Willie Nelson to Toast Frank Sinatra in “That’s Life”

Willie Nelson is paying tribute to close friend and musical colleague Frank Sinatra with his 71st studio album and 15th album for Sony’s Legacy imprint called That’s Life to be released on February 26th, 2021. It’s not the first time Willie will tribute Ol’ Blue Eyes. His 2018 album My Way did similar, and ended up earning Willie Nelson a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Solo Album.
To capture the essence of Sinatra, Nelson recorded the new album at Capitol Studios in Hollywood where many of Sinatra’s most memorable recordings were captured, with additional work done at Willie’s Pedernales Studios in Austin, Texas. Producing the album will once again be Buddy Cannon along with Matt Rollings, who worked on the last Sinatra tribute as well. Along with reprising 11 songs from the Great American Songbook made famous by Frank, the record will also include lush string and horn arrangements.
Grammy-winning engineer Al Schmitt mixed the new record, with Kristin Wilkinson and Chris McDonald handling the orchestral arrangements. That’s Life also sees contributions from Mickey Raphael on harmonica, Dave Matthews Band saxophonist Jeff Coffin, and Grammy-winning vocalist Diana Krall on the song “I Won’t Dance.”
The cover of Sinatra’s 1955 album In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning was the inspiration for the cover art of That’s Life. Ahead of the release, Willie Nelson has revealed his take on the song “A Cottage for Sale” (listen below). Penned by Willard Robison and Larry Conley, Frank Sinatra recorded the song for his 1959 album No One Cares.
That’s Life is now available for pre-order, while a limited-edition marble blue-colored vinyl will be available exclusively at Barnes & Noble.
TRACK LIST:
- Nice Work If You Can Get It (Ira Gershwin & George Gershwin; Sinatra-Basie: An Historic Musical First, 1962)
- Just In Time (Adolph Green, Jule Styne & Betty Comden; Come Dance With Me!, 1959)
- A Cottage For Sale (Larry Conley & Willard Robison; No One Cares, 1959)
- I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Cole Porter; Songs For Swingin’ Lovers!, 1956)
- You Make Me Feel So Young (Josef Myrow & Mack Gordon; Songs For Swingin’ Lovers!, 1956)
- I Won’t Dance – featuring Diana Krall (Jerome Kerr, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields; A Swingin’ Affair!, 1957)
- That’s Life (Dean Kay & Kelly Gordon, That’s Life, 1966)
- Luck Be A Lady (Frank Loesser; My Kind Of Broadway, 1965)
- In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning (David Mann & Bob Hilliard; In The Wee Small Hours, 1955)
- Learnin’ The Blues (Dolores Vicki Silvers; Session with Sinatra EP, single, 1955)
- Lonesome Road (Nathaniel Shilkret & Gene Austin; A Swingin’ Affair!, 1957)
December 29, 2020 @ 9:57 am
I never got the Frank Sinatra thing.
Not saying he was a bad entertainer, because he wasn’t.
It’s just that there were others of his era who were significantly better singers and performers.
Dean Martin and Tony Bennett, just to name a couple.
December 29, 2020 @ 11:01 am
Sinatra was admired by other musicians and singers–including Bennet and Martin– as a master singer and artist.
There’s a story that when Martin had something of a resurgence on Reprise Records in the early 60s with “Memories Are Made of This,” and had his TV show on NBC, he teased Sinatra and said, “Frank, you may be a better singer than I am, but I sell more records.” Sinatra then had his own resurgence with the platinum “Strangers In the Night.”
December 29, 2020 @ 11:25 am
Can’t go wrong with any of the names you mention, but I think Frank was a star first which probably endears him to people of a certain age (e.g. Willie). Frank hit the top of the charts with the Harry James Orchestra before WWII – a good decade before Tony or Dean became famous. Sinatra also reinvented himself in the early 50s when Columbia dropped him. He revived his career enough for Capitol to sign him.
Growing up, it was always Sinatra in our house. Sid Mark’s show on Saturday nights were syndicated up to NY. When “Put Your Dreams Away” came on, I knew it was bedtime.
December 29, 2020 @ 1:37 pm
The last great “American Songbook” Sinatraphile DJ/radio personality, Jonathan Schwartz was fired from WNYC three years ago this month in the “MeToo” wave in the media–at 80 years old. Evidently, he’d engaged in some behavior toward one or more women at the station that was deemed fireworthy under the present rules–though neither the station nor he offered any details.
