Chicago Sun Times
by: Eliot Wald
October 23, 1978
Willie Nelson, the Texas Outlaw, conquers Chicago.
Willie Nelson isn’t quite the cross between folk hero and state religion that he is back in Texas, Nevertheless, redneck chic came out in force for him Sunday at the Aragon Ballroom, Vests, bandannas and, most of all, hats. A sea of Stetsons, Resistols, out-of-season straws and a sprinkling of baseball caps stitched with brands of earth-moving equipment, made it look like Texas. Ray Wylie Hubbard, Asleep at the Wheel and Willie himself provided sounds to match.
The main event was Willie Nelson, revered as the spiritual father of “new” country music. Long after the “Outlaw Country” tag has faded, Willie will be recalled in the same breath with Hank Williams as one of the two best songwriters to emerge from the C&W genre. At 45, Willie doesn’t look the part of a legend. He makes his mark with an unequaled collection of songs, a high, pure baritone and an unmistakable guitar style. Opening Sunday, as always, with “Whiskey River,” Willie launched into a nearly unbroken two hours of songs.
It’s easy to see why Nashville never took to Willie. His music constitutes the other end of the spectrum from the trailer court pathos of Nashville country. The heartaches are similar, but Nelson treats them like a novelist, dealing in causes and conditions, rather than a bartender pouring cures.
Flying through a medley of his early Nashville hits, Willie acknowledged the crowd’s whoops with a cordial tip of his beer can, and launched into a medley ending with his exquisite hit, “Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain.” If there is a more evocative voice anywhere in music, no one’s heard it yet. Defying the Aragon’s sewer-pipe acoustics and the audience’s rock predilections, Willie insisted on showing all his facets; the rollicking, the tender, the nostalgic, the Waylon ‘n Willie.
By the time it was over, hat’s flew onstage in tribute, 2,000 perople ignored the house lights to raise a five-minute chant of “More”, and Willie Nelson had proved that a man who can spurn Nashville and galvanize Texas can effortlessly confert a crumbling Uptown rock hall into a panhandle honkytonk.
The Aragon Ballroom is the name of two historic ballrooms. One, still in operation, is located in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom, located on West Lawrence Avenue approximately five miles north of downtown in the Entertainment District area known as Uptown, Chicago, was built in 1926. The Aragon Ballrom’s proximity to Chicago’s “el” trains helped people flock to the hall, and crowds often exceeded 18,000 guests over the six open nights each week. The Aragon Ballroom hosted nearly all of the top names of the big band era. Among the best known names were Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, Xavier Cugat, Glenn Miller, Lawrence Welk, Guy Lombardo, Dick Jurgens, Harry James, Kay Kyser, Benny Goodman, Sammy Kaye, Artie Shaw, Eddy Howard, Duke Ellington, Jimmy Dorsey, Wayne King, and many others
