* En anglais uniquement
Country singer/songwriter and actor
Waylon Payne is the son of
Jody Payne, a guitarist in
Willie Nelson's band, and country singer
Sammi Smith; he was named after his godfather,
Waylon Jennings. He began his career writing songs and playing with other musicians. Notably, he placed "Elvis" and "Sing 'Til I Stop Crying" on
Pat Green's album
Wave on Wave in 2003, also singing and playing guitar on the disc. He had already finished recording his own album,
The Drifter, without a label deal and was playing with
Nelson in New York when
Green suggested he play the record for
Green's label, Republic/Universal.
Payne was signed to the label, which released
The Drifter on June 22, 2004. It attracted critical praise and was tapped by other artists for material.
Django Walker put "Her (She's Gone)" on his album
Six Trips Around the World, and "The Bottom" was covered by both
Keith Gattis, producer of
The Drifter (on
Big City Blues, for which
Payne sang background vocals), and
Charlie Robison (on
Good Times).
Payne, also an aspiring actor, was cast in the role of
Jerry Lee Lewis in the
Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, which opened in 2005.
Payne's appearance on the soundtrack album allowed him to share the Grammy Award won by the disc. He was next cast in the starring role of
Hank Garland in the 2006 biopic Crazy. CBuJ Entertainment reissued
The Drifter on March 11, 2008. ~ William Ruhlmann