Maps of Music

The Troublemaker (1976)

Where the lyrics of The Troublemaker take you, and where it was really made.

The album was recorded in two days in New York in 1973, yet Atlantic Records cancelled its release and it only came out in 1976 on Columbia Records.

Key places

Atlantic Studios, New York City (1973)

Recording site Atlantic Studios (New York City) — The album was recorded in two days in February 1973 at the Atlantic Records studio in New York City, where Wexler had provided a studio for the sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Troublemaker: 20th studio album by country singer and songwriter Willie Nelson
• Released in 1976 on Columbia Records
• Produced by Arif Mardin
• Recorded in two days at the Atlantic Records studio in New York City, February 1973
• Built from classic gospel songs, performed in a honky-tonk style

Background

• In 1972 RCA asked Nelson to renew his contract early, implying no further recordings would be released if he refused
• Nelson refused, and RCA decided to release no more of his recordings
• Neil Reshen was hired as manager and negotiated the end of the RCA contract
• Nelson moved to Austin, Texas, where the hippie music scene at Armadillo World Headquarters renewed his musical style
• In Nashville, Atlantic Records vice president Jerry Wexler, who had produced Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, was interested in Nelson's music
• Atlantic opened a country music division and signed Nelson as the label's first country artist

Recording

• The sessions took place in February 1973 at a studio in New York City provided by Wexler
• Nelson's sister Bobbie played piano
• Doug Sahm and his band also took part in the sessions
• After finishing this album, Nelson recorded Shotgun Willie during the same sessions

Release

• Atlantic Records cancelled the release, judging the album not right for the label
• Atlantic later closed its experimental country music division
• Columbia gave Nelson total creative control, and the album came out after the success of Red Headed Stranger

Sources: en.wikipedia.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

• Billboard: a favorable review, calling the album a "powerful LP, that is often lively and uptempo"
• Stereo Review: Nelson "hit it right on the button with his honky-tonk instrumentation"
• Rolling Stone: favored the album, attributing its success to its link with the Outlaw movement

Reappraisal

• Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the interpretation of gospel standards, similar to Nelson's previous releases
• Erlewine said the song selection gave the album a "unique, fresh feel"

Records

• Billboard Top Country Albums: number one
• Billboard 200: number sixty
• The single "Uncloudy Day" reached number four on Billboard's Hot Country Singles

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Atlantic Records cancelled the release, and the album was only issued in 1976, after Columbia gave Nelson total creative control.
• Nelson recorded Shotgun Willie during the same February 1973 sessions after finishing this album.
• Nelson's sister Bobbie played the piano on the sessions.
• The single "Uncloudy Day" was the album's most successful chart entry on the country singles chart.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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