Funny how time slips away. It has been more than a dozen years now since a group of country boys, led by Elvis Presley, got together in some Tennessee recording studios and started a revolution in American music. With the help of such songs as "Blue Suede Shoes," "Bye, Bye Love" and "Heartbreak Hotel," they came up with a country-rock sound that helped reshape pop music.

Since that golden age of country-rock, hundreds of acts have been influenced by that early sound, but no one new has captured the essence of that emotional, driving music of the mid-1950's. No one, that is, until Waylon Jennings.

© Neil Zlozower

In recent months, Jennings has established himself as the most exciting new country singer in years. He features a hard, tough sound that has much of the same earthy appeal as the early country-rock numbers. In many ways, Jennings is...