December 30, 2020 @ 7:14 am
There’s a name from the past. My mom is a fan of Jonathan Schwartz (well, except his love for the Red Sox). I remember him from his WNEW-AM days. Eating lunch meant listening to William B Williams host the Make-Believe Ballroom.
My favorite Standards show was Rich Conaty’s “The Big Broadcast” on WFUV on Sunday nights.
I haven’t listened much to Joe Piscopo’s new Sinatra show on WABC yet. Sadly, terrestrial radio is, at best, my 3rd option for listening to music.
December 30, 2020 @ 10:49 am
I remember William B Williams from TV commercials for Genovese Drug Stores (apparently no connection to the crime family of the same name).
I don’t remember my parents listening much to WNEW-AM. I remember John Gambling’s Rambling with Gambling show on WOR and also my Dad liked the country station WHN. Del DeMontreux is the DJ name I remember from WHN. We kids preferred WABC, of course.
December 30, 2020 @ 3:26 pm
I was happy to bounce between WNBC 660 and WABC 770. My brothers were older than me so they preferred the FM version of WNEW.
December 30, 2020 @ 9:53 am
Apparently the Schwartz wasn’t with him.
As someone who owns every note available by Sinatra, Bennett, Andy Williams, Vic Damone, and Johnny Mathis, my humble opinion is that the others were better “vocalists” than Sinatra (sort of like comparing Vince Gill to Luke Combs. Both great but very different). But Sinatra revolutionized music and paved the way for them. His phrasing influenced every performer after him; he was the first teen idol; and he invented the modern album and concept album. Not to mention an extraordinary catalog. Popular music began with Bing Crosby, then Sinatra, then a flood of everyone else. Looking forward to Willie’s new album.
December 29, 2020 @ 12:17 pm
He was the voice of America, Big Tex, that not only survived but won the war. People were ready to drink, get crazy, and make babies. Frank was the Humphrey Bogart of pop. Like Bogie, he drew the babes, but unlike world-weary Bogie, he had postwar swagger. You know who his hero was? Ella Fitzgerald. And for good reason. They were masters of their craft, could stand in front of an orchestra, tape running, and lay it down in one take. I’m a fan, even though it was music for big city people and Hollywood. They knew how to wear a suit.
If you’re into that sort of thing.
December 29, 2020 @ 3:18 pm
If you think Bennet and Martin are superior to Sinatra then either you don’t really know Sinatra or you confuse personality with musicality.
Ans I love Bennet and Martin. However, there has not been a singer that brought lyrics to live the way Sinatra did.
December 29, 2020 @ 3:51 pm
Danny:
If you think Sinatra was superior to Bennett and Martin then either you don’t really know Bennett and Martin or you confuse braggadocio with musicality.
Sinatra was, sadly, defined by his “little man complex,” and that’s not something to be admired.
December 29, 2020 @ 6:47 pm
That is crazy. Sinatra was so superior to Bennett and Martin. They were minor leaguers compared to him. Their place in music history is minuscule where Frank is an all time legend.
December 29, 2020 @ 7:35 pm
Martin is a significant figure in 2nd-half 20th Century–or ’50s to ’80s–entertainment history between his music, his comedy act and movies with Jerry Lewis, and his prime-time TV variety series, which morphed into the celebrity roast specials, that became somewhat iconic. But he does not approach Sinatra’s body of work as a musical artist.
December 29, 2020 @ 7:39 pm
Sinatra glommed onto the gangster mafia class of the day. He had the right kind of surname and played up his connections to organized crime. He pretended to be a tough guy even though he was 140 pounds soaking wet and had ears that stuck out past his shoulders. He was far from the best singer of the era and really deserved no greater respect than any of the other crooners of that generation. All of those peers paying “respect” were really just “kissing the ring” of a guy who was a mafioso. Robert Goulet was a far better talent. He had a better voice, better timing, charisma, etc. Goulet, by most accounts, was a decent human, respectful, and kind to people who knew him. Sinatra was a punk who deserved no respect and led many decent people astray.
December 29, 2020 @ 8:40 pm
Oh, please. Let me put this in a way that gets back to the specified subject matter of this website: That’s akin to saying “Ray Stevens was a far better country music talent than George Jones–better voice, better timing, charisma, etc. Stevens, by most accounts, was a decent human, respectful, and kind to people who knew him. Jones was a punk who deserved no respect and led many decent people astray.”
December 30, 2020 @ 8:48 am
I don’t understand the Ray Stevens comparison. What do you mean?
December 30, 2020 @ 3:08 pm
It’s called an analogy.
December 30, 2020 @ 6:08 pm
But, why Ray Stevens?
December 30, 2020 @ 7:24 am
RD:
Excellent analysis.
