These 3 Songs Wouldn’t Be the Same Without Willie Nelson’s Guitar “Trigger”

Willie Nelson’s fate changed in 1969 when a drunk audience member stepped on his Baldwin acoustic guitar. Nashville luthier Shot Jackson said the Baldwin couldn’t be fixed. However, he thought Nelson might like a Martin classical guitar hanging in his shop. Nelson, speaking to Jackson over the phone, agreed to buy it for $750.

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But he needed to amplify the new guitar to be heard over a loud band. So Jackson removed the pickup from the Baldwin and installed it in the Martin. Named after Roy Rogers’ horse, “Trigger” became central to Nelson’s music, and these songs wouldn’t be the same without it.

“Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain”

Columbia Records thought Red Headed Stranger was too sparse and too raw to release. Though label executives thought Nelson’s album sounded like a demo, it still topped the country charts. The outlaw singer found success outside Nashville’s formulaic approach to recording, proving Columbia wrong. Trigger begins “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” with a lonesome strum, like a sad horse wandering along a dusty road. Roy Acuff made the song popular in 1947, but Nelson revived his career with it. And it wouldn’t have happened without Trigger.

“On The Road Again”

Nelson’s guitar resembles the bathroom wall of the grimiest honky tonk you can imagine. A giant hole has been worn through the soundboard from decades of endless miles on the road. It’s fitting for “On The Road Again” to be one of Nelson’s signature songs, with Trigger leading the rollicking backing band. During the solo breaks, Nelson nods to his hero, Django Reinhardt. The combination of jazz and country swing became hallmarks of Nelson’s style, and the nylon guitar strings on Trigger give the winding licks hints of Reinhardt’s gypsy jazz.

“Blue Skies”

In 1978, Nelson released a collection of pop standards called Stardust. He covered Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies”, and even the lush orchestration couldn’t keep Trigger from playing a starring role. The guitar solo remains one of Nelson’s best. Again, channeling Reinhardt, Nelson plays the vocal melody, emphasizing the tune’s passing minor chords. Berlin wrote optimistic lyrics, but the sad chords imply there might be dark clouds lurking beyond the blue sky.

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