#237 Willie Nelson, 'Red Headed Stranger' (1975)

Previously #183

Willie Nelson’s 18th studio album was his first for Columbia. When signing with the label, his manager managed to negotiate complete creative control for Nelson on his records. Inspired by Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith’s song, ‘Tales Of The Red Headed Stranger,’ Nelson decided to create a record that would describe the events preceding and following the story in that song. He would compose his own songs, plus include his interpretations of songs by Fred Rose, Wolfe Gilbert and Hank Cochran, amongst others. Five and a half of the songs on the 15-track album were originals.

Nelson decided that this album needed minimal to no production and in turn, the songs are very sparse. Columbia was very underwhelmed by the recordings, wondering why Nelson had turned in a demo as a final album. As he had full creative control, they were forced to release it as it was. The album became a success, topping the Billboard Country Charts. It’s a true storytelling album. Nelson managed to masterfully weave a storyline throughout complementing others’ writing with his own. The album was so successful, in fact, that it was later developed into a film in 1986. This album established Willie Nelson as one of music’s true outlaw storytellers. It’s a pretty wild concept for a record in all regards, and I bet I know what influenced Nelson’s thought process.

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