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Working with Willie Nelson on September 12, 2013 was one of the most memorable experiences of my forty year career working in radio and television.  It seems like it was last week, but it has now been almost nine months since his last visit to QVC.  As Willie wrote in one of his iconic songs, Ain’t It Funny How Time Slips Away?

It doesn’t get any better than working with a music legend/icon who also happens to be a really nice guy.  I am blessed to have another opportunity to hang out with him and listen to him again on June 12th when we will launch his brand new CD called, “Band of Brothers.”  In anticipation of this appearance I thought I would share a little bit about what it was like to work with him.

Willie and his band, the Family, showed up right on time for rehearsal at 2pm on that September day.  Our show was scheduled for 5pm.  I was introduced to them all before they began and then watched them rehearse. I was so impressed how hard Willie worked to get each song just right.  He spent extra time on his duet with Lily Meola who performed Will You Remember Me with Willie on his cd titled, “To All the Girls.”  She told me she was so excited and nervous when Willie asked her to record with him and to perform on QVC.  She was only 18 years old at the time and Wille had heard her sing in a small café in Maui, Hawaii where he lives.

After the rehearsal, Willie’s road manager said that Willie wanted to meet with me on his bus, The Honey Suckle Rose IV.  We sat down at a breakfast nook in the kitchen area (this bus is a home on wheels and a beautiful one at that) and Willie was sipping a cup of coffee.  I said, “How are you doing, Willie?”  He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know?”  I asked him why and he said, “It’s way too early in the day to tell!”  We broke out in laughter.  It was 3:30pm.  

Willie has that way of breaking the ice and making everyone around him feel right at home.  I began going through the rundown for the show.  This is standard procedure for me as I want all of my guests to be comfortable with the topics we will be discussing.  It’s also important that everybody is on the same page with the flow of the show.  He politely nodded as I was going through each element and every question I would ask.  Finally, I looked at him and said, “Do we really need to go through this Willie?” He immediately responded, “No Dan…..I’m comfortable with any question you want to ask me.  Ask away and I’ll play my songs whenever you tell me to.”  Willie is as laid back and comfortable in his own skin as anyone I have ever met.

We chatted about a few other topics and I told him that I admired his energy  (he was 80 at the time) and was amazed that he was doing over 200 performances on the road in 2013.  His eyes got the size of quarters as he looked back at me and asked, “Am I really doing over 200 dates this year?”  I responded, “Yes, according to this press release.  He said, “No wonder I’m so tired!  I just ride this bus and when we get to where we are going they tell me to go play my music and sing and then I come back on the bus and ride to the next city.  I don’t know where I am most of the time!”

We had a wonderful show that evening in front of a packed house in our live audience studio at QVC.  

I asked him about some of his early songwriting efforts and he told me that he was with Patsy Cline’s husband at the legendary Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge in Nashville when he talked the owner into playing a demo version of a song he had written called Crazy on the juke box.  Patsy’s husband said they had to let Patsy hear it right away.  Willie said they could do it in the morning as it was after midnight but he insisted she needed to hear it right away.  They drove to her house and woke her up and the rest is history.  Willie had penned her biggest hit ever!

I was in Nashville with my wife, Beth, and daughter, Kelsey last month.  The first place I took them after we checked into our hotel? Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge! 

The walls are lined with photos of all the country music legends who had started their careers playing at this well-known honky tonk. 

As we sat down at our table, I looked up and whose picture was staring down at us?  You guessed it: Willie Nelson.

He is On the Road Again and I am so looking forward to welcoming him back to QVC at 8PM ET on Wednesday, June 12.  Join us for more great stories and music from his brand new album Band of Brothers.  It features nine brand new songs composed by one of the greatest songwriters of all time.  QVC will be the first to offer this amazing collection of new songs written and recorded by Willie along with a bonus CD of some of his most beloved tunes. 

Join us on June 12^th at 8pm ET for another special evening with a true American original: Willie Nelson!

-Dan