NIGHT LIFE

Listen to NIGHT LIFE by Willie Nelson.

On the "Night Life" album, Ray Price does one of those spoken word lead-ins to the first track, about how they recorded the album, how the fans have been great on tour, and how they're looking forward to getting to a town near you soon. He also mentions (though not by name) the writer of this great new single that people have really connected with. The song was Night Life, and the writer was Willie Nelson. Just as it was a big break for Price, it was a huge break for Nelson, who went on to write a ton of hits and have his own legendary recording career.

I picked up a super-cheap compilation in Toronto a few years ago that had this recording of Willie doing Night Life himself. I've never been able to pin down exactly when this version was done, or what it was for, but it's fantastic. The cheap transfer to CD really adds a AM-radio-at-two-in-the-morning feel to it.

Photo: Estes Park rodeo (4).