Waylon Jennings’ Short-Lived 1962 Marriage — and the Song It Inspired
On December 10, 1962, Waylon Jennings entered a marriage that wouldn’t last — but would eventually shape his first No. 1 hit.
That day, he married Lynne Jones, his second wife. The couple later adopted a daughter, Tomi Lynne, but by 1967 the marriage had ended in divorce. At the time, it felt like another chapter of personal turbulence in Jennings’ early adulthood.
Years later, it would become inspiration.
A String of Early Marriages
Jennings’ romantic life in the 1960s was anything but settled.
-
He married his first wife, Maxine Lawrence, in 1955 at just 18 years old. They divorced in 1962.
-
Later that same year, he wed Lynne Jones.
-
After their divorce in 1967, he briefly married Barbara Rood.
-
In 1969, he married Jessi Colter — the woman who would remain by his side until his death in 2002.
The Jones marriage may have been short-lived, but it planted the seed for one of the defining songs of Jennings’ career.
“This Time” — A Song Born from Divorce
After the end of his marriage to Lynne Jones, Jennings wrote This Time — a bitter, resolute declaration from someone determined not to repeat past mistakes.
But he didn’t record it right away.
In fact, an RCA producer reportedly dismissed the song as “no good.” Jennings shelved it for years.
It wasn’t until 1973, while preparing material for his album This Time, that he rediscovered the old demo. Even then, he wasn’t convinced. He disliked the song’s meter and nearly left it off the record altogether.
His drummer and longtime friend Richie Albright urged him to give it a chance.
From Rejection to No. 1
Released as the album’s lead single, “This Time” climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in June 1974 — becoming Jennings’ first No. 1 hit.
Ironically, the song almost didn’t make the album at all.
What had begun as personal heartbreak — and sat ignored for years — became the breakthrough that helped solidify Jennings’ outlaw-era momentum.
The Turning Point
“This Time” marked more than chart success. It represented a shift.
By the early 1970s, Jennings was demanding creative control and pushing back against Nashville’s polished production system. Songs like “This Time” helped define his new identity — rawer, more defiant, more personal.
A failed marriage had turned into a career milestone.
And for Waylon Jennings, that was often how life worked:
The coming down was painful — but sometimes, the going up was worth it.