"On the Road Again" is a song written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

. The song, about life on tour, came about when the executive producer of the film '' Honeysuckle Rose'' approached Nelson about writing the song for the film's soundtrack. "On the Road Again" became Nelson's 9th Country & Western No. 1 hit overall (6th as a solo recording act) in November 1980, and became one of Nelson's most recognizable tunes. In addition, the song reached No. 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and No. 7 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was his biggest pop hit to that time and won him a

Grammy Award for Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter. There ha ...

a year later.

Background and writing

In 1980 Nelson starred in his first leading role in the

Jerry Schatzberg Jerry Schatzberg (born June 26, 1927) is an American photographer and film director. Career Schatzberg was born to a Jewish family of furriers and grew up in the Bronx. He photographed for magazines such as ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', ''Esquire ...

film '' Honeysuckle Rose'', about an aging musician who fails to achieve national fame and his relationship with his family, who also are part of his band that travels throughout the United States while playing in different venues. Shortly after signing the contract, Nelson was approached during a flight by Schatzberg and the executive producer of the movie, who requested him to write a song about life on the road to use as the theme song. Nelson quickly wrote the song on a barf bag. The tune featured a "train beat".

Release and reception

The song was released with Nelson's 1980 album '' Honeysuckle Rose'', reaching the first position on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

's'' top country albums, while it ranked twenty on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Nelson received a

, while he was nominated for Best Original Song during the 53rd Academy Awards. In 2004, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' ranked it No. 471 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2011, "On the Road Again" was inducted to the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

Legacy

* Conan O'Brien performed the song as "My Own Show Again" during his 2010 Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, changing the lyrics to reflect how he could not wait to return to hosting a television series after leaving ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

'' earlier in the year. *"

Forever Country "Forever Country" is a 2016 mashup performed by "Artists of Then, Now & Forever," a one-time gathering of 30 country music artists. The song combines elements of three previous country hits: John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (1971), Willi ...

", a promotional single released in 2016, features the song as a medley with "

I Will Always Love You "I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career, ...

" and "

Take Me Home, Country Roads "Take Me Home, Country Roads", also known simply as "Country Roads", is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert and John Denver about West Virginia. It was released as a single performed by Denver on April 12, 1971, peaking at number two o ...

". *

First Aid Kit A first aid kit or medical kit is a collection of supplies and equipment used to give immediate medical treatment, primarily to treat injuries and other mild or moderate medical conditions. There is a wide variation in the contents of first aid ...

released a cover of "On the Road Again" as a single in 2020. Proceeds from the song sales were donated to Crew Nation in order to support the members of crew who were forced off the road and out of work due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Charts

Footnotes

References