New Waylon Jennings “Diamonds” Song feat. Glen Campbell Released
Oh hell yeah. Waylon Jennings continues to regale us with music from beyond the grave. And it continues to be just as good as the music he released in the heyday of his legendary career, and so much better than most of what is being released today.
The latest posthumous release from Waylon Jennings is the song “Diamonds” (listen below), which is the title track to the second installment of archival releases son Shooter Jennings is producing of mostly-finished unreleased recordings from his father’s vault. Recorded originally on December 28th, 1978 during the height of Waylon’s powers, “Diamonds” is made extra special by also including some killer guitar by another long gone country Music Hall of Famer, Glen Campbell.
“Diamonds” was written by Waylon Jennings and Glen Campbell. The original recording was produced by Waylon drummer Richie Albright and Tony Joe White.
“Diamonds” both sounds acutely familiar to Waylon with the two-tone bass beat and slightly funky late ’70s sound, yet unique to Waylon since we rarely heard Waylon be so growly and animated in his studio performance. Perhaps that’s why he second guessed the track, and shelved it initially. Either way, it’s music to the ears of his fans here a quarter century after Waylon’s death. The rumors ahead of the second archival release was that the music would be more “rowdy.” New song “Diamonds” definitely fits that criteria.
For those wanting more where “Diamonds” came from, you’ll have to wait a little bit. The album itself won’t be released until November 16th. And similar to other recent releases, it will first be physical only. The digital release of Diamonds will come staggered on December 11th. But hey, it will make a great Christmas gift on vinyl for yourself or someone else. Except more singles from the album to be released between now and then.
The 2025 archive album from Waylon Jennings called Songbird was so well-received, some named it their Album of the Year. It also ended up charting on Billboard’s Country Albums chart at #17—quite a remarkable feat for a new album of old music. Usually when you get a posthumous “previously unheard” release, it’s full of odds and sods. It just happens to be that Waylon Jennings was such a musical beast back in the day, his seconds and scratch tracks are better than most artists’ featured singles.
Diamonds is now available for pre-order.
TRACK LIST:
1. Diamonds (featuring Glen Campbell on guitar)
2. Saturday Night Special
3. I Never Said It Would Be Easy
4. I’m Tired (featuring Jessi Colter)
5. Wild & Blue
6. The Good Things Don’t Last Very Long
7. She Smiles Like A River
8. I Just Ain’t Been Able
9. Lost Love Song
10. Same Old Blues
11. Born Too Late
12. Words
June 20, 2026 @ 9:27 pm
Only track left up in the air now is The Good Things Don’t Last Very Long, I’m assuming it’s an original or a Jessi, Tony Joe, or similar type written song. Can’t find that anywhere. Also out of curiosity where did you get the 12/28 date? I can’t find it anywhere in the session data that is posted, only one I could find a definitive date for was I Never Said It Would Be Easy. Can’t even find one for Born Too Late which has been posted publicly for 14 years now.
June 20, 2026 @ 9:34 pm
Not sure if I’m authorized to divulge my sources and methods. But I can say that the born on date for “Diamonds” comes from a a source that would definitely know. My guess is that it was probably marked on the reel tape itself.
June 20, 2026 @ 9:58 pm
Understandable, that would def make sense. Thanks Trigger, great work as always
June 20, 2026 @ 9:29 pm
“Wild and Blue”
Oh goodness gracious, I can’t wait
June 20, 2026 @ 9:44 pm
Glen Campbell is certainly the star of that song. Keep them coming Shooter.
June 20, 2026 @ 10:20 pm
I found this on YouTube a few minutes after it was posted and can’t stop listening to it. If this is a sample of what to expect from the album, I can’t wait. Shooter hit it out of the park again.