| Willie Nelson and Family | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Studio | RCA Victor Studios, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 32:18 | |||
| Label | RCA Records | |||
| Producer | Felton Jarvis | |||
| Willie Nelson chronology | ||||
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Willie Nelson and Family is the twelfth studio album by American country music singer Willie Nelson, released in 1971.
Although Nelson continued to be frustrated with the production and poor sales of his albums at RCA, his live show continued to develop in the early seventies as he started acquiring the core members of his band – Bee Spears on bass, Paul English on drums, Mickey Raphael on harmonica, and his sister Bobbie on piano - which he referred to as “Family.” Nelson later recalled after first playing with Raphael he “began to see how, rather than as an occasional sit-in, he could become part of my family – a loose term that I started using to describe my band. As a depiction of people coming together to make music, I like the term 'family' more than 'band.' It’s a warmer word that suggests genuine care and love.” [1] Nelson had also discovered his Martin N-20 classical guitar, known as “Trigger,” which further contributed to his evolving live sound, but his albums at RCA remained mired in the staid Nashville formula. In the 2003 documentary Lost Highway the singer explained, “I had a pretty good following on the road travelling but what I was doing wasn’t coming out on the record, and I felt like if we could’ve got into the studio with the band, and do it the way we’d been doing it every night, we would’ve had a better chance.” Nelson would get his opportunity to record with his band in 1973 when he recorded the LP Shotgun Willie in New York's Atlantic Studios with Jerry Wexler, but Willie Nelson and Family followed the same production blueprint as his recent RCA albums.
The collection contains a mix of covers, such as the Hank Williams classic "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", and original compositions, including the prophetic "What Can You Do to Me Now?", a forlorn ballad Nelson wrote with Hank Cochran in December 1970 just days before his house burned down on December 23. [2] The Texan later quipped, "Even though the title – 'What Can You Do to Me Now?' – seemed to invite trouble, the story was really about getting strong in the face of adversity." [3] Nelson also wrote "I'm a Memory", which was released as a single and reached number 28 on the country singles chart. Willie Nelson and Family also contains Nelson's first cover of "Today I Started Loving You Again", written by Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens. Haggard later appeared at Nelson's first Dripping Springs Picnic in 1974 and recorded several duet albums with Nelson. In his 2015 autobiography Nelson wrote:
Nelson, who covered Joni Mitchell and Fred Neil on his Both Sides Now album, continued to show his appreciation for the new generation of singer-songwriters of the youth culture at the time by recording James Taylor's "Fire and Rain". Nelson had also started cutting material by more progressive country tune-smiths like Mickey Newbury and, on this album, Kris Kristofferson, a "brilliant writer" [4] whose "Sunday Morning Coming Down" contained the poetic realism similar to his own lyrics. Nelson re-recorded the song on his tribute LP Sings Kristofferson in 1979.
AllMusic: “Over the years, Nelson has shown that he sometimes looks at relationships differently than the average songwriter (such as ‘Crazy’), with a little more thought and from new perspectives. After all, not everyone's life is moon, June, and honeymoon. Two of the finest examples of the Willie way are on this album: ‘I'm A Memory’ and, especially, ‘What Can You Do to Me Now?’
Like most of Nelson's albums from RCA, this was never issued on tape. In addition, as of 2023, this album is one of three original Willie Nelson RCA albums that have not been reissued in its original form (the others are 1967's "'The Party's Over' and Other Great Willie Nelson Songs" and 1970's "Laying My Burdens Down".
However, all ten of the album's songs were issued on the 1998 box set "Nashville Was The Roughest...", an eight-disc collection of the songs Nelson recorded for RCA and Monument Records from July 1964 to April 1972. In addition, some of the album's songs, such as "Fire and Rain" and "I'm A Memory", saw popularity after Nelson's rise to prominence.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "What Can You Do to Me Now?" | Willie Nelson, Hank Cochran | 3:27 |
| 2. | "Sunday Morning Coming Down" | Kris Kristofferson | 5:48 |
| 3. | "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"" | Hank Williams | 2:24 |
| 4. | "Fire and Rain" | James Taylor | 2:57 |
| 5. | "Kneel at the Feet of Jesus"" | Nelson | 2:47 |
| 6. | "I'm a Memory" | Nelson | 2:24 |
| 7. | "Yours Love" | Harlan Howard | 3:02 |
| 8. | "I Can Cry Again" | Nelson | 2:57 |
| 9. | "That's Why I Love Her So" | Nelson | 2:31 |
| 10. | "Today I Started Loving You Again" | Merle Haggard, Bonnie Owens | 4:01 |
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country singer, guitarist and songwriter. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound. The critical success of his album Shotgun Willie (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978), made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. Nelson has acted in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana.