I have never admired guys with a “little man complex,” therefore I never admired Sinatra. That, and the fact that you and I have both named contemporaries who were much better singers than Sinatra.
Myths die hard.
January 1, 2021 @ 3:49 pm
It’s crazy to think that Martin and bennet were as good as Sinatra when it comes to singing just sit back and listen to the album only the lonely. . Or any capitol recording. If Sinatra had stopped in 1963 then there would be no debate about whou was the best . It just that he went on for so long that people forget how good he was .
January 15, 2021 @ 7:05 pm
Frank, and Dean, and Tony, and Perry, and Sammy Davis Jr., they were all great musicians, great performers, each with his own voice, his own style . . . they all admired and learned from each other . . . trying to peg Frank as better than Tony or Dean as better than Frank is just silly . . . and no, you can’t walk down any street and pick out 1 in 25 who have better voices than Frank . . . you might be able to find 1 in a million who are as good . . . Frank didn’t do everything just right, but neither did anybody else . . . nobody does . . . of course you’re entitled to your opinion, but I don’t see any point in trying to rank these guys . . . at their level of musicianship it can’t be done . . . and Willie’s right in there . . .
December 29, 2020 @ 10:06 am
This is great, Willie is so prolific, and what great songs, I’ve always been a big Frank fan, the ‘King of Hoboken’
Thanks Willie for another great record!
December 29, 2020 @ 10:13 am
I am personally excited to hear his take on “You Make Me Feel So Young”.
December 29, 2020 @ 10:35 am
First volume was good so looking forward to this
December 29, 2020 @ 11:47 am
kudos to ANYONE reminding us what a GREAT song sounds like musically and lyrically in these times of disposable ,often machine-made music . fortunately so many artists still go the the well for these gems ( recently james taylor ) and allow yet another generation an opportunity to be moved and inspired by songs crafted by the best . this music ALWAYS ups the game for young writers who are as serious about the music and the art as they may be about the business of music . lyrically and musically , contemporary mainstream pop and ‘country’ are at an ‘artistic’ low . you don’t need these gems to point that out but it sure makes it that much easier to realize that when they do .
December 29, 2020 @ 12:11 pm
Willie Nelson is a national treasure.
They should roll him up, smoke him good, and put him in the Smithsonian.
And for God’s sake, yes to Capitol Records.
December 29, 2020 @ 12:54 pm
Never cared for Sinatra cause that’s all my mom would sing around the house plus never cared much for his voice
December 30, 2020 @ 7:31 am
Strait:
I never cared for Sinatra’s voice, either. It totally lacks any distinguishing timbre to make it unique, unlike Martin and Bennett.
I could pick one out of every 25 guys that I meet on the street today and they would have voices that were just as good . . . and unremarkable . . . as Sinatra’s.
December 30, 2020 @ 3:16 pm
Gee, he’s been fooling people for 70-plus years–not even death has stopped him–and people with musical credentials a lot higher than yours have been remarking about that unremarkable voice for all that time.
December 30, 2020 @ 3:20 pm
You just proved my point, Sunnyboy..
Sinatra HAS been fooling MOST people for 70-plus years, but he didn’t fool me.
January 15, 2021 @ 6:59 pm
I’ve been singing since I was 11 . . . in 2 years I retire and go pro . . . I’ve “studied under” Frank,and Willie, and Tony, Ray Price, all the greats, by singing along, doing what they do, then make it my own . . . I can do anything Frank can do . . . but he isn’t “fooling” anybody, he’s a great performer, a great singer, when he was young, yeah, some of his early stuff is awful, but as he matured he grew into his own voice and the stuff he did the second half of his life and career is mostly about as good as it gets.
Frank greatly admired Tony Bennett, and Tony greatly admired Frank, and they learned from each other . . . Sammy Davis Jr. is highly underrated, what a great voice, great singer, he doesn’t get the remembrance he deserves . . . I do a lot of Frank and Tony songs, Blues in the NIght, That Old Black Magic, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, One For My Baby, Come Rain or Come Shine . . . unlike them I do it playing my own blues / country / jazz guitar (my personal crossover style) . . . so I can be a one man show, don’t need to haul a band around . . . I have 6 D’Angelico EXL-1 archtops in 6 colors . . . I’ve been doing music since I was 6 . . . anybody who thinks Frank was “fooling anybody” just doesn’t know what they’re talking about, he’s one of the masters.
January 16, 2021 @ 8:55 am
Tom:
We’ll have to agree to disagree on the subject of Little Frank.
