Shooter Jennings Unearths Lost Waylon Jennings Recordings for New Album ‘Diamonds’

Shooter Jennings is continuing his dedicated mission to preserve and share the musical legacy of his father, the legendary outlaw country icon Waylon Jennings. On Father’s Day, Jennings announced the upcoming release of a new album titled Diamonds during an appearance on CBS Sunday Morning.

The album, which is scheduled for physical and digital release on Nov. 13, with a full streaming rollout following in December, serves as a testament to Waylon Jennings’ profound commitment to his craft. For Shooter, the project is about shifting the narrative away from the often-distorted “outlaw” image and focusing on the man’s genuine devotion to music.

“When somebody is gone, there tends to be… the public remembrance of them can be distorted. People can remember the outlaw part of this or fantasize what he was like, but he’s not here to represent himself,” Jennings told CBS Sunday Morning. “But what I felt was so important was you saw how much he loved music… He connected with those songs. All he cared about was music — it wasn’t about image, it wasn’t about money, or anything beyond wanting to be great at music and play music.”

The centerpiece of the new collection is the title track, “Diamonds,” which features a notable contribution from the late Glen Campbell on guitar. Shooter Jennings described the discovery of the track as a serendipitous moment during his archival work.

“This track eluded me,” Jennings explained in a statement. “I kept finding it across three different sessions while I was going through my father’s work. At first, I was very confused because of the sound of the guitar as to what it was. Suddenly, upon listening to the whole thing, I realized Glen Campbell had stopped by the studio and they recorded this little gem on a late December night in 1978.”

With the help of the remaining members of the Waylors, the recording was restored and finalized. “It quickly became one of my favorite recordings that my dad ever made and I knew I had to have a whole album centered around it,” Jennings added.

Diamonds, released via Son of Jessi/Thirty Tigers, follows the 2025 release of Songbird. It marks the second installment in a planned series of archival Waylon Jennings albums produced by his son. Beyond the music, Shooter Jennings remains active in managing his father’s cultural footprint, including recent discussions regarding the potential opening of a Waylon Jennings-themed bar in Nashville.