Merle Ronald Haggard was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
"Pancho and Lefty", originally "Poncho and Lefty", is a song written by American country music singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Perhaps his most well-known song, Van Zandt recorded his original version of this song for his 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. The song has been recorded by several artists since its composition and performance by Van Zandt, with the Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard version selling the most copies and reaching number one on the Billboard country chart.
Shotgun Willie is the 16th studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson, released on June 11, 1973. The recording marks a change of style for Nelson, who later stated that the album "cleared his throat". When Nelson refused to sign an early extension of his contract with RCA Records in 1972, the label decided not to release any further recordings. Nelson hired Neil Reshen as his manager, and while Reshen negotiated with RCA, Nelson moved to Austin, Texas, where the ongoing hippie music scene at the Armadillo World Headquarters renewed his musical style. In Nashville, Nelson met producer Jerry Wexler, vice president of Atlantic Records, who was interested in his music. Reshen solved the problems with RCA and signed Nelson with Atlantic as their first country music artist.
Michael Siegfried Raphael is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973.
Jewels is a studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Waylon Jennings, released in 1968 on RCA Victor.
Waylon Live is a live album by Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1976.
Last of the Breed is a two-disc album by American country music artists Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price, released in 2007. It debuted at number 64 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 13,000 copies in its first week. The album has 100,000 copies in the U.S. as of May 2015. The album was ranked number 33 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.
Yesterday's Wine is the 13th studio album and a concept album by country singer Willie Nelson. Nelson had been recording for RCA Victor since the early 1960s, and had released no significant hit records. By 1970, his recordings had reached mid-chart positions. Nelson lost the money he made from his song-writing royalties by financing concert tours that were generally unsuccessful and unprofitable. In addition to problems with his music career, Nelson had a troubled personal life. He had divorced his wife, Shirley Collie, and his Tennessee ranch had been destroyed by a fire.
Both Sides Now is the tenth studio album by country singer Willie Nelson, released in 1970.
My Own Peculiar Way is the ninth studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. It was his last release in the 1960s. Bergen White was the conductor and arranger. This became Willie's first studio album in which he used his new classical acoustic guitar called Martin N-20 that he named "Trigger".
Good Times is the eighth studio album by American country music singer Willie Nelson, released in 1968. Arrangements were by Anita Kerr, Bill Walker and Ray Stevens.
Texas in My Soul is the seventh studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. It was an early concept album that aimed to pay tribute to the State of Texas. The original album artwork features the Alamo, along with three San Antonio construction projects completed in 1968: the Tower of the Americas, HemisFair Arena and the HemisFair monorail system.
The Party's Over and Other Great Willie Nelson Songs is the sixth studio album by country singer Willie Nelson.
Country Willie: His Own Songs is the third studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. This was Nelson's third album, his first for RCA Victor.
Here's Willie Nelson is the second studio album by country singer Willie Nelson.
Country Music Concert is a 1966 live album by country singer Willie Nelson.
Ralph Eugene Mooney was an American steel guitar player and songwriter, he was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1983. He was the original steel guitarist in Merle Haggard's band, The Strangers and Waylon Jennings's band, The Waylors.
Strangers is the debut studio album by American country music artist Merle Haggard. It was released on September 27, 1965, by Capitol Records.
Red Lane was an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist who was a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1993). A self-taught musician, Lane began writing songs in the early 1960s and over his career wrote or co-wrote 60 songs that reached the U.S. top 100 country charts. Outside of country music, Lane's songs have been recorded by a diverse group of artists including Bob Dylan, Ray Charles and Solomon Burke. He has credits as composer or instrumentalist on at least 386 albums.
