For a man often left out of conversations about country and western legends, Waylon Jennings lived a life of myth that is at least equal to that of Johnny Cash and Hank Williams. Jennings famously gave up his seat on the plane that crashed and killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson in 1959 and then moved to Nashville where he briefly roomed with Johnny Cash and survived near death experiences with both drugs and a bout of hepatitis.
    It’s appropriate, then, that his final concert CD/DVD set is titled Never Say Die. Featuring 22 songs by the legendary performer, Die makes it obvious that Jennings was living with the consequences of his lifestyle in his final years. Suffering from the diabetes that would ultimately kill him, Jennings remains seated for the entire show, and his voice isn’t what it once was, but his attitude is in full force — a sample from some of his onstage banter: “I can still kick ass, you just gotta bring ’em up here.”
    Despite his apparent weakness, Jennings’s stage presence is as strong as ever. He actually seems to get stronger as the show goes on longer, finishing with a stirring take on the classic Band song “The Weight,” followed by his own “Can’t You See.”
    Never Say Die won’t bring Jennings a new generation of listeners the way that Rick Rubin did for Johnny Cash, but it will serve as a nice reminder that he belongs in the same class as the man in black.