On This Day in 1987, a Movie Based on a Genre-Defining Outlaw Country Album Premiered in Austin, Texas—Starring Willie Nelson

On this day (February 19) in 1987, Red Headed Stranger premiered in Austin, Texas. The film starred Willie Nelson and was based on his 1975 chart-topping concept album of the same name. The film originally premiered at the Denver International Film Festival in October 1985 before receiving a limited national release.

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Nelson had a cinematic vision going into the production of his chart-topping 1975 album. “I had in mind doing a Red Headed Stranger movie to go along with it,” he wrote. “I had a big dream of an album and a movie at the same time, each promoting the other. It didn’t work out that way,” he added. While he had to wait more than a decade to see his vision come to life, his desire to make the film never wavered.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1975, Willie Nelson Recorded His First No. 1 Single—a Song Made Popular by Hank Williams’ Musical Hero]

According to Still Is Still Moving, Universal Pictures initially optioned the film. However, it soon became clear that the major studio had no desire to make the film. As a result, Nelson bought the rights and spent five years trying to find financing for his passion project. In the end, he mortgaged his property to get $1 million to purchase wardrobe, props, and materials to build sets. In the end, they made the movie on a $1.8 million budget.

Willie Nelson Defined Outlaw Country with Red Headed Stranger

Red Headed Stranger marked the beginning of a new era in Willie Nelson’s career. While he had experienced some success and found minor hits in the early 1970s, the middle of the decade saw him become a star.

He had just negotiated a deal with Columbia Records that gave him full creative control. So, when he turned in the Western-themed concept album with its stripped-down arrangements, label executives thought it was a collection of demos. They reluctantly released the album as Nelson intended, and it became his first No. 1 LP. Additionally, it produced “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” his first No. 1 single.

The bold decisions he made in the production of the album helped define what would become the outlaw country movement, which was, at its core, about artists creating the art they wanted to create with limited interference.

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