On this day (August 17) in 1985, the Highwaymen were at No. 1 with “Highwayman.” The song spent a week at the top of the chart and won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song, which went to songwriter Jimmy Webb. Later, the group took their name from the track. Interestingly, one of the group’s members had passed on it years earlier.
Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson released their first collaborative album, Highwayman, in 1985. At the time, they didn’t have an official name for the group. Instead, the album is credited to “Nelson, Jennings, Cash, Kristofferson.” The same was true for their 1990 sophomore release, Highwayman 2. They finally took the Highwaymen name in 1995 with their third LP, The Road Goes on Forever.
