Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. In 2004, Parton and the silky-voiced Norah Jones gelled brilliantly on Creepin In for the album Feels Like Home.. In 1988, 59-year-old Owens revisited the song in a duet with Dwight Yoakam. 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. The melody is incredibly moving, the lyrics bring out a variety of emotions, and together, they create a song you just cant get enough of.. Although Jennings passed away in 2002, Nelson rarely plays a show without including "Mammas" at some point. My playing, my singing, my writing, it all has flaws. Photograph: Chris Buck/August Image, Willie Nelson: Ive bought a lot of pot, and now Im selling some back, walk up and down 57th Street a couple of times before I spot. Here are some of the best I've 2000: B.B. 2000: Johnny Lang (Rainy Day Blues) 1982: Webb Pierce (In the Jailhouse Now) 1980: Dyan Cannon (Loving You Was Easier) Im anxious to get it out there., On Friday, Nelson released another track, I Wont Dance, a standard composed by Jerome Kern and recorded by Sinatra in 1957 for A Swingin Affair!, his 12th studio album (He cut it in 1962 for SinatraBasie: An Historic Musical First too.) Her voice adds some weight and gravity to the whole song, to kind of keep it rooted, Bentley said. View cart for details. 14-Foot Python Discovered On The Side Of The Road In Long Island? It would be hard to pick the definitive version of Townes Van Zandts gorgeous love song If I Needed You, because there have been fine versions by Carrie Rodriguez and Ben Kyle, Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires and Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White, among others. When it comes to Christmas-themed country duets, its pretty surprising that many of the genres most well-loved and well-known duos never captured a shared seasonal moment for an official release. 1998: Johnny Cash ([Ghost] Riders in the Sky) Nelsons duet with Julio Iglesias on To All The Girls Ive Loved Before is not, perhaps, his finest hour. And twenty years before that. Web73 kg. lang. Willie Nelson duets Sign up to receive exclusive discounts from Whiskey Riff Shop and breaking news. He was doubtful at first, he says, about the need for, or the seemliness of, yet another book. They didnt see it, they didnt understand it, and automatically they said it wasnt a good idea. Ive bought a lot of pot over the years, and now Im going to sell some back, he says.) Barry Gibb asked Dolly Parton to sing with me. His grandmother was troubled by his playing in night clubs. It might be easier to list those folks who have not yet sung with Willie! Willie Nelson Records All Female Duets Album Legend has it Jennings came up with the song idea while playing pinball and that Nelson suggested one of the lines at a poker game. Nelson is in New York to promote his autobiography, My Life: Its A Long Story. Jimmie Allen, FOR KING & COUNTRY Talk Lifelong Friendship, Learning Each Others Songs and "CMT Crossroads", Joel Smallbone: "We've dug each other out of ditches. Ive never minded fame. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Nelson wrote his first song when he was seven, and at 10 began playing guitar in a polka band. It was a disaster. He owns properties in Texas, Maui and Malibu, but his true home, he says, is the Honeysuckle. (Nelson has campaigned for decades for the liberalisation of American drug laws, and now that four states have made recreational drug use legal, with more likely to follow, he sees an opportunity to capitalise on his status as Americas favourite stoner. Does he really mean it? They think they know everything. It could be playing these outdoor venues and just have this gorgeous orchestra and sing the songs we all love, she says. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. The inventive harmonies and subtle phrasings of Tim OBrien and Darrell Scott gave new life to House of Gold, the Hank Williams classic about the evils of greed. If youre looking for musical longevity, look no further than Grammy-winning American outlaw country hero and Nashville rebel, Willie Nelson. The sentiment of Waylon Jennings' "Bob Wills Is Still the King" still holds true in Texas. Willie Nelson Duets Seven Spanish Angels shot to No1 in the Billboard charts in 1984. I can remember them sitting round the table at night beneath a kerosene lamp, studying their music, so I grew up with that, with people who took music seriously. Could you list them? Co-written by Keith and Scotty Emerick, "Beer for My Horses" spent six weeks at No. There are songs I sing better now, he says. I should acknowledge at this point that I regard Nelson as one of the great geniuses of popular music, a man whose contributions to the American songbook rank up there with those of Ray Charles or Nina Simone. Willie Nelson explores the deep corners of the Frank Sinatra catalog on his new album Thats Life, out February 26th. My playing, my singing, my writing, it all has flaws. Willie's eco-friendly tour bus is called the "Honeysuckle Rose IV" and runs on a variety of biofuels. 