Maps of Music

Country Willie: His Own Songs (1965)

Where the lyrics of Country Willie: His Own Songs take you, and where it was really made.

Chet Atkins suggested the album's title, and Nelson later said the sweeteners Atkins added to his songs did not work.

Key places

Nashville, RCA Victor studio sessions (1965)

Recording site Nashville — The album's sessions were recorded at RCA Victor Studios in Nashville. The point is set at city-centre level, not at the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Country Willie: His Own Songs: third studio album by country singer Willie Nelson
• First album Nelson made for RCA Victor
• Released in 1965
• Twelve tracks, all by Nelson except two co-written songs, running about 28 minutes 48 seconds in total
• Recorded after Nelson moved from Liberty Records to RCA

Background

• Liberty released his first two albums, ...And Then I Wrote and Here's Willie Nelson, in 1962 and 1963
• Those albums used lush instrumentation typical of the Nashville sound, unlike the style he later became known for
• Country stars such as Faron Young, Billy Walker and Patsy Cline had scored huge hits with his songs before that
• With the arrival of The Beatles in 1964, Liberty abandoned its country division
• Nelson then worked as a pig farmer in Ridgetop, Tennessee
• Chet Atkins signed Nelson to RCA, and Nelson admired him but felt Atkins saw him as an outsider

Recording

• Atkins and Nelson first worked together on the Christmas single "Pretty Paper" in November 1964
• The sessions that made up most of the album were recorded in January and April 1965
• The album remade his best known compositions up to that time, such as "Night Life" and "Funny How Time Slips Away"
• Newer songs included "Healing Hands of Time", "One Day at a Time" and "My Own Peculiar Way"
• Atkins added heavy string sections and choirs to the arrangements

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Willie Hugh Nelson on April 29, 1933, in Abbott, Texas.
• Wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band, Bohemian Polka, as a guitarist at age nine.
• Attended Baylor University for two years before dropping out to pursue music.
• Moved to Nashville in 1960 and joined Ray Price's band as a bassist.

Career

• Songs such as "Crazy" (Patsy Cline), "Funny How Time Slips Away" and "Pretty Paper" became hits for other artists.
• Debut album ...And Then I Wrote was released in 1962; joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1965.
• Helped lead the outlaw country movement after moving to Austin, Texas in 1972.
• Red Headed Stranger (1975) was a critically acclaimed concept album; the single "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" became his first number one hit.
• Co-founded Farm Aid in 1985 with Neil Young and John Mellencamp.
• Acted in over 30 films, including The Electric Horseman (1979).
• Received a Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance for "Ride Me Back Home" (2019).
• Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

Reappraisal

• AllMusic: some tunes appeared in their original versions on the United Artists album Best of Willie Nelson, yet this album is still worth tracking down
• Biographer Joe Nick Potoski notes the album's sales were weak

Records

• Sales were puny, the one exception being Texas
• In Texas the album solidified Willie's standing as a genuine Nashville star
• Nelson's own memoir from 2015 says the string sections and choirs added to his songs did not help
• The album brought together remakes of earlier hits and new originals, so it sits between his Liberty period and his later RCA work

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Nelson's 2015 memoir says Chet Atkins added heavy string sections and heavenly choirs to his songs, and that it did not work.
• Atkins suggested the title Country Willie: His Own Songs for the album.
• Some remakes on the album were earlier hits for other artists, such as "Night Life" and "Funny How Time Slips Away".
• A 1975 United Artists compilation with a similar title, Country Willie, collected B-sides and album tracks from Nelson's Liberty years.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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