Willie Nelson's Acoustic Exclusive Premieres on AARP

Willie Nelson's newest album, Band of Brothers, comes out on Tuesday, but he premieres this acoustic version of the title track exclusively on AARP's YouTube channel today through Wednesday.

Having released four albums since February 2012, Nelson is watching his career blossom in a way that must be the envy of  artists half his age: The Desperado-in-Chief of the "outlaw country music scene" turned 81 on April 29.

>> Sign up for the AARP Leisure Newsletter

David McClister

Because Band of Brothers features 14 new recordings - nine of them debut tunes that Nelson cowrote with his longtime producer, Buddy Cannon - his label, Sony, seems justified in crowing that this is "the artist's first album of predominately new original material in nearly two decades."

The new album offers compositions that nimbly range in tone from the rowdy fun of "Wives and Girlfriends" ("... may they never meet / May they never know each other / When they pass on the street") to the introspective depth of "Send Me a Picture" ("I used to think time would make it all better / But I have learned better as time passed away").

Nelson himself acknowledges the creative bronco he's been riding of late: "I got on kind of a writing kick," he said recently. "It's good to be writing again."

 Photo: James Minchin

>> Get travel discounts with your AARP Member Advantages.

 

Also of Interest

• Watch Willie Nelson's Biography (video)
• 4 Surgeries to Avoid
• Fight fraud and ID theft with the AARP Fraud Watch Network.
• Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being

 

See the  AARP home page for deals, savings tips, trivia and more