Country music star Willie Nelson celebrated his 87th birthday on Tuesday. To commemorate his life, we are looking back at his Grammy Award winning-version of Always on My Mind.
Willie Nelson turned 87 on Tuesday. Whether or not you agree with his marijuana-filled lifestyle, nobody can deny that he is one of the best songwriters and storytellers of all time.
Some of his earliest work includes the iconic Patsy Cline song Crazy, Roy Orbison’s Pretty Paper, and Billy Walker’s Funny How Time Slips Away, which Willie ended up recording in 2010 with Juice Newton.
But there’s one song that stands out. Recorded and released in early 1982, Always On My Mind went on to bag three wins at the 25th Grammy Awards in 1983 as well as Best Male Country Vocal Performance by Willie.
While he did not write the heartbreaking ballad, he made it his own, a testament to his incredible talent as a storyteller. The song was written by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson and first recorded by B.J. Thomas in 1969, followed by a slew of singers including Elvis before Willie took a bulls eye’s shot at it.
What makes his version special is that he puts so much emotion into it. As a listener, you can feel the ache in his voice, and even see it on his face. That’s why a lot of sad love songs see a lot of success. Perhaps this is best described by a quote from Kurt Cobain, “Thank you for the tragedy. I need it for my art.”
Though he looks back at an impressive career, Nelson has always remembered where he came from. Throughout his career, he has done his best to support local farmers. He is the president of the board of Farm Aid, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to keep family farmers on the land.
