"The Storm Has Just Begun" is a song by country music singer-songwriter

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 ...

. Nelson wrote the song at the age of twelve. While working for KBOP in

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, in 1955, the song was one of the first two ever recorded by Nelson. After two of his demos with the song were rejected, Nelson cut the song during his first session as a recording artist for

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. The song was released as the B-side to "

Man With the Blues "Man With the Blues" is a song by country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. After moving to Fort Worth, Texas, and quitting the music business for a year, Nelson returned to perform on the KCUL's Country Hoedown. Through a booking agent, he w ...

". It was later covered by Billy Walker the same year.

Background

The "Storm Has Just Begun" was written by Nelson in his hometown of

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when he was twelve years old and played for the local polka band. In 1955, Nelson moved to

, where he auditioned for a disc jockey job in KBOP. With the equipment of the station, Nelson made his first two recordings. He recorded "The Storm Has Just Begun" along with "When I've Sung My Last Hillbilly Song". He recorded the tracks on a used reel-to-reel tape, over a farm market report that could be heard under the song. He sent the demos to Charlie Fitch, head of the local label SARG Records. Fitch rejected Nelson's recordings.Encouraged by his mother, Nelson then sent a demo containing the song to Grandpappy Smith, owner of the Melody Ranch dance hall in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

. Smith, who also owned recording labels, booked Nelson to play in his hall in May 1955. After the date, Nelson did not receive a recording contract nor he was booked again on the venue.

Recordings

Years after, in 1958, Nelson recorded the song during his first session with

for a single release. Recorded at Manco Studio in

the song backed the A-side "

". The single was credited to "Willie Nelson and the Reil Sisters". The single was released in 1959 Billy Walker cut the song as "The Storm Within My Heart", the flip side of his 1959 single "A Woman Like You". ''

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 ...

'' described the track on its July 1959 review as a "traditional approach on a weeper ballad ..(an) attractive side". The song was recorded by Nelson again in 1976, included in his album '' The Longhorn Jamboree Presents: Willie Nelson & His Friends''.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Storm Has Just Begun, The 1959 songs Willie Nelson songs Songs written by Willie Nelson