For many people, the first country outlaw artists were Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Bobby Bare. According to Pitchfork, the "outlaw" name was first coined by Hazel Smith, a country music insider at Tompall Glaser's legendary Hillbilly Central music studio. While most people think that outlaw country refers to a singular type of country music sound, it really describes a lifestyle and attitude more than anything.
For many people, the outlaw country ethos means doing things your own way and fighting against "the man" and society, sometimes with questionable and dubious legality. It's also an internal rebellion against the glitter and pomp of mainstream pop country, instead extolling the virtues of a more simple life, dedicated to personal passions rather than commercialized and manufactured fads.
The genre truly began in the early-1970s, when Bare started to earn the right to dictate what he wanted to play and who wanted to play with. At the same time, Nelson had headed home to Austin, Texas, and he, along with Jennings and Kris Kristofferson, began to popularize the now-famous outlaw country sounds. However, the outlaw country scene was bound to be short-lived, and after a few landmark albums progenitors like Nelson and Jennings moved on to new passages. The spirit of outlaw country still lives on today, but by 1978 the original scene was deteriorating, and by 1979 it was dead.
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