During a live set at the U.S. Festival in 1983, Waylon Jennings beautifully sings “Lucille (You Won’t Do Your Daddy’s Will).” The crowd excitedly cheers as he sings the opening line in the blistering heat.
Only two U.S. Festivals were ever held. Sixty miles outside of Los Angeles, the music world gathered for a festival. But, Saturday, June 4, 1983, was devoted strictly to country music. The second and last time the festival was held, some big names in country music performed.
Jennings, adorned in his vest and cowboy hat, delicately strums his guitar while singing his famous song.
“Lucille, you won’t do your daddy’s will / Oh, Lucille, you just won’t do your daddy’s will / Well, there ain’t nothing to you, but I love you still / Oh, Lucille, please come back where you belong / I’ve been good to you, baby / Please don’t leave me alone.”
Jennings’ Singing Live Is Incredible
Jennings looks almost stern as he sings the lyrics. As he plays between verses, he stares down into the crowd. His shirt lays halfway unbuttoned, with his necklace dangling freely below his full-grown beard, his hair blows gently behind him.
“Well, I woke up this morning / Lucille was not in sight / Asked my friends about her, but all their lips were tight / Lucille, you won’t do your daddy’s will / Well, there ain’t nothing to you / I love you still.”
As Jennings finishes the song, the camera pans around the festival. People are jamming out to the performance, and the thousands in the crowd are certainly enjoying the wonderful spectacle.
In the early days of June, the temperature was sweltering, but people were still out in droves. There were almost 300,000 people in attendance over the course of the festival despite the heat. While the festival mostly went off without a hitch, there were two reported deaths amongst the festival-goers.
Certainly, this performance from Jennings will go down as one of the best live shows from a country artist.