Willie Nelson has been winning Grammys for quite some time now.
The other week, Willie won the 12th Grammy of his legendary career for his 97th studio album, A Beautiful Time.
Yes, 97 albums… the man stays busy.
But back on this date in 1979, Willie took home a few other pieces of hardware at the 21st Annual Grammy Awards.
“Georgia On My Mind” is one of the most beloved country songs of all-time. Originally written and recorded by Hoagy Carmichael back in 1930, it was first popularized by Ray Charles on his 1960 The Genius Hits Of The Road album, and has since been named the official song of the state of Georgia.
But Willie made it his own for iconic Stardust record and it was so well received that he took home that year’s Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, beating out a checklist of country music royalty, which included Waylon Jennings, Ronnie Milsap, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Paycheck, and even Elvis Presley.
But it wasn’t the only win for Willie that year.
He and Waylon Jennings took home the Best Country Vocal Duo or Group for the forever fan favorite “Mamas, Don’t Let You Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.”
What a year, what a song, what a career.
No matter how many lifetime achievement awards Willie receives, I feel it will never fully be able to acknowledge the impact he made on the country music world.