1980: Ray Price (Faded Love) It was somewhere in his late 40s, when he started getting leaner and greyer, that his face started to acquire its gaunt, sculptural quality. how many duets has willie nelson done. They had to back off and take it, and when it wound up a number one record, they all said, Well, look what we did!. Their subsequent studio version was released as a B-side to Straits single Go On and it became a cult radio hit. Nelson continued working as a radio announcer and singing in Vancouver clubs. Four wives, seven children, 350 albums and his own line in marijuana: Willie Nelson has never done anything by halves. I felt I knew more than they did, because I saw it every day and they were only looking at numbers. We've Got Tonite was written by rock singer Bob Seger in the 1970s. Its all scary, she says. If you start listening to him while hes playing, youre going to break time., Nelson claims he never doubted his own abilities as a singer. In early 1962, Willie Nelson & Shirley Collie dueted their way into the Top 10 with Willingly. Willie Nelson may be the most popular duet partner in country music history. After narrowing it down, here are our top ten favorite Willie Nelson duets. 11. "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" - with Julio Iglesias Nominated for Song of the Year at the ACM Awards and the CMA Awards, this duet is one of Nelson's best. It helped put Iglesias on the map on English radio and was a number one hit on the country charts. 10. Nelson started off with a clean-cut look in the 60s. Their new version was a Grammy-winning No1 hit. Right, but whats your favourite? King (The Thrill Is Gone) Willie Nelson may be the most popular duet partner in country music history. Dolly Parton has the sort of sweet, adaptable voice that allows her to excel as a duettist, whether she is singing with men (Willie Nelson, Randy Travis, Vince Gill, Don Henley) or with other women (Emmylou Harris, Carrie Underwood, Mindy Smith). In his eighties, hes still recording and touring like he was twenty years ago. For Wilson, these revered songs are her version of the Great American Songbook, the term given to many jazz and Broadway show tunes released between the 1920s and 1950s that have become standards. Reba McEntire and Vince Gill have been friends for half a century and their empathy helped make The Heart Won't Lie a 1992 single from the album Its Your Call a modern classic. Quick View. Its almost like vows you would say to each other, she says. Thats the way jazz singers sing. One of their best compositions, When the Right One Comes Along, was also a key part of the soundtrack for the hit television show Nashville. In 1969, Dylan revisited his gorgeous 1963 song Girl from the North Country and re-recorded it as a duet with his hero Cash. 2004: Paul English (Forgiving You Was Easy) He just lost his best friend and his life, after all. He and 16-year-old Martha had three children he has seven in total and they spent most of the 1950s moving from state to state, trying to find day jobs to support the family while Nelson pursued his music career in honkytonks at night. Nanci Griffith is a remarkable songwriter and she co-wrote the modern classic Gulf Coast Highway for her 1987 album Little Love Affairs. Her voice blends well with Mac McAnally, a record producer and successful solo artist in his own right, on this sorrowful masterpiece. By speeding up the tempo on "Heartbreak Hotel," they won't make you forget Elvis Presley's original recording, but their energetic interpretation is a lot of fun. They have lasted and endured for so many years, she says. (In addition to Willie: An Autobiography, published in 1988, there has also been The Tao Of Willie, a guide to happiness in your heart, and Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die, a scrapbook of personal photos, anecdotes and Willie-style koans.) Hes one of those men who become properly handsome only in late middle age. Dwight Yoakams 1997 album Under the Covers featured songs by the Beatles, the Kinks and Sonny & Chers Baby Don't Go. Yoakam teamed up with Sheryl Crow one of the biggest female stars of the 1990s to deliver a rousing new version of this 1960s hit. 2009: Ziggy Marley (This Train) The second week will be a continuation of her Rita Wilsons Liner Notes series, where she is joined by songwriters in the round. ] (Wilson and husband Tom Hanks are good friends with Springsteen and his wife, Patti Scialfa, and Wilson adds that Springsteen has heard the new version and gave it a thumbs up.), While each