91 Willies

Celebrating Willie Nelson’s 91st birthday with a mixtape of 91 of my favorite Willie numbers.

No other artists started me on my journey through music more explicitly than Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. Willie was first, even though it’s crazy (haha) to consider their debut albums were released within a year of each other, and they both have recorded for Columbia. (Unlike Dylan, Willie’s debut was all self-penned, so there.)

From the age of 11, I devoured any and all things Willie-related. I joined his fan club. (Remember fan clubs?) I held on to issues of Life and People magazines that had him on the cover. I even commandeered my uncle’s issue of High Times because it had a profile on Willie.

I would write and illustrate my own tour programs, make set lists, and create “TV specials” around Willie, all in several notebooks I still have somewhere. He was the first concert I ever asked to go to, and my dad - who loved Willie, too - was kind enough to take me, even though it was on his birthday.

Finding a way into the Willie canon can be daunting. I like to point newbies to the era that represents the sweet spot for me: from ‘Red Headed Stranger’ to his ‘Greatest Hits (and Some That Will Be)’. That’s where I came in, and everything that came before and after is judged by those ‘70s Columbia records, for better or worse. His Atlantic era is unequaled in its groundbreaking contributions to ‘70s progressive country, and I dearly love his early records on Liberty and RCA, even with all their Nashville Sound accouterments. The slickness of their productions somehow makes the devastating lyrics all the more haunting. From ‘Always On My Mind’ through the rest of the ‘80s, however, the quality dipped, at times dramatically, even though he had become a superstar. I chalk it up to outside producers stepping in with studio musicians, just as they did in his pre-outlaw days.

He hit his stride again in the ‘90s with the magnificent Don Was-produced Across the Borderline, later with Daniel Lanois behind the board on Teatro, his self-produced, Spirit, well into the 21st century with Let’s Face the Music and Dance, and on his last several records with Buddy Cannon. The constant formula to his best work over the decades has been the use of the Family Band. You can dress Willie up with orchestras, pair him with big rock or hot country producers, or fill the studio with A-Teamers, but he truly shines with some iteration of sister Bobbie, Mickey Raphael, Bee Spears, Jody Payne, and Paul English behind him. (After all, they, along with the mighty Booker T Jones, were all that was needed to make the transcendental, and timeless, Stardust.) Sadly, only Mickey is left from that lineup, but between Lucas and Micah Nelson, Waylon Payne (Jody’s son - an amazing artist in his own right), Billy English, and others, the Family lives and plays on.

So to celebrate his 91st year this week, here’s a 91-song-strong deep dive into the wonderful world of Willie. It’s a mixtape filled with many of my go-to’s; some are well-known, others are deep cuts. Over the years, Willie has recorded and re-recorded his classic early songs many times, with varying results. I’ve tried to give the best overview of his deep catalog as possible. I honestly could write an in-depth essay on each of these tracks, but who has the time for that? And, more importantly, who’d want to read it?

Happy birthday to this peerless songwriter, world-class guitarist, and unrivaled vocalist from Abbott, Texas. Long may he continue to make music with his family band while on the road again … and again … and again …

A variation of this piece originally appeared as part of my Vinyl A to Z project on Facebook and Instagram.

Merlin guards my Willie record collection.