Willie Nelson is quite a prolific songwriter. The 91-year-old has written hundreds of songs, including his own hits like "Bloody Mary Morning," "On the Road Again" and more. But Nelson has also written plenty of songs for other artists as well. We take a look at four of the tunesmith's most memorable songs, recorded by someone else.
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1. "Crazy" by Patsy Cline
Arguably the most famous song Nelson wrote, at least for someone else, "Crazy" is also Cline's most iconic hit. At the time, Nelson was still struggling as a songwriter, when he pitched the song to Cline. She immediately passed on it, but her husband, Charlie Dick, loved it. Cline included "Crazy" on her 1961 Showcase album. Two years later, Cline was tragically killed in a plane accident.
Nelson says "Crazy" is one of his favorite songs he has ever written.
2. "Night Life" by Aretha Franklin
Nelson wrote "Night Life" with Walt Breeland and Paul Buskirk. The song is from Franklin's Aretha Arrives album, out in 1967. The song was covered by plenty of other artists, including Ray Price, Dottie West, Don Ho and Rusty Draper, but it's Franklin's soulful voice that makes the song stand out the most.
Interestingly, the song was rejected by the owner of Nelson's label, D Records, for not being country enough.
3. "Family Bible" by Claude Gray
Nelson also recorded "Family Bible," making it the title track of a record released in 1980. But 19 years before that, Gray made it a hit single, taking it all the way to the Top 10. Nelson first sold the song to Paul Buskirk, amid financial trouble, with Buskirk pitching it to Gray. Nelson first recorded the song on his own in 1971, for his own Yesterday's Wine album.
George Jones also recorded "Family Bible" as well.
4. "Pretty Paper" by Roy Orbison
Nelson wrote "Pretty Paper" by himself, and played it for Fred Foster, who was the head of his record label at the time. Foster in turn played it for Orbison, who made it a Top 15 hit, from Orbison's 1963 In Dreams album. Although Orbison's is the most popular version, Nelson also recorded it, and made it the title track of his 1979 album.
Other artists who recorded "Pretty Paper" include Glen Campbell, Mickey Gilley, Randy Travis and Kenny Chesney, among others.
