Make Way for Willie Nelson

Background & recording

During the first months of 1966, Nelson's usual producer, Chet Atkins delegated sessions to other producers due to his demanding schedule. In March, Nelson's next session was assigned to RCA Records staff producer Felton Jarvis. The recording took place in Nashville's RCA Studio B. The musicians who joined the session were Jerry Reed on the guitar, bassist Junior Husky, guitarist Velma Smith and Jerry Smith on piano. Additionally, Nelson added two members of his road band, Johnny Bush on the guitar and Jimmy Day on the steel guitar. The recordings consisted mostly of cover songs. The last song of the album, Nelson's original "One in a Row", recorded in June along with guitarist Johnny Bush and fiddler Wade Ray completed the album.

Release and reception

The single "One in a Row" was released with the non-album flipside "San Antonio Rose", on October 1, 1966. "One in a Row" reached number 19 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles. The single "Make Way For a Better Man" was released as the flipside on the non-album track "The Party's Over" in February 1967. Upon its release, the album entered the chart on May 6, at number 45 on Billboard's Hot Country Albums. By July, The release peaked at number nine.

Broadside favored the album, noting that the recording consisted mainly on cover versions, including only one Nelson original. The publication attributed the release to be "thought towards establishing Willie's (Nelson) reputation as a performer, independently of his talent as a songwriter". Allmusic rated the album with two-and-a-half stars out of five.

Track listing

Personnel