One by Willie

47:18

Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer on "Bloody Mary...

One by Willie ·

2026/10/01

Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer, founding members of 13-time Grammy winners and American musical-and-cultural icons The Chicks, discuss their favorite Willie Nelson song to play together, “Bloody Mary Morning.” That song was, of course, a key track on Willie’s revolutionary 1973 LP Phases and Stages, a concept album depicting a divorce from a wife’s POV on Side 1, and a husband’s on Side 2, and we walk through its songs, paying special attention to Willie’s telling of the woman’s side of

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31:03

Don Was on "Across the Borderline" (On the Pod Again,...

One by Willie ·

2026/09/09

In a re-airing of one of OBW’s early greatest hits, legendary producer, bass player, and Blue Note Records president Don Was looks at the title track to one of the best, most important albums of Willie’s career, Across the Borderline. It’s a song Don suggested to Willie in late 1992, when he was essentially auditioning for the production job on Willie’s next album—which he got—and it gets Don thinking on the fragile magic of a perfect first take, what it’s like to go out to dinner with

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01:08:44

Buddy "Budrock" Prewitt on "On the Road Again"

One by Willie ·

2026/08/26

As the man who has directed stage lighting at Willie Nelson shows for just under 50 years, Buddy Prewitt—better known in Willie World by the nickname the boss gave him, Budrock the Illuminator—is an absolutely essential member of Willie's famous “band of gypsies.” Fittingly enough, in this episode he focuses on a song that he says tells his own life story, “On the Road Again.” His stories from a half-century with Willie are first-hand, fantastic, and often surreal, starting with the first

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43:07

Ziggy Marley on "Still Is Still Moving to Me"

One by Willie ·

2026/08/12

Nine-time Grammy-winner and bona fide reggae royalty Ziggy Marley talks about the closing track on Willie’s 1993 masterpiece, Across the Borderline, “Still Is Still Moving to Me.” It’s a song to be dug on multiple levels, from the hard-driving melody, to the koan-like lyrics, to Trigger’s stunning runs, and Ziggy gets into all that. But his focus is on the song’s message, which he calls “transcendent”—just like his friend, Willie. So even though reggae and country music aren’t all that

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45:11

I'm With Her on "Wake Me When It's Over"

One by Willie ·

2026/07/29

Three-time Grammy-winning, supergroup folk trio I’m With Her—whose individual members Aoife O’Donovan, Sara Watkins, and Sarah Jarosz also have an additional four Grammy wins outside the band—discuss the one Willie song they’ve covered together, “Wake Me When It’s Over.” It’s one Willie’s cut repeatedly over the years, but the version that caught the trio’s ear was off his seldom cited, 1972 album The Willie Way, which points at what’s special in this episode. It’s all about discovery,

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43:05

Taj Mahal on "Bloody Mary Morning" - Live from Luck!

One by Willie ·

2026/07/15

In a special episode taped on Willie Nelson’s ranch at last year’s Luck Reunion, Taj Mahal—a true genius of the blues and roots music from all over the world—talks about the first song on Side 2 of Willie’s 1974 masterpiece Phases and Stages, “Bloody Mary Morning.” That song and album were among the earliest, best examples of what Willie would accomplish once he broke free from Nashville, a fight for creative control mirrored by Taj’s own battles with the music industry in the late 60s

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36:49

Dave Stewart on "Energy Follows Thought"

One by Willie ·

2026/07/01

Eurythmic Dave Stewart, who along with his bandmate Annie Lennox—and, of course, Willie Nelson—is a member of both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, discusses one of Willie’s most beloved songs of recent vintage, “Energy Follows Thought.” The song was the standout off Willie’s great 2022 album A Beautiful Time, and one Dave loves in part for the freedom he hears in Willie’s guitar-playing, but also for its deep, spiritual message, which conjures the near-death

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57:04

Bill Anderson on "Funny How Time Slips Away"

One by Willie ·

2026/06/17

Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, a multimillion-selling Country Music Hall of Famer, 65-year Grand Ole Opry regular, and almost certainly the only living songwriter who got to Nashville before Willie did, talks about one of Willie’s earliest entries into the Great American Songbook, “Funny How Time Slips Away.” It’s a song Willie actually pitched to Bill back in 1961, when the two were part of the generation of young songwriters—think Harlan Howard, Hank Cochran, Roger Miller, Loretta Lynn,

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47:39

Ali Siddiq on "Midnight Rider"

One by Willie ·

2026/06/03

Comedian Ali Siddiq zooms in on Willie Nelson’s 1979 cover of the Allman Brother’s tale of a desperate outlaw’s life on the lamb, “Midnight Rider.” It’s a song Ali used to blast in his Monte Carlo during his days as what he calls “street pharmaceutical rep” in Houston’s Third Ward, as detailed in his groundbreaking 4-part comedy special Domino Effect, and it gets him thinking aloud on American culture’s enduring fascination with gangsters and outlaws…plus such Willie-adjacent lessons as the

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01:00:10

George Saunders on "Pancho and Lefty"

One by Willie ·

2026/05/20

Celebrated author George Saunders digs deep into one of the best-loved songs not just in Willie Nelson’s catalog, but in all of American music, Townes Van Zandt’s legendary tale of betrayal, “Pancho and Lefty.” It is, in many ways, a song full of mystery, and George, who also teaches Russian short fiction at Syracuse University’s acclaimed creative writing program, walks us through it verse-by-verse, unlocking the secrets in the song’s story; the way Townes, Willie, and Merle Haggard made

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46:34

Tami Neilson on "I Thought About You, Lord"

One by Willie ·

2026/05/06

Americana star Tami Neilson—a New Zealand-based singer-songwriter and, essentially, adopted member of Willie Nelson’s family—talks about a deep cut off his sublime 1996 album Spirit, “I Thought About You, Lord.” It’s a hugely important song to Tami, who first came to Willie through his gospel side as a young girl barnstorming the US and Canada with her country-gospel family band, The Neilsons. And ‘family’ is the strong undercurrent running through this episode, as Tami talks about sharing

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55:31

One by Willie x Nashville Now: Happy Birthday, Willie...

