Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel Revive Western Swing

For as open-armed Willie Nelson has proven to be with his music over the decades – pairing up with everyone from Waylon Jennings to Ryan Adams, and Wynton Marsalis to Stephen Colbert – it’s no doubt the Outlaw has been approached for more collaborations than even his expansive catalog lets on. As it turns out, one pitch from producer Jerry Wexler, during Willie’s transformative years with Atlantic Records in the ’70s, to create a western swing concept album has only now been picked for recording.

The resulting album, Willie and the Wheel, shows Willie teamed up once again with trad-country powergroup Asleep at the Wheel for a retrofitted look at some country swing staples. Spanning 12 tracks, the album includes such remakes as “Corrine Corrina,” “Right or Wrong” and “I’m Sittin’ on Top of the World.” Vince Gill and Letterman’s right-hand keymeister Paul Schaffer guest on one cover of “Shame on You,” originally penned by ’50s fiddle guru Spade Cooley.

A pall may have been cast over the album’s February 3 release on Bismeaux Records – to coincide with a 10-stop joint tour – due to Wexler’s death last August, but shortly before, he was able to produce his long-awaited album. “I’m glad we got to do it for him, and that he heard it before he passed on,” said Nelson.