Willie Nelson Wants You To Know About This Revered Songwriter


We’re used to younger and up-and-coming artists paying tribute to Willie Nelson, or perhaps Willie toasting the legends who came before him like Frank Sinatra and Gershwin.

But if you want to know the kind of respect the catalog of Rodney Crowell commands, appreciate that for his next album, the 91-year-old Willie Nelson will be paying tribute to the Texas-born songwriting legend. To arrive on April 25th via Sony/Legacy Recordings, Oh What A Beautiful World will see Willie Nelson reprise 12 songs written or co-written by Rodney Crowell, with Crowell himself appearing with Willie on the title track (listen below).

Oh What A Beautiful World includes the song “Banks of the Old Bandera” that was originally recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker, the Bob Seger hit “Shame On The Moon” from 1981, as well as ’90s tracks such as “What Kind of Love” and “Stuff That Works.” The project also features early 2000s songs recorded by Keith Urban and Tim McGraw, and four tracks from Crowell’s more recent albums from the 2010s.


The album comes in a line of recent releases that tribute a single songwriter or performer. 2016 saw Willie pay tribute to Gershwin with Summertime. 2018 saw Willie toast Frank Sinatra with the album My Way, and again in 2021 with That’s Life. In 2023, Willie paid tribute to Harlan Howard with I Don’t Know a Thing About Love.

Willie is no stranger to Rodney Crowell material. He first covered his fellow Texan in 1983, and most recently did so on his album The Border from 2024, whose title track was originally recorded by Crowell for his 2019 album Texas. Just like his last two albums, Willie Nelson’s announcement comes the day before his Luck Reunion in Luck, TX as part of SXSW.

Oh What A Beautiful World was produced by longtime collaborator Buddy Cannon, and includes Bobby Terry (acoustic guitar, steel guitar, electric guitar), James Mitchell (electric guitar), Jim “Moose” Brown (B-3 organ, piano, Wurlitzer), Mickey Raphael (harmonica), Fred Eltringham (drums, percussion) and Glenn Worf (bass, upright bass). Background vocals are provided by Wyatt Beard and Melonie Cannon.

Oh What A Beautiful World is now available for pre-order.

Track List:

1. “What Kind Of Love” (Rodney Crowell, Will Jennings, Roy Orbison)
2. “Banks Of The Old Bandera” (Rodney Crowell)
3. “The Fly Boy & The Kid” (Rodney Crowell)
4. “Forty Miles From Nowhere” (Rodney Crowell)
5. “I Wouldn’t Be Me Without You” (Rodney Crowell)
6. “Making Memories Of Us” (Rodney Crowell)
7. “Oh What A Beautiful World with Rodney Crowell” (Rodney Crowell)
8. “Ope Season On My Heart” (Rodney Crowell, James Slater)
9. “Shame On The Moon” (Rodney Crowell)
10. “She’s Back In Town” (Rodney Crowell)
11. “Still Learning How To Fly” (Rodney Crowell)
12. “Stuff That Works” (Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark)


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