Willie Nelson: Red Headed Stranger

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 3 Oct 2000 11:09 am

from www.tipworld.com

The following was written by somebody else. Not me. Not I. Not me. So there.

WILLIE NELSON: RED HEADED STRANGER
(Columbia/Legacy)

"Although Willie Nelson had achieved success as a songwriter in Nashville in the 1960s, is solo career was going nowhere. After his Nashville house burned down, he returned to Texas to figure out what to do next. He produced a couple of albums that achieved modest success, but not enough to keep him from getting dropped by his label. Nelson was signed by Columbia in 1975, and within a few weeks of signing the contract, he delivered Red Headed Stranger. A few of the executives thought the concept album, with its sparse production and themes of loss and redemption, was not releasable and recommended shelving it. Wiser heads prevailed, and Red Headed Stranger went on to sell over three million copies, making Nelson one of the most popular country singers ever and ushering in the Outlaw Country movement. Although Nelson has since gone on to produce numerous good records, this is still arguably his best album and, as such, belongs in the collection of all country music fans. The remastering on this reissue is excellent, and tracks like "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain," Nelson's first million-selling single, never sounded better. As an added bonus, there are three extra tracks from the original sessions, including covers of Bob Wills' "A Maiden's Prayer" and Pee Wee King's "Bonaparte's Retreat." "

- by Michael Simmons (no relation to Jim Cohen)[This message was edited by Jim Cohen on 03 October 2000 at 12:10 PM.]

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 3 Oct 2000 3:20 pm

You wrote that? Very good, Jim!

I'm not a huge Willie Nelson fan, but I've always loved that LP. One of the best, I must agree.

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Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 3 Oct 2000 5:57 pm

Auuuggghhhhh!

(Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood)

Ingo Mamczak · Post by **Ingo Mamczak** » 3 Oct 2000 6:34 pm

I enjoyed the movie too

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 4 Oct 2000 5:26 pm

Willie was dropped by Atlantic Records, in a strange move.
Basically Atlantic tried to get a country division going, but in reality they had envisioned a whole kind of country rock thing, meets Southern rock. That's why they got Willie to record in Muscle Shoals and signed up Troy Seals who was a country and soul sessionsman, and had recorded some soul singles in the 1960s.
They also tried to get Ex-Rockabilly Ronnie Hawkins in on it, but Ronnie ended up splitting for Monument in Nashville.
Wynn Stewart was also signed for an album, but the sessions were largely unfinished and dropped with the whole short lived country division.
Bummer!