May 28, 2026
We are on the home stretch of a very special issue of True West magazine. It is both ground breaking and long over due, featuring a true hero of the Lone Star State.
This just came in this morning.
Greg Scott Weighs In On Willie
Here’s Willie Nelson in 1961-62 playing bass for Ray Price.
Three things happened; Willie wrote three songs that became crossover hits. Crazy recorded by Patsy Cline, Hello Walls, recorded by Faron Young remained a number one hit for weeks and Funny How Time Slips Away recorded by Billy Walker, likewise was a pop and country hit.
Meanwhile, Willie still labored to support a family. The music industry remained difficult even after Willie’s success as a songwriter. But he at least had breathing room to leave Nashville for a while to visit JDs, a 3,000 seat capacity nightclub on Scottsdale Road in Tempe, Arizona where his friend Waylon and the Waylors were packing them in six nights a week.
Willie then left Nashville for good, returning to Texas in the early seventies, where he assembled a strong band while still collaborating with other top acts and he, of course, continued recording and performing. His ‘75 hit Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain written by Fred Rose and previously recorded by Hank Williams, put Willie on the map in many ways. He was just too good. People discovered he could really deliver. His amigo Waylon had some big hits and they collaborated on Back to Luckenbach in ‘77. Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys written by Ed Bruce was a huge hit in ‘78. Hell, my group, the Duct Tape Cowboys were always asked to play that song at gigs in Patagonia and Sonoita where there were real live, actual working cowboys in the audience. We never made much money but it was fun.
In my opinion Willie’s biggest crossover ‘hit’ was his known use of marijuana. It wasn’t just for hippies anymore. Willie has been in many movies which also expanded his audience. Waylon wisely returned to AZ, got sober and quietly lived out the rest of his life in Chandler. I’m still waiting to read what Stuart has to say. . ."
—Greg Scott
"I don't think Hank done it this-away."
—Waylon Jennings
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