Waylon Jennings Grave

Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. He started out as a bassist for Buddy Holly following the break-up of The Crickets. Jennings escaped death in the February 3, 1959, plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, when he gave up his seat to Richardson who had been sick with the flu. Urban legend and Hollywood folklore have it that Jennings and The Big Bopper flipped a coin for the last seat on the plane, with Jennings losing. It was, in fact, Tommy Allsup who flipped the coin for the fated plane trip, losing his seat to Valens.

Jennings suffered from worsening diabetes that had ended most of his touring. February 13, 2002, Jennings died in his sleep of diabetic complications in Chandler, Arizona. Jennings is buried in the Mesa City Cemetery, in Mesa, Arizona.