remake has its own flair, Wilson says it was important to not veer too far from what the originals were. "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" With Waylon Jennings. Nelsons hearing is beginning to go, and when I saw him at Radio City Music Hall last year, his gorgeous whine of a voice sounded a little weak. 2006: Larry Butler (Heavy Hank) She had warned me about all the sinful things that go on in beer joints, he recalls, and when she heard I was going to play in a place six miles away, she said, You promised me you would never go on the road. Six miles down the highway was on the road to her. Nancy, a very, very hardcore, church-going Christian, inculcated Nelson with a strong faith that has stayed with him. His 1982 single, "Always on My Mind", reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. But then I thought, why not?, One can think of a lot of reasons a very rich 82-year-old man, who has sold more than 40m albums, written some of the greatest music of the 20th century and been declared an American icon, might decline to spend his dwindling days in a darkened bus, flogging a ghosted book. Of course, they sound great together, and I cant wait to hear the next one: Willie is also gearing up to release his 98th career studio album I Dont Know A Thing About Loveon March 3rd. So whether his voice is a tiny bit weaker, or not, I still think its worth going to see him in concert. 36: Willie Nelson and Lee Ann Womack - Mendocino County Line Elton Johns magnificent songwriting partner Bernie Taupin co-wrote the lyrics for Mendocino In the early days, the unorthodox rubato style of his delivery wasnt always appreciated by record executives, some of whom accused him of speaking his songs. Great country duets are not consigned to a bygone age. Conversely, with Fleetwood Macs Songbird, Wilson and Josh Groban approached the song as if they were new partners starting their life together. I thought they would have more fun doing songs that werent their own, Wilson says. Gram Parsons was only 26 when he died of an overdose in 1973. Islands was originally written by the Bee Gees for Marvin Gaye but then they asked me to do it. which is a laughably small sampling of his many duet partners. 1984: Kris Kristofferson (How Do You Feel About Foolin Around) "Mendocino County Line" With Lee Ann Womack. In early 1962, Willie Nelson & Shirley Collie dueted their way into the top 10 with "Willingly" (Liberty 55403). 2000: Dr. John (Black Night) 2002: Rob Thomas (Maria [Shut Up and Kiss Me]) About a year later, Willie and Shirley exchanged wedding I thought there had probably been enough, and I wasnt sure we needed one more. Best Country Christmas Duets Rolling Stone You mean, youre interpreting them better? 22 on the Billboard country songs chart, but it did earn Nelson and Womack a Grammy award for best country collaboration. I dont think its possible to be perfect all the time. 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With his manager, Mark Rothbaum, and Hillary Clinton. 1982: Dolly Parton (Everythings Beautiful [In Its Own Way]) Willie Nelson 2009: Asleep at the Wheel (Corrine Corrina) Nelson recorded the track which has also been covered by everyone from Fred Astaire to Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett with Diana Krall. All Rights reserved. Its just everything I know about music, Wilson recounts, imitating Capaldis British accent. 1977: Darrell McCall (Lily Dale) This gal is well-known for leaving a trail of broken hearts in her wake -- and the guys seem to be singing from experience. It was confirmation to her that her new album,Rita Wilson Now & Forever: Duets, would hit a sweet spot, not just with her peers, but with younger generations raised on these 50-year-old pop classics by their parents. On their brilliant 2007 album Raising Sand, producer T Bone Burnett recorded Krauss and Plant live to tape and had them sat in a booth, half-facing each other at a 45-degree angle. The best playlists in country musicperiod. And thats what it felt like when we were recording. I do not. 2009: Norah Jones (Baby, Its Cold Outside) It was the way I had dressed all my life, anyway T-shirts and blue jeans so it was an easy change to make. It was the beginning of the bandana, beard and braids look that would be his signature sartorial style ever after. Willie Nelson And His Daughter, Paula, Team Up For Beautiful 2003: Kimmie Rhodes (Picture in a Frame) The great Man in Black died a few months after the release of the metaphor-filled September When It Comes in 1983. Willie Nelson sure has recorded many duets with famous singers. Could you list them? In fact, his first Top 10 hit -- 1962's "Willingly" -- was a duet with Shirley Collie, who All 150 Willie Nelson Albums, Ranked. 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