Waylon Jennings

Legendary country music singer Waylon Jennings has died at the age of 64.

A spokeswoman says Jennings, who battled health problems related to diabetes, passed away Wednesday at his home in Arizona.

The singer had 16 number one hits on the U.S. country music charts in a career that spanned more than 40 years.

Along with good friends Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, Jennings came to personify "outlaw" country music with songs that spoke of restlessness and rebellion. The singers later linked up with Kris Kristofferson to form the Highwaymen, a quartet that recorded albums and did successful concert tours.

Born and raised in Texas, Jennings started out as a teenage guitarist for 1950s rock and roll legend Buddy Holly. His career nearly ended in 1959, when he was scheduled to fly on the light plane that crashed and killed Holly. But Jennings gave up his seat on the plane to another singer, the Big Bopper, who also perished in the crash.

Jennings' deep, twangy voice may be best known from the popular 1970s television show "The Dukes of Hazzard." He narrated the show, and sang its theme song, which became one of his biggest hits.

In 2001, Jennings was inducted into the country music Hall of Fame, but was too ill to attend the ceremony.

Some information for this report provided by AP.

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