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Willie Nelson to drop 'American Classic' while on baseball run
Along with mounting an intensive stadium run alongside Bob Dylan and John Mellencamp next month, Willie Nelson will release this summer "American Classic," his first collection of standards since 1978's "Stardust."
The 12-track album--the performer's first solo effort on the Blue Note label--will hit shelves August 25 and features guest vocalists Diana Krall ("If I Had You") and Norah Jones ("Baby It's Cold Outside"). Nelson's backing band--Mickey Raphael (harmonica), Joe Sample (piano), Christian McBride (bass) and Lewis Nash (drums)--contributed to the set, while Grammy-winning composer Johnny Mandel added the string arrangements.
"Stardust," Nelson's most recent record of pop standards, debuted in 1978 at the top of Billboard's Country Albums chart; the record remains Nelson's most successful release to date with more than five million copies sold, according to a press release.
Nelson, Dylan and Mellencamp will kick off their tour of minor-league baseball stadiums July 2 in Sauget, IL, marking the second time in more than two decades that the trio has appeared together on stage.
Following the 22-date "Baseball Tour," Nelson will head out alone to make up a handful of Southern shows originally slated for February. The Red-Headed Stranger postponed the six performances due to an unspecified illness.
In March, Nelson released "Naked Willie," a 17-track set of recordings from the late 1960s that were stripped down to the way they were originally heard in the studio.
