Maps of Music

Django and Jimmie (2015)

Where the lyrics of Django and Jimmie take you, and where it was really made.

Haggard's final studio album came out ten months before his death, and the whole record was recorded in just three days.

Key places

Main recording in Austin (2015)

Recording site Mirrorball Studios — The album's main recording took place at Arlyn Recording Studios in Austin, Texas. The point shows the city centre, not the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Additional recording in Nashville (2015)

Recording site Nashville — Sound Emporium Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee was one of several studios used for additional recording. The point shows the city centre, not the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Additional recording in West Hollywood (2015)

Recording site Westlake Recording Studios — Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood, California was one of the studios used for additional recording on the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Django and Jimmie: sixth and final collaborative studio album by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
• Released June 2, 2015 by Legacy Recordings
• Produced by Buddy Cannon; fourteen tracks by Nelson and Haggard
• Title track is a tribute to Django Reinhardt and Jimmie Rodgers
• Haggard's final studio album before his death of pneumonia in April 2016

Background

• Nelson announced the album's completion on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at South by Southwest on March 20, 2015
• First single 'It's All Going to Pot' released April 20
• Album in development since at least early 2014
• Cannon sent the title track to Haggard and Nelson separately; both were interested
• The two had talked in previous years about recording a new collaboration album
• Preproduction took eighteen months
• Parties discussed the material and co-wrote some songs by phone

Recording

• Entire album recorded in three days
• Main recording at Arlyn Recording Studios in Austin, Texas
• Additional recording at studios in Nashville, Tennessee and West Hollywood, California, among others
• Mixed at Curb Studio B in Nashville; mastered at Georgetown Masters in Nashville
• Bobby Bare guest appears on the tribute song 'Missing Ol' Johnny Cash'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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

At release

• The album was well received by critics
• Metacritic gave 73 out of 100, placing it among generally favorable reviews
• Rolling Stone rated it three stars out of five and called it a grab bag of new and older material that relied on Nelson and Haggard's mythology
• Uncut delivered a favorable review
• American Songwriter favored the chemistry between Nelson and Haggard and praised Cannon's approach and the backing band
• Paste delivered a positive review
• Austin Chronicle rated it four stars out of five and praised the merging of both artists' styles
• Los Angeles Times wrote a favorable review, naming the spirit in the two voices as the main feature
• The Wall Street Journal called it one of the strongest, most engaging country albums of 2015
• The New Yorker described the album as an outlier in a genre increasingly fixated on youth, and discussed the disappearance of adult themes and aging in country music

Reappraisal

• AllMusic gave it three and a half stars out of five
• AllMusic praised Cannon's sharp ear for material and a relaxed groove, and called Haggard and Nelson filled with good humor

Records

• Topped Billboard's Top Country Albums
• Reached number seven on the Billboard 200
• Sold 31,000 units upon release
• Nelson's fourth top ten album on the Billboard 200 and Haggard's first
• Sold 148,000 copies in the US as of May 2016

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Bobby Bare appears as a guest on the tribute song 'Missing Ol' Johnny Cash'.
• The parties co-wrote some of the songs over the phone, without being in the same room.
• The Discogs release notes say HDCD is not printed on the disc or packaging, but the disc plays in HDCD on compatible CD players.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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