If there’s anyone on the planet who can cover a Willie Nelson song and do it more than justice, it’s his son, Lukas.
We’ve heard Lukas sing his dad’s songs, like Funny (How Time Slips Away), pretty often, and back in 2013, on the same cruise where he absolutely crushed a cover of “Always on My Mind”, he also sang “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” and “Stardust”.
“Blue Eyes” was originally written by Fred Rose and performed by Roy Acuff. It has been covered by countless other country artists, like Hank Williams Sr. and Charley Pride, but was made most famous by Willie when he included it on his iconic 1975 Red Headed Stranger album.
In October of 1975, it became Willie’s very first #1 hit as a singer on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart.
“Stardust” was the title track of Willie’s 1978 album, but was actually a cover of Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish’s 1928 jazz song. Willie insisted on recording it back in the 70’s even though his label at the time, Columbia Records, told him he was crazy.
The label was certain that the younger audience Willie had wouldn’t care about the older songs he’d chosen to record for the album (many of them were favorites from his childhood), but he was willing to take the chance.
He knew that some of his older fans would know the original versions of the songs, and his younger fans would figure he had written them anyways, so it didn’t really matter. He also included his mega-hit, #1 version of “Georgia On My Mind” on that tracklist, which was also a Hoagy Carmichael original.
Lukas is an amazing artist in his own right, too, and is currently out on the road with his awesome band, Promise of the Real. While I typically don’t think Lukas and Willie necessarily sound identical, it’s hard not to draw that comparison when he covers his dad.
Seriously, if him singing the shit out of these classic country songs doesn’t absolutely blow you away, I don’t know what to tell ya:
“Stardust”
“Blues Eyes Crying In The Rain”
