Just in time for his 92nd birthday, Willie Nelson is back with Oh What A Beautiful World, his 77th solo studio album and high praise for songwriting giant Rodney Crowell. Produced by longtime friend Buddy Cannon, the album finds the red headed stranger revisiting 12 Crowell-penned gems that span the last five decades, delivered with the warmth, wisdom, and weathered grace that only Willie can bring. At this point, Willie’s catalog isn’t just prolific, it’s mythic. Oh What A Beautiful World is his 154th album overall and joins a storied tradition of Willie Nelson albums that spotlight the work of a single songwriter. He’s done it for the Gershwins, Harlan Howard, Cindy Walker, and now Crowell, a fellow Texan whose songs have long circled Nelson’s orbit.

Their connection goes back to the '60s, when a young Crowell caught Willie’s early club gigs in Houston. Nelson first cut a Crowell song in 1983, and most recently included one on last year’s The Border. But this new collection goes deeper, gathering early tunes like “Banks Of The Old Bandera” (first recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker in 1976), crossover classics like “Shame On The Moon” (a Bob Seger hit in 1981), and reflective co-writes like “Stuff That Works,” written with Guy Clark. The album’s title track, originally the closer on Crowell’s 2014 Tarpaper Sky, serves as a mission statement. In Nelson’s hands, “Oh What A Beautiful World” becomes a tender meditation on time, mortality, and the quiet miracles we too often miss.

With a band of Nashville pros backing him, including Mickey Raphael on harmonica, Jim “Moose” Brown on keys, Bobby Terry on guitar and steel, Nelson sounds effortless, conversational, and anchored in every lyric. His ever-faithful Trigger adds its familiar twang, while background vocals from Buddy and Melonie Cannon give the songs an easy glow. At 92, it’s hard to believe Willie Nelson isn’t slowing down - just take a look at his full slate of tour dates coming up! Thankfully, he keeps finding new ways to celebrate the music and friendships that shaped his long, legendary ride.