This much awaited bracket kicks off as many have pegged this as potentially the toughest bracket with the most potential title contenders residing here.
Willie Nelson
What needs to be said about Willie other than he's an American legend? He's penned some of the greatest songs of all time (including Patsy Cline's "Crazy"). He's a renegade. He's an outlaw. He does things his way. He bought a golf course when they told them he couldn't play there. And he's collaborated with everybody from his contemporaries like Waylon and Merle to those of the Texas/Oklahoma scene like Toby Keith and Pat Green. And his annual Fourth of July bash at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth is legendary.
For my money, the move diverse band in modern country music. They gained their "outsider" status when they issued a "cease and desist" to a released recording of the song "Chicken Fried" from another band standing up to the Nashville elite, notably Sony Nashville CEO Joe Galante.
Crazy thing about Willie is that his best 2 records were never heard by most people once he became a super star in 1975. Shotgun Willie (1973) and Phases and Stages (1974) both on Atlantic were commercial flops. When he moved to Columbia in 1975 with Red Headed Stranger, he finally hit the big time.
Check out "Devil in a Sleeping Bag". This was a funky as country ever got.
willie has written some of the best country songs ...
Challenge is that no one here ever saw Willie in his prime live which was in the mid to late 70's. I wouldn't pay to see Willie now.
I can't speak for others, but in the mid and late 70's, I wasn't much of a country fan. Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Who, The Stones, Van Halen .... enjoyed seeing them and a number of others live, but it never crossed my mind to see Willie. My mom was a big Willie Nelson fan though, so I heard plenty ... on vinyl, good chit, just not what I was into in those days.
willie has written some of the best country songs ...
Challenge is that no one here ever saw Willie in his prime live which was in the mid to late 70's. I wouldn't pay to see Willie now.
I can't speak for others, but in the mid and late 70's, I wasn't much of a country fan. Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Who, The Stones, Van Halen .... enjoyed seeing them and a number of others live, but it never crossed my mind to see Willie. My mom was a big Willie Nelson fan though, so I heard plenty ... on vinyl, good chit, just not what I was into in those days.
I didn't like country music as a kid. My dad would always play George Straight, Garth, Randy Travis, Vince Gill, etc on road trips and I hated it. But Willie was a different story, I loved him from the first time I heard Whiskey River. Later in life I came to appreciate most of the aforementioned artists as I became more of a country fan. Still don't like Garth and that will come out soon in these pages.
willie has written some of the best country songs ...
Challenge is that no one here ever saw Willie in his prime live which was in the mid to late 70's. I wouldn't pay to see Willie now.
Had some friends who saw him live a month ago and surprisingly they said he was awesome.. Not big fans of the era either. Old fucker still brings it. Wish Waylon woulda laid off the hard drugs sooner.
Comments
Check out "Devil in a Sleeping Bag". This was a funky as country ever got.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iYm4gmMelNY
willie has written some of the best country songs ...