On the other hand, anyone with 6 D’Angelicos has my admiration.
December 29, 2020 @ 1:55 pm
“Robison.” minor typo. Willard Robison, one of the minor but cool songwriters associated w tin pan alley pop who wrote about the rural places he was from. willie is kind of the last representative of that tradition, much as i loved willie’s my way, i’m not crazy about this cover of cottage. also worth checking out matt munisteri’s robison tribute, which is more country than half the shit on the radio now: http://mattmunisteri.com/projects/the-lost-music-of-willard-robison/
December 29, 2020 @ 6:05 pm
That Munisteri sure knows his business. Man out of time.
January 15, 2021 @ 6:51 pm
Frank hated “My Way,” but it made him a lot of money . . . I don’t like the song either, it’s too conceited, too egotistical, nobody ever does it “my way,” and, I totally love Willie’s “Cottage For Sale.” He nailed it like nobody else . . . what this proves . . . is that people have different tasters in music, and whiskey, and food, and everything else, so, cheers!
December 29, 2020 @ 2:12 pm
Willie always loved Frank. And Frank admired Willie very much.
December 29, 2020 @ 5:49 pm
Old blue eyes is a legendary showman and Willie can truly do no wrong so this should be a golden collection of covers. That’s life is one of my favorite Sinatra tunes but I would love to hear Willie’s take on “Cycles”, one of the lesser known but so poingant and beautiful Sinatra tunes. Off topic but Leonard Nimoy (aka Mr Spock) does a great version of Cycles!
December 29, 2020 @ 7:25 pm
A Cottage For Sale is incredible!
At this stage of the game, Willie doesn’t owe us anything. The fact that he’s willing to do something this good and outside of his usual style of work is manna from Heaven. I gave Stardust a fresh spin after hearing Cottage. It still amazes me.
December 29, 2020 @ 7:27 pm
Go Willie! He’s still got it. Live. Not so much now, but put Willie in the studio and he nails it.
Laughing at all the Sinatra hate here. IMO he had a golden voice, and millions of music fans agree. His catalog is incredible.
But, my farm raised , Wotld War II veteran Grandpa , HATED Sinatra. I once asked him why, considering he loved the great crooners. Grandad cussed and said Sinatra was a mafia gangster and crooked as a three dollar bill! Wow….thanks for sharing Grandpa. Oh well. We didn’t see eye to eye on music. But he was my Grandpa, so no biggie.
December 30, 2020 @ 7:39 am
Your grandfather was a wise man.
December 30, 2020 @ 9:34 am
Always love how any criticism is dismissed as “hate.”
December 29, 2020 @ 9:57 pm
All these night club singers have either the looks like the king or the velvet voice of the king! Willy has neither looks or the voice of a king. What he does have is the swag of the king and im glad hes singing tributes to them. I wouldent have it any other way. Willy is the king!
December 30, 2020 @ 9:28 am
2021 is already looking great for me. The Oak Ridge Boys. Travis Tritt. The Goldens with William Lee Golden. all have new albums id march. and now this. I am looking very foward to this album.
December 30, 2020 @ 10:50 am
If I remember correctly, Frank is Willie’s favorite singer and he said he’s based his singing style off of Frank’s, which I can definitely hear now that I’ve heard him say that.
December 30, 2020 @ 11:46 am
Love the cover take on Sinatra’s cover.
December 31, 2020 @ 5:14 am
I guess there will always be controversial discussions. We have varied views, always have and always will. But, reading the feedback it has brought so many people to the table for discussion, great! All the great name’s mentioned are star’s in their own right I believe. May they live on in the entertainment world for many years to come.
December 31, 2020 @ 1:42 pm
This is a must buy for me. Some of my most favorite Sinatra songs are on this album, Under My Skin and Wee Small Hours, Luck be a Lady. I’ll try not to compare their singing voices. Ha.
January 15, 2021 @ 6:47 pm
LMAO! Some of these comments are so funny. I’m 68, now, I plan to retire in 2 years and begin my new career as a cowboy jazz singer . . . I began singing along when I was 11 . . . I have a book of original songs, I do a lot I’ve learned from Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Perry Como, Andy Williams, Glen Yarborough, Willie Nelson, Ray Price, Marty Robbins, Ian Tyson, and the Sons of the Pioneers . . . saying “Frank was better than Tony!” or “Tony is better than Frank!” is like saying Scotch is better than Bourbon . . . each has its charms . . . these guys were all greats, each had his own voice, his own style, as it should be . . . every one has given the world a great gift of great music . . . I just hope I’m still going when I’m as old a Tony and Willie . . .