It’s hard to imagine a time when Willie Nelson wasn’t a national icon. Still touring at 92 years old, the Red-Headed Stranger is gearing up to release his 78th studio album next month. However, some fans might be surprised to learn that Nelson didn’t release a chart-topper until after his 40th birthday. On this day in 1975, Willie Nelson hit No. 1 for the first time with “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”
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Willie Nelson Didn’t Write His First No. 1 Hit
In 1960, Willie Nelson moved to Nashville from Houston in pursuit of a country music career. However, he had little luck finding a label to sign him at first. Despite penning Patsy Cline’s No. 1 hit “Crazy,” the future outlaw country icon found little commercial success in the 1960s and 1970s.
Frustrated by the lukewarm reception to his 1971 concept album Yesterday’s Wine, Nelson decided to retire from music. He moved to Austin, where he found popularity among the budding hippie movement. His passion revived, the two-time CMA Award winner signed with Atlantic Records and released two more albums. But his breakout success wouldn’t come until Nelson moved to Columbia Records.
Once there, the 12-time Grammy winner recorded his own version of “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” for his concept album Red Head Stranger. Written by Fred Rose, the song was first made popular by Roy Acuff in 1947. Other country music giants—such as Hank Williams Sr., Charley Pride, and Elvis Presley—also put their spin on the song. However, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” became a quintessentially Willie Nelson song in 1975.
By the end of 1975, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” was the third-biggest song on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also found crossover success in the top 40, reaching No. 21 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. At the 18th annual Grammy Awards, Willie Nelson walked away with the trophy for best male country vocal performance for “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” It was the first of 12 Grammys he would go on to collect.
[RELATED: 4 Times Willie Nelson Did Another Artist’s Song Better]
Why He Almost Quit Music
By 1970, Willie Nelson had landed zero significant hits and lost most of his songwriting royalty money by financing unsuccessful tours. In 1971, he released the concept album Yesterday’s Wine. While critics have been kinder in retrospect, the initial reception nearly ended his career for good.
“Music critics were throwing around the term “concept album”…I guess you could say that this new notion of mine came together as a concept album,” Nelson wrote of this time in his 2015 autobiography. “Rather than try to write a bunch of hit singles, I simply followed the natural path taken by my mind”.
Featured image by Tom Hill/WireImage
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