It’s not often that a 90-year-old Texan finds themselves at the epicenter of pop culture. But here we are.
In an act of creative fearlessness, Beyoncé released a country-fusion album (or as Beyoncé calls it, “a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”) While a shock to many, the Houston native has waded into the waters of country music before.
Beyoncé has a history of performing with country acts at various award shows. Most notable would be her 2016 appearance at the CMA Awards alongside The Chicks. The negative response this performance received from some in the country music community is alluded to by the artist as the partial motivation for Cowboy Carter.
One interesting thing about the album is who Beyoncé chose to appear alongside her. Notably, we have everyone’s fairy godmother, Dolly Parton. But also appearing is country legend Willie Nelson, who is undergoing a somewhat surprising surge in relevance.
It makes sense that Nelson would be included as the soft-speaking late night disc jockey for Beyoncé’s country coming out party. But not because they both have been featured in the Austin Powers franchise.
Reinventing himself as a key figure in the outlaw country music in the early ’70s, Nelson has never been afraid to merge genres, blending jazz and folk into his sound. He released a reggae album in 2005 and a collection of Gershwin pop standards in 2016.
Appearing on Cowboy Carter, Nelson encourages a bit of open-mindedness among the country faithful, saying, “And if there’s one thing you can take away from my set today, let it be this:
Sometimes you don’t know what you like until someone you trust turns you on to some real good shit.”
It’s also a weed reference probably.
Shortly after the release of Cowboy Carter, Nelson followed this appearance up with a duet with country’s current masked man, Orville Peck. Together they offered up a new rendition of “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other.”
It may be surprising to many, but Nelson first released his cover of Latin country artist Ned Sublette’s touching waltz in 2006, inspired by the success of the film Brokeback Mountain. Speaking with GLADD, Peck says Nelson approached him about covering the song together and proposed that the two “get gay married” in the music video and have Nelson’s wife serve as the priest.
So while this does sound like the ramblings of a stoned nonagenarian, it is also very cool and charming. Here’s to Willie Nelson and all the others who have managed to age with acceptance and a bit of grace. That’s apparently the key to staying relevant.
That and a bit of…
