LOS ANGELES – JULY 28: Singer/actor Willie Nelson performs at the afterparty for the premiere of Warner Bros. Picture’s “The Dukes of Hazzard” at the Chinese Theater on July 28, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images courtesy of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)
‘Wanted! The Outlaws’ Marks 50 Years As Country Music’s First Platinum Album
Wanted! The Outlaws reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart on February 28, 1976, becoming country music’s first platinum-certified album.
The compilation featured Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser, and spent six weeks atop the charts.
RCA division chief Jerry Bradley positioned the project as a cultural movement after Hazel Smith coined the “outlaws” phrase.
The album captured artists who fought industry conventions, with Jennings famously battling RCA over recording policies.
“We need a change,” Jennings sang in his No. 1 hit “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way.” Ronnie Dunn called it “probably the most significant wave in 50 years” that “turned everything around.”
The outlaw scene represented breaking music industry rules rather than partaking in actual criminal activity.
Modern artists like Tyler Childers, Parker McCollum, Luke Combs, and Zach Bryan continue country music’s outlaw tradition today.
