www.austinpost.org
by: C. Centeno

Country music’s Willie Nelson, will hopefully be back in outer space.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration asks the public to vote for their favorite song in the top 40 songs found on their website.  The top 40 songs are from the previous music list that NASA played in their past mission as wake-up call for the astronauts in flight.

The wake-up song, NASA’s website said, has been part of the space program since the Apollo missions. Before, only family members and the astronauts themselves are allowed to pick the songs. But they are now giving the public a chance to vote for their favorite song from their Top 40 list and yes, Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” is on that list. Other artists on the list are Elton John, Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Buffett and a lot more. The two songs with most number of votes will be played on space on STS- 133 Mission with expected launch date of November 11, 2010.

The music from the Star Trek series is currently number one with Willie still below the chain. Not too late for Willie’s fans though, you can still vote until the target launch date.

You can vote for Willie or forother favorites in NASA‘s website.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010
Where: Mishawaka Amphitheatre
13714 Poudre Canyon Highway
Bellvue, CO
Cost: $12 in advance; $15 day of show
Information: (970) 482-4420
 www.MishawakaConcerts.com

www.coloradoan.com
by:  Taylor D. Iversen

Lukas Nelson and his band keep it real.

The 21-year-old son of country icon Willie Nelson believes in keeping it real so much that he decided to name his band after the concept.

“I started the band after I moved to Los Angeles. Due to the sort of fake nature of that place, I named the band Promise of the Real to combat that kind of vibe,” said Lukas Nelson, who will perform with his band Saturday at Mishawaka Amphitheatre.

Nelson defines keeping it real as “being honest. Not necessarily perfect, but human. Just kind of for better or for worse, a person being who they really are.”

Nelson began playing with Promise of the Real in January 2009. Since then, the group has played numerous high-profile shows with notable musicians such as Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan, and he even toured with B.B. King.

In 2009, Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real released the EP “Brando’s Paradise Sessions,” and they now have a full-length CD completed and waiting to be released.

“The album is done,” Nelson said. “We’re talking to a record label. We’re going to be releasing it within the next few months.”

Like his dad, Lukas Nelson can’t wait to get on the road again.

“We’ll be touring a lot; we plan on touring as much as we can,” he said of their plans for the future. “Slowly but surely, it’s all coming together. I just kind of want to keep going and get better all the time. I want to always be able to play. It’d be nice to be able to pay the rent, too.”

When asked how he felt about being compared to his father (whom he’ll be opening for on Sunday at Red Rocks Amphitheatre), Nelson said, “It doesn’t bother me; it’s just part of who I am. I appreciate the comparison, but I also like it when people realize we aren’t the same.”

The interview originally aired July 16, 1996, and will be available tonight at 5:00 p.m., at www.npr.org.

Willie Nelson brought his guitar to the Fresh Air studios in 1996 for an interview and in-studio performance. During his visit, the country-music icon told host Terry Gross about the genesis of songs like “The Family Bible” and “Crazy” — the song Patsy Cline turned into a country classic — and took his timeworn Martin guitar out for intimate, idiosyncratic performances of several tunes, including a soulful rendition of “Amazing Grace.”

Nelson first established himself as a songwriter in the 1960s, with songs like “Hello Walls,” “Crazy” and “Night Life.” In the 1970s, he broke through as a performer as one of the so-called “country outlaws.” His music stripped away the slick surface of commercial country music, while his long hair and blue jeans defied the rhinestone-studded style of other country performers.

During his performance, Nelson told Gross that he wrote three of his classics in the span of one week.

“Let’s see, in one week I wrote ‘Crazy,’ ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’ and ‘Night Life’ … That’s when I decided maybe to go to Nashville,” Nelson said. “So I took off to Nashville in my ’46 Buick and went immediately to a place called Tutu’s Orchid Lounge, where I had heard was the spot to be if you want to find some songwriters. And, sure enough, it was the great spot to be. … I wish I had known then what [the songs] were going to do. Maybe it’s better that I didn’t. Made enough mistakes as it was. I had no ideas that these songs would be as successful as they have been.”

Over the past 50 years, Willie Nelson has recorded 250 albums and appeared in 25 films. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Farm Aid, which Nelson helped organize. His newest album is titled Willie Nelson: Country Music.

This interview was originally broadcast on July 16, 1996.

Interview Highlights

On Frank Sinatra’s Influence

“He was a big influence on my singing and he still is. I still enjoy listening and singing with Frank Sinatra. We did a show in Palm Springs not too long ago. There’s a whole lot of other guys that I picked up some things from — Bing Crosby and Perry Como and Ray Charles [and] George Jones: all the great singers.”

