New Willie Nelson Album “Ride Me Back Home” On The Way
Willie Nelson’s latest album will be called Ride Me Back Home, and will once again be produced by Buddy Cannon, with a release date forthcoming sometime in June. This is the news coming out of an exclusive SiriusXM taping that occurred at Willie’s ranch outside of Austin on April 13th in the chapel of his own private Western town, Luck, TX.
The new album will include multiple originals written by Willie with Buddy Cannon, as well as a few familiar tunes. Those who’ve seen Willie Nelson perform lately probably got a kick out of his rendition of Mac Davis’s 1980 hit “Hard To Be Humble.” Willie’s version apparently makes the track list, as does a cover of Guy Clark’s “My Favorite Picture Of You,” which was the title track from Clark’s final album released in 2013. There’s also a recording of Billy Joel’s “Just The Way You Are” that at some point may have been bound for a tribute for the piano legend that didn’t materialize, but will make the track list for the new album instead.
Of the originals on the new record, one is called “Come On Time,” which is said to carry the same strong theme of mortality as Willie’s recent “Still Not Dead” did. Another original is called “One More Song to Write,” and a third is called “The Seven Year Itch,” which Buddy Cannon says means something different to him every time he hears it. “I still don’t know what that is.”
The title track for the record was written by Sonny Throckmorton, who was said to be inspired to write the tune after he heard of Willie’s work adopting horses, which he stables at his Texas Hill Country ranch surrounding Luck. A picture of Willie with a horse adorns the front cover of Ride Me Back Home.
Expect the release of the full track list, official release date, a new single from the record, and more details soon.
April 17, 2019 @ 8:32 am
Another new Willie album to look forward to.His output since signing to Legacy has been excellent
April 17, 2019 @ 9:46 am
Can’t wait love ya Willie
April 17, 2019 @ 9:20 am
i’m more of a willie fan these days than I may have ever been . his sutff ( HIS stuff ) is simple, its real , its fun and entertaining and the man still sounds terrific .
saying that , i’m wondering about his album output . i’m wondering if its coming faster than people can find it or keep up? i know he isn’t expecting or perhaps even looking for chart activity ….but i wonder if releasing a bit less product would make each release a more special occasion .
his frank tribute , his gershwin tribute , his ray price tribute , the merle duet album , his own song output ,etc ,all seem to have flown under the radar and perhaps weren’t taken as seriously because of the frequency with which all of that product was released .
i’m mostly just musing aloud rhetorically here….. but yeah …..i scratch my head trying to determine his motus operandi.
April 17, 2019 @ 10:11 am
I don’t know about flying under the radar his recent albums have charted well.I think the strategy is one “proper” album per year and one legacy or tribute album to follow
April 17, 2019 @ 10:52 am
I’m happy willie charts well ……but as with so many artists …what does that really mean in terms of his music getting out there ? seems that 30,000 albums sold puts you at the top of a charts . then again , I’m guessing that’s just a bonus to willie . i’m sure he moves lots of product at shows .
April 17, 2019 @ 2:15 pm
I came here to say just that. His output has stayed steady since the 60s and 70s, even as others have moved to the ‘one album every year and and a half to every two years’ standard (or every 3-5 years if you’re a legacy act, which Willie certainly is). He works very fast and has an amazing knack for writing and selecting great songs.
April 17, 2019 @ 11:01 am
His music is deceptively simple. It’s actually pretty complex a lot of the time. Also, i think it’s funny when talking about a guy that’s got like 500 albums that he’s only now releasing music too fast for people to catch up with. Haha.
April 17, 2019 @ 9:38 am
Hot Dang! That short list of songs is mighty cool. Buddy Cannon and Willie make a good team. Cannon’s a decent songwriter on his own. Kenny Chesney has employed Cannon as his producer for decades. Did Willie and Buddy hook up via the Chesney-Cannon co-produced Willie Nelson album in 2006? No matter what… it works… and works well!
April 17, 2019 @ 11:19 am
From a Tennessean article in 2014:
But Willie trusts Buddy, and has since 2007, when Nelson added a vocal to Kenny Chesney’s version of the Cannon-produced classic “Lucky Old Sun.”
“He came in and did his vocal, and I made a rough mix and sent it to him,” Cannon says. “A couple of days later, he called my cell and said, ‘Hey, Buddy, this is Willie. That’s the best version I’ve ever heard on that song. Let’s find some songs and go make a record.’ ”
Orginal article: https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/peter-cooper/2014/06/25/buddy-cannon-witnesses-willie-nelsons-magic/11379661/
April 17, 2019 @ 9:58 am
Willie has been my outlaw hero since 1975.
Four, 4th of July picnics, and a few other concerts along the way. Willie and Merle will always be the best . They sang of Truth and Life.
Willie keeps on keeping on top of things , just a little slower and a few more joint breaks. LOL
Playing guitar and singing with Willie is on my bucket and yes smoke a joint with the man.
God Bless you Willie !
April 17, 2019 @ 12:03 pm
I see what you’re saying. Those album releases definitely didn’t feel much like “events” at the time they were released. Though, the stats tell us that 85 year olds that live and work at the pace Willie does won’t be able to keep it up forever.. So I’m happy he’s getting all of this music out there so quickly. I imagine he’s got a ton of ideas for projects that he still wants to see realized.
On a side note.. I’d love to see some type of Bootleg Series for Willie like we’ve been seeing with Bob Dylan releases for the past 15 years or so.. I imagine there’s some pretty fascinating outtakes/live shows sitting in the vault that should be enjoyed. Merle Haggard’s music deserves this, too.
April 17, 2019 @ 2:38 pm
The man is over 80- I’d say just getting up every morning is an event. For instance when tell me to have a good day I smile and tell them I woke up how can it be bad? So, Willie still releasing albums makes each one an event even if he put out one every day of the week- enjoy folks, he won’t be around for motive questioning forever and best of all- he’s doing what he wants to do- his way!
April 22, 2019 @ 4:41 pm
Great decade to be a Willie fan.
Quality and Quantity.