Gambling On Country Coeur D’Alene Tribal Casino Follows Fender With Ol’ Waylon

The Coeur d’Alene Tribal Casino seems to be serious about promoting country music.

On Tuesday, Waylon Jennings will appear at the casino, which is located on Idaho state Highway 195 just outside Worley, Idaho.

Recently, the great Tex-Mex crooner Freddy Fender appeared there, too. And, with more traditional venues turning away traditional country acts, there may be market on the fringes for the tribe.

Like most of his peers, Waylon Jenning’s prime rib days are behind him. And from this distance, it’s easy to underestimate the impact he has had on country music. In many ways, his career anticipated the great country boom of the ‘90s, and he was one of the first to blend country and rock influences, though his soulful style seemed far more organic than the frenetic country-rock that came later.

Jennings, a product of Littlefield, Texas, became the bass player in the band of Buddy Holly, who hailed from Lubbock and who produced Jenning’s first independent releases. After Holly died in 1959, Jennings launched a country career.

During the ‘60s, Jennings fought a Nashville establishment that wanted to market him as a “folk-country” singer (early efforts included a cover of the Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood” and a Grammy-winning version of “McArthur Park”).

But by the early ‘70s, he had seized control of his career and released a string of records unlike any other in country, including “Ladies Love Outlaws,” “Lonesome, On’ry and Mean” and “Honky Tonk Heroes.” In 1976, Jennings and his wife, Jessi Colter, paired up with pals Willie Nelson and Tompall Glaser on a release called “Wanted: The Outlaws,” which became country music’s first platinum (million copies sold) record. The next year, “Ol’ Waylon” became country’s first solo record to go platinum, and his 1979 greatest hits package prefigured the Garth Brooks era by selling quadruple platinum.

In truth, Jenning’s success might have had disastrous effects on country music had Nashville been able to clone his rumbling, hard-edged sound. Others tried, but no one ever came close.

In the end, Jennings was lost in the flood of handsome, young hat acts, but he continues to make good, if not great, records and his place in country’s history is assured.

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MEMO: Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter will perform Tuesday at the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Bingo/Casino Hall at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20, available at G&B Select-a-Seat outlets or call (800) 325-SEAT or (800) 523-2464.