On Writing ‘Crazy’

“I went to Nashville and I had that song with some others, and I met Hank Cochran, who was with the publishing company that I eventually signed with, thanks to Hank. And Hank knew Patsy [Cline]. And he took the song to Patsy and to [her husband] Charlie. I think maybe Charlie heard it first and thought it would be a good song for Patsy. … She wasn’t too sure about it. … I think the first day, she went into the session she spent four hours trying to sing it the way I was singing it, and it wasn’t working for her. And the next day, the producer said, ‘Why don’t you sing it like Patsy one time?’ And that’s what she did. And that song has gone on to be the top jukebox song of all time: Patsy Cline’s recording of ‘Crazy.’ ”

Here is link to NPR site for more info:  NPR

www.ktvu.com

This week, one lucky Ticket 2′s Day winner at KTVU will receive a pair of dining tickets to see Willie Nelson at Wente Vineyard in Livermore on Monday, September 13th. All you have to do is watch Mornings On 2 Tuesday to get the secret word and then enter the contest. In addition to seeing Nelson perform in the stunning ambiance of a spectacular vineyard setting, the winner and a guest will also enjoy a meal from the Wente’s award-winning restaurant.

Country Legend Hits The Road Again

Legendary country songwriter Willie Nelson could easily be resting on his laurels at this point in his 50+ year career, staying home and letting the royalties from the sale of his voluminous back catalogue keep him and his extended family well fed for decades. Instead, the septuagenarian troubadour insists on touring the world for at least 250 days a year, playing marathon three-hour concerts all the while.

Though country industry insiders couldn’t envision the plump Texan with the quavering, nasal voice and jazzy behind-the-beat delivery as a singing star, there was no denying Nelson’s talent for songwriting. “Hello Walls,” “Funny How Time Slips Away” and Patsy Cline’s famous take on “Crazy” all became big hits, but the singer’s own career sputtered with fits and starts throughout the ’60s as he fought against the slick orchestrations that had become standard. It wasn’t until Nelson cultivated a younger rock audience interested in classic, stripped-down honky tonk during the next decade that his career took off.

After the initial crossover success of ‘The Red Headed Stranger’ in 1975, Nelson was credited as a pioneer of the “outlaw” country movement along with fellow mavericks Waylon Jennings and Jessie Coulter. He recorded duets with everyone from Merle Haggard to Julio Iglesias, started acting in films, charted an album of pop standards (‘Stardust’) and formed the country supergroup The Highwaymen with Kris Kristofferson and the late Jennings and Johnny Cash in the process of becoming an American pop icon. Still producing vital music after all these years — recent efforts have included his Grammy-nominated collaborative album with fellow country legends Asleep at the Wheel, his Blue Note exploration of jazz standards ‘American Classic’ and his duet-heavy collection ‘Lost Highway’ — Nelson is one country artist every true music fan should experience live at least once.

To enter the contest click here.

That’s a direct quote from George,  who is one of those fans who goes back to the hotel after a Willie Nelson & Family concert, and sends me pictures.  Whattaguy.  Thanks, George!  He sent these from the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas in 2007.

“Hi, Linda.
 
An up-to-the-minute report from the Road…just got back to our hotel room from the show.
 
At the last minute my wife and I decided to head to Las Vegas for tonight’s show at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.  I’ve attached a few photos for the blog.  Enjoy!
 
George
San Diego
 
PS.  It was a great show.  Willie was on fire!”

The Waterfront

Willie Nelson receives award from Brenda Lee.

“I want to thank all of my friends, and all the people in this town, that made it possible for me to be standing here.  Hearing all these nice things said about me – I almost gave myself a standing ovation.   I held back, though.” — Willie Nelson

www.billboard.biz
by:  Elizabeth Hurst

The music community came together in Downtown Nashville on August 29 to celebrate pioneers Fred Foster, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson with the seventh annual Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award. Vince Gill hosted the ceremony for a packed room of music industry executives, creators, friends and family. The Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award was created “to recognize music trailblazers who exemplify the highest quality of leadership and leading by example.”

Photo:  Kay Williams

Kyle Young, Director, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum; Karen Oertley, Executive Director, Leadership Music; honorees Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster and Willie Nelson; Jamie Cheek, Board President, Leadership Music and Partner, Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy; and Del Bryant, President & CEO, BMI.

Thanks to Alice from Georgia for finding more pics from the Nashville tribute to Willie Nelson, Fred Foster, Kris Kristofferson.  The newspaper the Tennesseean posted pictures from the event at their site, www.tennessean.com.