''Songbird'' is the 55th studio album by

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 ...

released by

Lost Highway Records Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records Nashv ...

on October 31, 2006. It was produced by contemporary country rock musician

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left ...

. Adams, along with his band

The Cardinals The Cardinals were an American R&B group of the 1950s. Sharing a legacy with the Orioles, The Cardinals are remembered as one of the best R&B ballad acts to come out of Baltimore. Origins The Cardinals’ career began in 1946 (one year before ...

, performed on the album's eleven tracks. It peaked at #87 on the ''Billboard'' 200 on November 18, 2006

Music

Only two brand new compositions, Nelson's "Back to Earth" and Adams' "Blue Hotel", appear on ''Songbird''. "Rainy Day Blues", "We Don't Run", and "Sad Songs and Waltzes" are original Nelson tunes, but they were released on earlier records. Most of the songs from the album are cover tunes with new interpretations. The credit for covering these songs goes to Adams, who "...felt confident with all the selections." In the same interview, Nelson points out that he was tentative about recording songs that had already been recorded as good as these were. He summed up the album by stating, 'It'll always be the

project, as far as I'm concerned.'

Adams' thoughts

Regarding his role of producer for the album, Ryan Adams states that he:

learned a lot of life lessons mostly. I mean, illie Nelsonworks very quickly and it was very spare. We didn’t see him a lot, because the sessions were over a couple of different months. And also when it came up that it was something we were going to do, I was adamant that if The Cardinals were going to back him up, I would have to produce so we wouldn't have to worry about someone interfering with our sound. So they agreed to let it go down the way it went down in the studio, and I put some limits on what was going to happen in order to keep the integrity of the recording. It reminded me kind of how
Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
and
Meg White Megan Martha White (born December 10, 1974) is an American former musician and singer who was the drummer of Detroit rock duo The White Stripes. Her music career began when, on a whim, she played on her future White Stripes bandmate Jack White' ...
work, the way that their limits make them seem stronger and more able to be resourceful and economical. In thinking about that, I wanted everyone to set up in the room around Willie, with only
rummer A rummer (also known as a Römer or Roemer, among other variations) was a type of large drinking glass studded with prunts to ensure a safe grip, popular mainly in the Rhineland and the Netherlands from the 15th through the 17th century. Rummers l ...
Brad
emberton Emberton is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, in Buckinghamshire, England. The village is near the borders with Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire, just to the south of Olney and four miles ...
wearing headphones, and everyone using ratty old amps so that the main thing everyone heard was Willie’s voice and guitar. It was cool because it made everyone listen really hard, and I think it enabled Willie to throw the band a little more, and suck them in. It turned into a real healthy struggle. But other than that we didn’t see a lot of him because I think he was pressed for time, and maybe recording in New York was a little overwhelming for him. It was just a different process. I think he's used to coming in with the track already done and just singing over it."

Track listing

#"Rainy Day Blues" (Willie Nelson) – 5:32 #"

Songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...

" (

Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...

) – 2:40 #"Blue Hotel" (

) – 3:30 #"Back to Earth" (Willie Nelson) – 2:59 #"Stella Blue" (

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

/ Robert Hunter) – 6:23 #"

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' ( ; he, ''haləlū-Yāh'', meaning "praise Yah") is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four tim ...

" (

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

) – 4:53 #"$1000 Wedding" (

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

) – 3:05 #"We Don't Run" (Willie Nelson) – 4:19 #"Yours Love" (

Harlan Howard Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002) was an American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote many popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists. C ...

) – 3:03 #"Sad Songs and Waltzes" (Willie Nelson) – 3:17 #"

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

" (Traditional Arr. by Ryan Adams) – 4:49

Personnel

All information taken from the Songbird CD release: *Willie Nelson – acoustic guitar, vocals *

– acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar *

Jon Graboff Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Neal Casal Neal Graeme Casal (November 2, 1968 – August 26, 2019) ...

– piano, guitar *

Catherine Popper Catherine Popper (born December 28, 1973) is an American bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her work with Jesse Malin, Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Jack White. Popper is also a member of ...

– bass guitar *

Mickey Raphael Michael Siegfried "Mickey" Raphael (born November 7, 1951) is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973. He has performed or reco ...

– harmonica *Glenn Patscha – Hammond B-3 *“

” background vocal arrangements: Melonie Daniels, Darius Booker, Tiffany Palmer *“

,” “Blue Hotel,” “$1000 Wedding” choir: Tiffany Anderson,

Karen Bernod Karen Bernod (born May 13, 1964, Brooklyn, New York) is an American-born R&B vocalist, songwriter and producer. She is best known for her unique vocal harmonies as a background singer for Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, C&C Music Factory and D'Angelo ...

, Darius Booker, Melonie Daniels, Felicia Graham, Tiffany Palmer, Carlos Ricketts, Horace V. Rogers *Carlos Ricketts – choir arranger *Produced by

*Engineered by Tom Gloady, Jamie Candiloro at

Loho Studios Loho Studios is a New York City recording studio. Founded in 1983 by brothers Edward and Victor Luke, it began as a rehearsal studio but, with the addition of recording equipment, over time became a full-fledged recording studio. Loho's Lafayette ...

(

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, NY) *Second Engineers – Jim Keller,

Gus Oberg Gus Oberg is a Swedish music producer and recording engineer. He is best known as the longtime engineer and a producer of American rock band The Strokes, for whom he has worked since 2009. Oberg is also a close collaborator of Strokes guitarist A ...

, Eddie Jackson, Peter Doris *Mixed by Jamie Candiloro at

Avatar Studios Power Station at BerkleeNYC, formerly known as Avatar Studios (1996–2017) and Power Station, is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The bui ...

(

, NY) *Mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering (

, NY) *Art Direction and Design by Craig Allen *Photography by

Danny Clinch Danny Clinch (born 1964) is an American photographer and film director. Biography Born in Toms River, New Jersey, Clinch graduated from Toms River High School East in 1982. After attending Ocean County College, he attended the New England Scho ...

(cover),

Jon Graboff Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Willie Nelson albums 2006 albums Lost Highway Records albums