Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson, born in 1933 in Abbott, Texas, made his name as a songwriter first. In the early 1960s he wrote Crazy for Patsy Cline, Hello Walls for Faron Young, and Funny How Time Slips Away, while his own recordings barely sold: his behind-the-beat phrasing sat awkwardly with the polished Nashville sound of the day. Moving back to Texas in the 1970s turned that around. Shotgun Willie (1973) and the spare concept album Red Headed Stranger (1975), carrying his first number one single Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, made him the face of outlaw country alongside Waylon Jennings. Stardust (1978) turned to American standards under producer Booker T. Jones and stayed on the US country albums chart for years. He remained unusually prolific afterwards: the Highwaymen quartet with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson, the Daniel Lanois-produced Teatro (1998), the blues record Milk Cow Blues (2000), and a long run of albums with producer Buddy Cannon from 2012 onwards. He co-founded Farm Aid in 1985, received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023. His voice, the nylon-string Martin guitar Trigger, and his blend of country, jazz standards, blues, and gospel keep the work recognisable in every decade.

This collection brings together Willie Nelson on vinyl, LP and CD: albums from the outlaw years such as Phases and Stages, later work including Teatro, Milk Cow Blues, and It Always Will Be, and live recordings among them Live at Budokan and the Long Story Short birthday concerts.