Willie Nelson Puts New Spin On Harlan Howard Classics On Upcoming Project

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Willie Nelson. Photo: Pamela Springsteen

Willie Nelson is reimagining some Harlan Howard classics on his upcoming album, I Don’t Know A Thing About Love, set for release March 3.

Nelson and his band recorded fresh interpretations of 10 songs penned by Howard, who famously defined a great country song as “three chords and the truth.” The project was produced by Nelson’s longtime musical collaborator Buddy Cannon.

In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote enduring standards for a variety of artists, and in 1961 alone had 15 songs on the country charts, earning him 10 BMI awards. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973, and in 1997, was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

I Don’t Know A Thing About Love includes the album’s first single, “Busted,” out now. Written in 1962 about a poor farmer bemoaning his while maintaining hope for the future, the song first became a hit in 1963 initially for Johnny Cash with the Carter Family on Billboard‘s Hot Country Singles chart and then a top 10 smash for Ray Charles on the Billboard Hot 100.

This year should be another big one for Nelson, who turns 90 in April. Willie Nelson & Family, a new five-part film documentary series, is premiering later this week at Sundance Film Festival 2023.

He is also nominated for four Grammys from three separate projects: Best Country Solo Performance (“Live Forever” from Live Forever: A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver); Best Country Song (“I’ll Love You Till The Day I Die,” songwriting award, from A Beautiful Time); Best Country Album (A Beautiful Time); and Best Roots Gospel Album (The Willie Nelson Family).

I Don’t Know A Thing About Love Track List:
1. Tiger By The Tail
2. The Chokin’ Kind
3. Excuse Me (I Think I’ve Got A Heartache)
4. Life Turned Her That Way
5. I Don’t Know A Thing About Love
6. Streets Of Baltimore
7. Busted
8. She Called Me Baby
9. Too Many Rivers
10. Beautiful Annab

Lorie Hollabaugh
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