Introduction
“Try That Again, Honey”: The Legend, the Love, and the Legacy of Jessi Colter and Waylon Jennings
42 years ago—or maybe just yesterday, depending on who you ask—a story was born. It didn’t come from a studio, a headline, or even a songwriter’s notebook. It came from a backstage moment in Texas, where Waylon Jennings, fresh off a thunderous set, met a bold fan who leaned in and planted a kiss.
Jessi Colter saw it.
And in true Jessi fashion, she didn’t make a scene. She didn’t throw a drink, didn’t storm out. She simply looked the woman in the eyes and said: “Try that again, honey.”
What happened next? Well, that’s where the stories diverge. One roadie swears she threw a punch. Another insists it was just a look—a look so sharp it cut through the smoky air and sent the girl running. Either way, that moment—half-true, half-myth—still gets whispered about in dressing rooms, dive bars, and tour buses across the country.
But what makes this tale endure isn’t just its drama. It’s what it reveals about Jessi Colter—the artist, the wife, the woman. Behind every outlaw like Waylon Jennings was a force just as fierce, just as unshakable. Jessi wasn’t just a supportive spouse or a secondary voice—she was an artist in her own right. A songwriter who told truths. A pianist who poured gospel into country. A presence who stood her ground, whether behind a microphone or beside a man who broke every rule in the book.
Waylon and Jessi weren’t perfect, and they never claimed to be. But they were real. Their story—full of fire, faith, music, and grit—refuses to fade. That one-liner, “Try that again, honey,” has come to symbolize not just a moment of jealousy or humor, but a lifetime of love laced with boundary-setting, respect, and pride.
And that, perhaps more than any rumor, is the story that truly lasts.