One by Willie ·

2026/04/29

With Willie Nelson turning 93 today, One by Willie hooks up with Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now and its host, RS Head of Country Joseph Hudak, for a special birthday collab episode. We’ll open with a look at how OBW host John Spong managed to turn listening to Willie Nelson records into a full-time job, plus the unique, almost metaphysical way that individual songs connect fans not just to Willie, but to people in their own lives. And then, proving that point, we pivot to Hudak’s favorite

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42:28

Emmylou Harris on "Till I Gain Control Again"...

One by Willie ·

2026/04/22

In another of our annual, Icon-on-Icon birthday tributes to Willie, 14-time Grammy winner and Country Hall of Famer Emmylou Harris talks about a song she sang every night with him when they toured together in the 70s, “Till I Gain Control Again.” It was, of course, written by one of her and Willie’s all-time favorite songwriters, Rodney Crowell, and it gets Emmy thinking about being a young artist watching the deep, almost spiritual connection Willie forms with his fans—plus the way she and

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47:51

Matt Berninger on "All of Me"

One by Willie ·

2026/04/08

Matt Berninger, lead singer and lyricist of beloved Brooklyn rock band The National, talks about Willie’s 1978 cover of “All of Me.” It was the third single off his dad’s favorite Willie record, Stardust, an album Matt loves so much that, when he went to record his first solo album, Serpentine Prison, he enlisted Stardust producer Booker T. Jones to produce, and Willie’s harmonica player, Mickey Raphael, to play harp. We’ll get into all that, plus the pre-Willie history of “All of Me,” the

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51:04

Jamey Johnson on "It Always Will Be"

One by Willie ·

2026/03/25

Million-selling country star Jamey Johnson, one of the finest singer-songwriters alive and a man generally considered the walking embodiment of Outlaw Country, talks on the title-cut to Willie’s 2004 album, It Always Will Be. The song’s a simple, hymn-like ballad, and maybe not the first thing you’d think of when Outlaw comes up, but that will change when Jamey explains what the term—and this wonderful song—mean to him. From there he describes poker, chess, and domino games; huge figures in

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41:25

Kenny Chesney on "That Lucky Old Sun"

One by Willie ·

2026/03/11

Kenny Chesney, a Country Music Hall of Famer and longtime Willie friend, fan, and collaborator, talks about Willie’s 1976 cover of “That Lucky Old Sun.” That beautiful, hushed track, which opened the album The Sound in Your Mind, was one of Willie’s first covers from the Great American Songbook, setting the stage for his Stardust triumph two years later...and hearing it now takes Kenny back to an old tour bus, when he was a young artist studying Willie’s singing. From there he gets into the

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03:48

Introducing One by Willie, Season 7

One by Willie ·

2026/03/04

Music writer John Spong talks each episode to one notable Willie fan about one Willie song they love--then runs down the kinds of rabbit holes that open up when the subject is Willie Nelson. Starting March 11, fifteen new episodes featuring Kenny Chesney, Taj Mahal, George Saunders, Tami Neilson, Dave Stewart, Jamey Johnson, Ali Siddiq, Matt Berninger, and so on…each giving a uniquely personal take on the life and art of a genuine American folk hero.

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29:07

Wesley Schultz on "Pretty Paper" (special holiday...

One by Willie ·

2025/12/09

With the holiday season in full effect, we’re reaching back to OBW’s earliest days to re-up this Nov 2020 episode with Lumineer Wesley Schultz on Willie’s initial contribution to the holiday canon, “Pretty Paper.” Wes was a little kid growing up in the New Jersey suburbs when he first fell for "Pretty Paper," which his folks played in the car as they drove their neighborhood checking out Xmas lights. We talk about that, the surreal story from Willie’s own childhood that prompted him to

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50:58

BONUS: Sound Opinions - In-Law Country

One by Willie ·

2025/05/27

This is an episode of Sound Opinions with author Geoffrey Himes, who focuses on the scene around Emmylou Harris, Rosanne Cash, Guy Clark and others and how it changed the scope of country music forever. He calls this group “in-law country.”Sound Opinions has been publishing new podcast episodes every week for more than 25 years. Take two nationally respected rock critics Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis, the latest music news, personal commentary, and exclusive interviews and performances, add a

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48:03

Bonnie Raitt on "Getting Over You" (special Willie's...

One by Willie ·

2025/04/29

In a special, icon-on-icon birthday tribute, 13-time Grammy winner and longtime Willie friend, fan, and collaborator Bonnie Raitt talks about their sublime 1993 duet, “Getting Over You.” It was a cornerstone of one of the most important albums of Willie’s career, Across the Borderline, and produced by the brilliant Don Was—who also produced Bonnie’s own masterpieces Nick of Time and Luck of the Draw. Bonnie gets into all that, likening Willie in the studio to both the Cheshire Cat and Yoda,

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