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By James Beaty
It’s fitting Willie Nelson became the first country music artist to receive the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song during a ceremony held Wednesday night at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington D.C.
He helped introduce — or re-introduce — a whole new generation to the Great American Songbook through his 1978 album “Stardust.” With the album, he pumped fresh life into songs many of the younger members of his audience previously associated more with the likes of Lawrence Welk than with America’s favorite outlaw musician.
Here was the guy who basically gave the kiss-off to the country music establishment in the early 1970s and moved from Nashville to Austin so he could do things his way. Who would have thought at the time that “his way” would evolve into recording a handful of standards — many of which were recorded years earlier by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and others.
The album proved a revelation to me. Although I was already familiar with “Georgia on My Mind” through Ray Charles’ resplendent recording, and had heard the Righteous Brothers’ version of “Unchained Melody,” most songs on the “Stardust” album were new to me and to many others of my generation. After buying and listening to Nelson’s album, I marveled at how I had been able to make it that far through life without hearing such masterful songs such as Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust,” or Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies.” I especially liked “All of Me,” previously recorded in separate versions by Sinatra and Billie Holiday.
I felt especially taken with the album closer, a song called “Someone to Watch Over Me” — written by a couple of guys named George and Ira Gershwin.
Years before everyone from Linda Ronstadt to Rod Stewart and now even Bob Dylan recorded their own album of standards — Willie’s “Stardust” reminded everyone how a great song will live forever.
No longer were the tunes associated exclusively with performers from the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s. Willie brought a new vibrancy to songs he had heard as a kid growing up in Abbott, Texas. His band swung on the faster songs such as Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and the new arrangements by Booker T. Jones enveloped ballads such as “September Song” and “Moonlight in Vermont” in layers of warmth.
One of the best things about the album proved once again to be Willie’s nimble guitar playing on the weathered classical Martin guitar he affectionately named Trigger, after the singing cowboy Roy Rogers’ storied horse. Willie’s virtuoso playing on the album, especially on “All of Me,” proved reminiscent of the style of another of my favorites — the European gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.
During the Gershwin Award ceremony Wednesday night, Willie unleashed a surprise on the audience. He’s recorded a new album of George Gershwin standards, named “Summertime” in honor of one of Gershwin’s most enduring songs — a song Willie previously recorded with Oklahoma’s own Leon Russell on their 1979 album “One for the Road.”
Willie, at 82, remains a highly relevant artist. His release earlier this year, a collaborative effort with Merle Haggard called “Django and Jimmie” hit number one on the Billboard Country Music Album Charts and number seven on the Billboard Top 200 charts. The title is a tribute to the aforementioned Reinhardt and to Jimmie Rodgers, the man also known as the blue yodeler and Father of Country Music.
Willie also continues to constantly tour, staying on the road for much of the year, with many stops in Oklahoma.
One thing about Willie — many well-known individuals such as musicians, actors, politicians and sports figures are entirely different than their public images. Not with Willie; what you see is what you get. I’ve interviewed and met with him several times, with one of the most memorable meetings occurring after he traveled here to perform as part of McAlester’s Centennial Celebration in a concert presented by the News-Capital.
Afterwards, I met with Willie on his bus for a wide-ranging interview. One of the things I most remember is asking him about when he wrote the song “Crazy” — which Patsy Cline recorded in 1962. Did he immediately recognize it as a timeless classic of did he think of it at the time as just another song?
Willie chuckled and said “I’m just egotistical enough, I think they’re all timeless classics.”
Later, as I got ready to step off the bus, I felt like I should tell him something.
“Hey Willie,” I said, “thanks for recording ‘Stardust.’” I told him how it had started me on a lifelong love affair with the Great American Songbook and all of the great artists who had recorded or wrote those songs. He grinned slightly and gave a nod in acknowledgement. I also told him how many of the people in the McAlester area who I knew were elated about him helping McAlester celebrate its Centennial.
I turned to go, but Willie had something else to say.
“Maybe we’ll meet again down the road someday,” he said.
Nelson still stays on the road for much of the year, continuing to bring his music to the people around the nation, including Oklahoma. He has a concert scheduled for Nov. 27 at the WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville.
Now, I think it’s amazing the whole nation, through the Library of Congress, has recognized Willie for his contributions to American music by awarding him the Gershwin Prize. Among the artists gathered at the ceremony to pay him tribute through song were Neil Young, Paul Simon, Allison Krauss, Roseanne Cash, Jamey Johnson, Buckwheat Zydeco and others. PBS plans to broadcast the program on Jan. 27.
Willie’s music is as relevant as today’s headlines. He closed the Gershwin concert with a song from a 1986 album, “Living in the Promiseland.” A video clip of the concert shows him saying “I think this is one of the most appropriate times we could do for this period in America,” then singing the song’s opening lines “Give us your tired and weak and we will make them strong.” The song concludes with the lines “There is a winding road, across the shifting sand, and room for everyone, living in the Promiseland.”
Although the Library of Congress provided a much more eloquent way of showing appreciation of what Willie has done for music in America and around the world, I can’t resist saying it one more time.
Thanks, Willie.