Annie Nelson volunteers with COVID-19 vaccinations
March 1st, 2021?????? #CannaMom ? https://t.co/w412GrlXZH
— Willie's Reserve (@WilliesReserve) March 2, 2021
“Take care of yourself,” — Willie Nelson
March 1st, 2021
www.yahoo.com
Erin Donnelly
Willie Nelson, wellness guru? In 2015 the country music icon launched Willie’s Remedy, a line of hemp-infused coffee, tea and tinctures designed to “supplement a legendary life well-lived.” Now, just two months shy of his 88th birthday, Nelson is sharing his secret for longevity: staying active.
“If you want to live a long time, you have to take care of yourself,” the country music icon tells the Wall Street Journal in a new profile coinciding with the new release of his album of Frank Sinatra covers, titled That’s Life. “You have to pay for the day, every day. As you’ve always heard, if you don’t use it, you lose it. You need to move. So every day, I’ll jog or walk, do some sit ups — just a little something to pay for the day!”
It will come as little surprise, however, that the 87-year-old singer also credits his infamous weed habit for helping him ditch a hard-living lifestyle fueled by heavy drinking and up to three packs of cigarettes a day. Having battled breathing issues and emphysema in recent years, Nelson revealed in 2019 that he’d stopped smoking marijuana, though son Lukas Nelson later told fans that “between vaping, edibles, gummies, drops” and other ways to ingest cannabis, “I think it’s safe to say Willie will never stop enjoying Mary Jane!”
Those health issues haven’t slowed down Nelson’s musical ambitions, though the pandemic has.
“This is the worst time of my life,” he tells the newspaper. “I have never been this frustrated. I try to think positive, but I feel like I’m in jail — I can’t go here, I can’t go there — and that really pisses me off.”
Willie Nelson’s First Grammy (February 28, 1976)
February 28th, 2021
When Willie Nelson recorded his concept album Red Headed Stranger in Garland, Texas, in 1975, he insisted on simplicity for the tracks. But according to the books Willie, by Michael Bane, that simplicity proved a bit too much for the studio musicians and his record label.
As Willie recorded the song, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” he stopped the session, played through the tune with just guitar and vocal and asked the band to play only what was necessary. Several of the musicians, realizing that they basically had nothing to do, voluntarily got up and left the session.
Willie remembers that his record label was also not exactly receptive to the bare-bones product. “They expected more Shotgun Willie, something more tempo,” he says in the book. But the label released the album along with the sing, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” which surprisingly started climbing the charts. It became Willie’s first No. 1 hit in October of 1975.
“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” was also responsible for another Willie milestone. On Feb. 28, 1976, Willie picked up his first Grammy award, winning the honor for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male.
Willie Nelson, “Nothing I Can Do About it Now”
February 27th, 2021Willie Nelson’s Letters to America
February 26th, 2021
Willie Nelson’s Latest Book Offers Fans an Intimate Look At the Iconic Musician’s ThoughtsOn America, Family, Faith, Music, and More
Willie Nelson’s Letters to America Releasing This Summer from Harper Horizon
Harper Horizon has acquired the exclusive rights to release and distribute the latest book from legend Willie Nelson. Willie Nelson’s Letters to America will arrive in stores on June 29, 2021, and is available for preorder now at WilliesLetters.com.
Written in collaboration with longtime friend and Texas Monthly contributing editor Turk Pipkin, Willie Nelson’s Letters to America is a collection of intimate letters reminding readers of the endless promise and continuous obligations of all Americans — to themselves, to one another, and to their nation— to stand with unity, resolve, and faith.
Delivered with the same humor and poetic phrasing millions have come to love, Willie shares his thoughts on America’s past, present, and future, his closest family members, and his personal heroes, from the founding fathers to the leaders of future generations. The book also features Willie’s reflections on many of the classic lyrics that made him famous and loved by fans worldwide.
