GUEST MUSICIAN TAMI NEILSON talks us through her new album Neilson Sings Nelson

When I met Willie Nelson in person for the first time, we hugged hello, then rehearsed our duet Beyond the Stars [on her 2022 album Kingmaker]. It was one of the most magical moments of my life.

I performed with him at Luck Reunion 2022, and at the end of that year, returned home to a very scary turn of events.

I was admitted into ICU with life-threatening sepsis and spent a month in the hospital. During the long recovery, I thought about creating something healing -- a simple and joy-filled project.

I wanted to record a love letter to Willie and his music to give to him for his upcoming 90th birthday.

This idea was something I could focus my mind on, a goal to get better.

When I hear Willie’s music, I can feel the olive green shag carpet of my childhood living room between my fingers, playing with my little brothers on the floor, his music deeply embedded in our DNA.

Fast forward 40 years and I’m playing with my little brothers once again, standing in Willie Nelson’s studio lined with shelves of reel to reels labelled Red Headed Stranger while we sing Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.

Surreal doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling. But, my hope is that this album has given you a small taste of it.

Here is something about each of the songs on the new album Neilson Sings Nelson . . .

I NEVER CARED FOR YOU

This is one of my all-time favourites of Willie’s. The Teatro album with Emmylou and Daniel Lanois is so seminal for me.
After becoming friends with Annie and Willie and being welcomed into “The Tribe” (as Annie calls it!) I learned that it is her favourite song of his and he performs it in every show. I wanted it to open this album in honour of her.

This one is extra special, as we did some digging around in the back room and found Sister Bobbie’s old Yamaha CP80 covered in dust and packed away in pieces. After some tinkering by Steve Chadie, Willie’s long time in-house engineer, we managed to get it working and it is featured on this song, played by Craig Harris, who was only there to film, but got roped into playing on the album when we realised he played piano!

SISTER’S COMING HOME/ DOWN AT THE CORNER BEER JOINT

Growing up performing in a family band, I’ve always loved this song from a sibling perspective. This track documents the first time me and my two brothers have recorded music together in 25 years. It wasn’t planned- Jay performs and tours with me regularly and our little brother Todd creates my visuals and has produced many of my music videos and album covers throughout my career. Todd was there to film and document this project- which was supposed to be just Jay and I recording a little acoustic love letter to Willie for his 90th birthday present. We walked into the studio and Chadie had scavenged around the studio for some percussion and rustled up a kick, snare and a floor tom- (no cymbals a la Willie!) I asked Todd if he would mind hopping on the makeshift kit “Just for this one...” It was a slippery slope that led to him playing on half the songs.

We had just played Luck Festival days before the session and our good buddy Nicky Diamonds of the Black Opry collective had also played. He’s a local Texan just down the road in San Antonio, so I quickly roped him into joining me on this duet. He is one my favourite voices in country music and I hope my fans will discover and love his music as much as me and my brothers do!

BEYOND THE STARS

When I first met Willie, I walked into his kitchen where we hugged hello, then we wandered over to his living room and sat- me on the couch with my guitar, him on a chair across from me with Trigger- and rehearsed this song. I tried to still my trembling hands while I played, hearing our voices join together in the same room. I wanted this stripped back version to capture a bit of what that sounded like, in that magical moment.

ALWAYS ON MY MIND

When I chose the songs for this project, I tried to avoid the ones that have been covered heavily. This is one of the exceptions. It is a testament to Willie’s incredible artistry, how one of the world’s greatest songwriters can cover a song he did not write and make it completely his own, intrinsically part of his work and associated with him. For a big-voiced singer known more for big belters, this was an exercise in restraint for me. Having just been in ICU mere weeks before we recorded this, it brought a whole new perspective and vulnerability, which really came through in this performance. It was just Jay and I recording live off the floor, no click, one take, just trying to be fluid and follow each other with the lights dimmed. When I looked over to him during the final chord, tears were coursing down his face...just like mine

THE SOUND IN YOUR MIND

Willie is a songwriter whose works are covered in such a broad range of genres- another sign of being one of the all-time greats. His songs speak universally. I especially love how his brand of country music translates so effortlessly into soul...because it all comes from the same place. Hearing Aretha sing Nightlife or Al Green sing Funny How Time Slips Away made me want to tip my hat to that relationship between Willie’s songs and soul music. I’ve always thought The Sound in Your Mind would make a great, soulful torch song.

SHELTER OF YOUR ARMS

This song is pure traditional country heaven on a stick! A bit of a Willie deep cut, I always felt like this should have been a Patsy hit. It was written by Willie’s then-wife Shirley Collie and, admittedly, it’s one of the reasons I love it.

A hit song writer covering a killer country tune written by his wife just makes me happy. When we finished playing this one live off the floor in the studio, Steve Chadie said over the talkback, “Oh, man. He’s gonna love this one.” I sure hope he does.

DEVIL IN A SLEEPING BAG

I’ve always loved this little snapshot into life on tour- and how it’s also a glimpse into Willie’s relationships with Paul (the “Devil”), Kris and Rita, and his family. It felt a little bit sacrilegious turning the incredible groove of the original song into a fast-paced country rocker but, I wanted to capture a bit of the frantic pace of touring in our version and make it our own. Hopefully he forgives me!

I THOUGHT ABOUT YOU

Willie has always embodied deep spirituality and gritty humanity so beautifully. I love how this song is a little peek into his heart and his relationship with God. It’s so gently powerful.

It was only a week past the one year anniversary of losing Bobbie Nelson when we walked reverently into the room where her piano is still set up. We were in awe and so deeply moved. Chadie was adjusting the mics as Craig and I rehearsed the song for the first time and tears filled his eyes as he said, “That is the very song she played in here the last time I recorded her.”

We all smiled through our tears as he told us stories about her and showed us photos of her on his phone. What an incredible privilege to record this song and honour her memory and make her instrument sing again. I hope she felt our love and I hope we did it justice in our small way.

BLUE EYES CRYING IN THE RAIN

Willie’s version of this song from Red Headed Stranger is so deeply embedded in my DNA, I can feel the olive green shag carpet of my childhood living room gripped between my fingers while playing with my little brothers when I hear it. Fast forward 40 years, playing with my brothers once again, standing in Willie’s studio lined with shelves of reel to reels labelled “Red Headed Stranger” while we sing this song. “Surreal" doesn’t even begin to describe it. But, my hope is that this album has given you a small taste of that feeling.

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Tami Neilson – who has appeared at Elsewhere frequently – is a six-time winner of Country Music Album/Artist Awards, four-time Country Music Song Awards, Best Solo Artist and Best Producer for Kingmaker, and an APRA Silver Scroll Award.

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