Willie Nelson

Album Sales Update

May 23, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 20

2009

* Rascal Flatts, Unstoppable – 669,000
* Keith Urban, Defying Gravity – 349,000
* Jason Aldean, Wide Open – 241,000
* Dierks Bentley, Feel That Fire – 189,000
* Martina McBride, Shine – 89,000
* John Rich, Son of a Preacher Man – 89,000
* Rodney Atkins, It’s America – 72,000
* Jake Owen, Easy Does It – 70,000
* Eric Church, Carolina – 66,000
* Randy Travis, I Told You So: Ultimate Hits – 59,000
* Randy Rogers Band, Randy Rogers Band – 57,000
* Pat Green, What I’m For – 54,000
* Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, Willie & The Wheel – 50,000
* Billy Ray Cyrus, Back to Tennessee – 29,000
* Jason Michael Carroll, Growing Up is Getting Old – 26,000
* Dean Brody, Dean Brody – 5,000

Willie Nelson Starter Kit

May 16, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 4

Since he’s one of the few country legends who is best defined by his albums rather than his individual tracks, creating a Starter Kit for Willie Nelson is a tough row to hoe.

What follows is the cream of the crop from Willie Nelson’s peak years, minus the collaborations with other artists. His pairings with other great acts would be another Starter Kit unto itself.

When you’re ready to dig deeper, check out his studio albums in their entirety, starting with Phases and Stages and Shotgun Willie, moving on to Red Headed Stranger and Stardust, and picking up lesser-known classics from the later years, like Spirit, Teatro, and You Don’t Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker.

“Yesterday’s Wine” from the 1971 album Yesterday’s Wine

Nelson encounters an old friend at a local drinking establishment and they share a round of drinks as they reflect on how they’re “aging with time, like yesterday’s wine.”

“Whiskey River” from the 1973 album Shotgun Willie

It’s since become a live favorite of Nelson’s fans at a speedier tempo, but there’s a a beautiful melancholy to the studio version found on this album.

“Bloody Mary Morning” from the 1974 album Phases and Stages

A centerpiece of what is arguably Nelson’s finest concept album, it’s since become something of a standard. Also of note from this set is “It’s Not Supposed to Be That Way.”

Satirical Songs

April 30, 2009 Leeann Ward 18

I’ve known about Kinky Friedman for some years now. Actually, I should be more specific and say that I’ve known Kinky Friedman’s name for quite some years now. Because, to be honest, the only thing I really knew about him until very recently is that Willie Nelson supported him for Texas Governor in 2006, which should have peaked my interest enough to research him back then.

It wasn’t until recently, after doing an Amazon search for stray Todd Snider songs, that I realized that the colorful and fascinating Friedman, while politically extreme at times, was quite the singing satirist. On the 2006 album Why The Hell Not…The Songs of Kinky Friedman, I discovered an incredible cast of artists (Willie Nelson, Todd Snider, Bruce Robison, Asleep at the Wheel, Delbert McClinton, Charlie Robison, Dwight Yoakam, Kevin Fowler & Jason Boland) doing covers of Friedman’s songs, many so sharp that I was more than a little taken aback at first. Through satire and, sometimes, even seriousness, Freidman offers a lot of social commentary that is often colorful and always intriguing.

Before It’s Too Late

April 16, 2009 Leeann Ward 22

In May of 2004, Bill and I were excited about the prospect of seeing Willie Nelson in our small town, in Maine, of about 13,000 people. We knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see such an icon without even having to travel ten minutes to reach the venue. Furthermore, he was on both of our lists of people to see before we died.

Sadly, we did not get to see Willie after all. On the same week he was supposed to visit our small town, he had to get carpal tunnel surgery. We had the option of either getting a refund or using our tickets for the rescheduled show in September. Once again, our luck was bad, because we were moving to Michigan the month before Willie’s make up date.

If you can’t tell, I still haven’t completely recovered from that disappointment.

Album Sales Update

Willie Nelson Starter Kit

Satirical Songs

Before It’s Too Late

Daryle Singletary, “Love You With the Lights On”

Musical Progression

Pat Green, “Country Star”

Themed Albums

Review: Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, “Hesitation Blues”

You Say You Want an Evolution