claim that it’s one of the greatest country albums of all time. Officially, you can’t even claim it’s a landmark release of underground or independent country since it was distributed on a major label. But the debut country album from Shooter Jennings called Put The ‘O’ Back in Country (released March 1st, 2005) was nonetheless a critically-important moment in the country music revolution we’re currently in the midst of. And it’s an album whose importance has only grown and been greater revealed over time.

The son of country music legends Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter had been involved in music for a while, namely in his rock band Stargunn based out of Los Angeles. The band showed early promise, and toured with bigger acts like Salvia and Tesla, but struggled to find wide commercial acceptance.

So Shooter decided to make a move into the family business, signing a contract with Universal South Records, and setting out to record a country album. Put The ‘O’ Back in Country would actually result in a (semi) radio hit with Shooter’s “4th of July” (#22 on the charts)—the only real commercial hit of his career. But it wasn’t just the title that made it evident that Waylon Jennings Jr. would not be interested in joining in on the country sounds of Kenny Chesney, who was country’s hot star of the time.

The album started off with the title track—a reworked rendition of Neil Young’s “Are You Ready For The Country?,” not dissimilar to how his daddy did, but twisted into a country protest song featuring George Jones. An interesting footnote about the record: On the studio track of “4th of July,” George Jones is also featured singing “He Stopped Loving Her Today” at the end. Though George’s part didn’t make the radio edit, Jones was still credited on the song, giving the legend a back door a Top 25 hit in 2005.

The title track wasn’t the only moment of country protest though. The song “Solid Country Gold” also gets rowdy. “Now I was born in Nashville, but I left there long ago. ‘Cause they built Music City by sacrificing soul.” The album isn’t exclusively a “country” album. It’s more Southern rock with country inflections. But “Solid Country Gold” was of the many country moments in the track list for sure.

These outspoken songs didn’t just ruffle feathers on Music Row. Another famous son of country music—Hank Williams III—took exception to Shooter’s new musical direction, accusing Waylon’s son of stealing his persona, down to the “‘O’ in country line,” since Hank3 was already singing his song “Dick In Dixie” that utilized a very similar saying. Subsequently, Hank3 perpetrated a one-sided beef with Shooter for years, though as some studiously pointed out, it was actually Carlene Carter who was officially on record talking about putting the “C*nt in country” many years previous.


Irrespective of any controversies, Put The ‘O’ Back in Country now plays a pivotal role in the pantheon of revolutionary country releases that lead us to the country music revolution of today. Among the other reasons for this, it was one of the very first albums to feature Dave Cobb as a producer, before anyone really knew who he was.

Before Cobb would produce Sturgill Simpson’s first two solo record, Jason Isbell would become the King of Americana during his run of Dave Cobb-produced records, and Cobb would go on to win scores of Grammy Awards and become a producer du jour, Shooter Jennings understood the ear Dave Cobb brought to music, and put him in the producer’s chair.

That was the thing about Put The ‘O’ Back in Country. Despite being on a major label, it was very much an independent production. Shooter wrote most of the material, and recorded it with his touring band, the .357s, who themselves would become somewhat legendary. Bassist Ted Russell Kamp is now considered a stalwart of the Los Angeles country scene, both as a solo performer, as well as a producer and session player. Guitarist LeRoy Powell was considered by many to be Shooter’s Ace in the Hole, and now has his own career as well.

Put The ‘O’ Back in Country also features appearances from Hank Williams Jr. and Jessi Colter. In many ways, it squared the circle of country music’s generations. The album wasn’t perfect, and was a little messy in spots. But it was rambunctious, outspoken—and as we can see now from a 20-year retrospective—dramatically ahead of its time.

Shooter Jennings is of course now his own critically-acclaimed, Grammy-winning, and highly sought-after producer as he’s transitioned mostly full-time off the road, and into the studio in Los Angeles. Jennings is no longer just a son, or the newcomer on the country scene. He’s his own man beyond his father’s famous name. But it all started with his cussy and attitudinal debut album, Put The ‘O’ Back in Country.

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