“We are witnessing a unique time in American history, between shifting cultural norms, political unrest, and the ongoing effects of the coronavirus, and it seems our nation is collectively reflecting on what it means to be an American,” says Andrea Fleck-Nisbet, publisher of Harper Horizon. “It seems only fitting that Willie Nelson, who has already so accurately defined the American spirit through his words and songs, now offer his thoughts on things we all hold dear: family, community, country, and faith. Harper Horizon is honored to carry Willie Nelson’s Letters to America to the nation.”
From his opening letter “Dear America” to his “Dear Road” epilogue, Willie digs deep into his heart and soul— and his music catalog— to offer fans, new and old, what can best be described as a sneak peek into the mind of one of America’s most iconic figures.
Willie Nelson, “That’s Life” — out now!
February 25th, 2021
| 1. | “Nice Work If You Can Get It“ | 2:35 |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | “Just in Time“ | 2:25 |
| 3. | “A Cottage for Sale“ | 2:54 |
| 4. | “I’ve Got You Under My Skin“ | 3:34 |
| 5. | “You Make Me Feel So Young“ | 2:52 |
| 6. | “I Won’t Dance” (featuring Diana Krall) | 3:25 |
| 7. | “That’s Life“ | 3:39 |
| 8. | “Luck Be a Lady“ | 3:04 |
| 9. | “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning“ | 2:58 |
| 10. | “Learnin’ the Blues“ | 3:31 |
| 11. | “Lonesome Road“ | 3:41 |
| Total length: | 34:38 |
Billy Gibbons talks about Willie Nelson on guitar
February 25th, 2021
www.TexasMonthly.com
by: Andy Langer
These days, Billy Gibbons describes ZZ Top as “four decades, same three guys, same three chords.” Indeed, by design, not much has changed about the self-proclaimed Little Ol’ Band From Texas: Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank Beard, who’ve been together since forming in Houston in 1969, still play the revved-up blues that made them arena-filling hit-makers for much of the seventies and eighties. But this month, with the blessing of his longtime bandmates, Gibbons will tour with a new outfit, the BFG’s, in support of his first-ever solo record, a Cuban-inspired set titled Perfectamundo. Their tour includes the Havana Jazz Festival, in December.
ANDY LANGER: You kicked off 2015 onstage with Willie Nelson at his annual New Year’s Eve gig, in Austin. What can you learn from playing for two hours with Willie?
BILLY GIBBONS: I wasn’t supposed to play two hours. I talked to him before the show and said, “How about we play ‘Milk Cow Blues’?” And Willie replied, “How about we play all the blues?” I still thought I could play a few songs and bow out, but his sets are so seamless I ended up staying the whole gig. And up close, it’s even more obvious just how exquisite a soloist he is. It goes beyond the simplicity of three-chord blues. It contains the elegance of that simplicity but gets into some very “adult” chords and melodic changes. The gypsy-jazz stuff that Willie’s capable of delivering is dazzling. I spent most of the night just watching his hands and trying to keep up.
Read Andy Langer’s entire interview here:
And check out Billy Gibbons new solo album (yeah, solo album).
– See more at: http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/zz-top-billy-gibbons-on-his-solo-record-perfectamundo/#sthash.L0hq5Dbd.dpuf
“Willie Nelson is my spiritual guru” — Margo Price
February 25th, 2021
www.Billboard.com
Margo Price calls Willie Nelson “like my spiritual guru,” and she aims to emulate his “calming energy.” To that end, “I feel a lot better when I’m smoking [weed] and not drinking so much,” she says. “It’s not as taxing on my body. I get on with my day. “I can’t go out and party like I used to,” admits Price. Self-care is her priority: healthy eating, exercise “and, honestly, smoking a lot of weed.” Years on the road meant lots of time eating at truck stops, getting very little sleep, “so the biggest thing for me now is staying well-rested and healthy. It sucks to have to cancel shows because you’re burned out.”
Willie Nelson: Life in Photos
February 25th, 2021
www.wonderwall.com
By Neia Balao
Willie Nelson was born toward the tail end of the Great Depression on April 29, 1933, in Abbott, Texas. He and sister Bobbie were raised by their grandparents, and when Willie was 6, his grandfather bought him his first guitar. He penned his first song a year later. Willie also played guitar for Bohemian Polka, a local band. He’s seen here early in his career, circa 1967.