Then, Phases and Stages, a concept album for which Willie abandoned Nashville altogether and recorded down in Muscle Shoals.

Willie Nelson is a country music icon ... thanks in part to Nelson’s spare cover of Fred Rose’s “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” His brand of country – by then known as “Outlaw ...

1973 – Holds the first annual Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic in Texas. 1975 – Wins a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, for “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain.” ...