Willie Nelson Turns 90

[journeybear]

Willie turned 90 today, and the internet has been blowing up with reminiscences and sharings. This just came in, of him and Dylan doing "Pancho And Lefty" from his 60th celebration. So I thought I'd share it. Notice some MC in the backup - Marty Stuart, and also Mark O'Connor on fiddle.



Oh, drat! Looks like you'll have to follow the link to view it on youtube. Oh well!

[journeybear]

BTW, he's celebrting with a two-day concert extravaganza at The Hollywood Bowl, with an astounding lineup of performers. Here's the current list, though late additions are certainly possible. (Sorry, but it's in alpha order by first name.)

Beck, Billy Strings, Bob Weir, Booker T. Jones, Buddy Cannon, Charley Crockett, Chris Stapleton, Daniel Lanois, Dave Matthews, Dwight Yoakam, Edie Brickell, Emmylou Harris, Gary Clark Jr., George Strait, Jack Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Leon Bridges, Lily Meola, Lukas Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Margo Price, Miranda Lambert, Neil Young, Norah Jones, Orville Peck, Particle Kid, Rodney Crowell, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Stephen Stills, Sturgill Simpson, The Avett Brothers, The Chicks, The Lumineers, Tom Jones, Tyler Childers, and Ziggy Marley.

Here's my band doing "On The Road Again" at our last gig Saturday - which might truly be our last gig, as I'm awfully tired of the drummer. If you notice any slight glitches in my solo, they are most likely due to me playing it behind my head. Sorry, no video.

[Mark Gunter]

Happy birthday to Willie!

Play “Funny How Time Slips Away” on mandolin:
https://theamateurmandolinist.com/20...me-slips-away/

Play “Crazy” on mandolin:
https://youtu.be/SqwOdsC5Ab8

[farmerjones]

The whole time I'm thinking, why Hollywood Bowl? Why not Austin, or Abbott or . . . .?

[Fretbear]

[journeybear]

The whole time I'm thinking, why Hollywood Bowl? Why not Austin, or Abbott or . . . .?

Logistics, most likely. The Hollywood Bowl is a top-notch venue, fully functional, ready-to-go, plug-in-and-play. I'm sure the whole event was recorded and filmed using state-of-the-art technology, and there will be some sort of product rolled out soon enough. Would any of that be possible in Austin or Abbott? Also, consider the convenience for all sort of showbiz folks.

I think this was touched upon in the original article. But it looks like the preview at the link above has been supplanted by a review, so that source for info has died up. Oh well!

[tmsweeney]

Well I hope he and Keith Richards enjoy what we leave them, Happy 90th Willie!

[Simon DS]

Here's the Bear's list of performers by alphabetical order on last name (AI) still some ways to go :

Avett Brothers, The
Beck
Billy Strings
Booker T. Jones
Brickell, Edie
Bridges, Leon
Cannon, Buddy
Cash, Rosanne
Charley Crockett
Chicks, The
Clark Jr., Gary
Crow, Sheryl
Crowell, Rodney
Daniel Lanois
Dave Matthews
Dwight Yoakam
Emmylou Harris
George Strait
Jack Johnson
Jones, Norah
Kristofferson, Kris
Leon Bridges
Lily Meola
Lovett, Lyle
Margo Price
Marley, Ziggy
Lambert, Miranda
Nelson, Lukas
Neil Young
Orville Peck
Particle Kid
Simpson, Sturgill
Stapleton, Chris
Stephen Stills
The Lumineers
Tom Jones
Tyler Childers
Weir, Bob

[journeybear]

Well I hope he and Keith Richards enjoy what we leave them, Happy 90th Willie!

Actually, at the show it was Snoop Dogg (naturally) who did this with him:

"Hey, Snoop, come on out here and help me roll one up," Nelson said as the rapper, wielding a gold microphone, took a seat beside him to sing, "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die." Snoop Dogg suggested the song be performed "in the key of smoke."

Here's the Bear's list of performers by alphabetical order on last name (AI) still some ways to go :

Not sure what you're trying to do here, nor what you might be rolling up over there, but that's all mixed up between first and last names. I don't know when it became customary to generate alpha lists by first name, but that does seem to be popular these days. Call me old school, but I still go with last name order. And will, until them Oxford boys say otherwise. And take away my comma.

During my band's end-of-season farewell party and jam last night, when it came around to my turn to pick a song, late in the game I went with "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain," to slow things down a bit and also pay homage. And next time around, "On The Road Again." Good stuff.

[Jeff Mando]

This MAY be interesting to Willie Nelson fans, although barely related.....

TCM showed the director's cut of Woodstock over the weekend and I noticed Richie Havens had a hole in the face of his guitar from heavy strumming technique. The first thing I thought of was Willie's guitar, then I realized Woodstock was 1969.....so, I read up on Willie's famous guitar, turns out that he bought his Martin classical in 1969, after his Baldwin classical got crushed beyond repair. For some strange reason, he liked the Baldwin because it had a pickup in it -- come to think of it, he also used a Baldwin amp! He must have been an endorsee, I guess? Anyway, he liked the pickup so much, he had the Baldwin pickup installed in his Martin! That is the key to his signature sound.

(For those too young to remember, there was a popular Nashville sound in the late 60's that used a flat pick to play classical guitar on recordings. Besides Willie, Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed were also part of that "school" during that time period.) Willie mentions in interviews he was trying to sound like Django Reinhardt.

Anyway, a simple search reveals pictures of a short-haired Willie playing his shiny new Martin with NO HOLE in 1969. Anyway, Willie gets credit for the "hole" but Richie Havens was actually first....

[journeybear]

Somehow I've never noticed that about Richie Havens' guitar, though it cetainly makes sense. He had a very active attack - and I do mean "attack" - "thrash" before there was a genre by that name. He probably wasn't the first either, as people have been beating up on their instruments one way and another for a long time. But yeah ...

Speaking of Trigger, here's an article about his guitar with a bit of chat with his luthier, including photos. Incredibly, it has the original frets, however worn. Seems most of the focus on its wear has been on the strumming side, not the fretting. It's more dramatic, for sure.

[Simon DS]

Once the finish is worn off then holes in a guitar can happen quite quickly.
Just play your favourite guitar in a rain storm or occasionally soak the top in beer.

[journeybear]

Speaking of which ... Didn't know Snoop could sing. Not that there's a whole lot of melody, but he hit it.

[journeybear]

Just a few people at the show ...

[tmsweeney]

chomping at the bit for Snoop's country album to drop, maybe he can get Molly and Golden Highway as the studio band.