Never could I have ever imagined that Willie Nelson would inspire this…
The country music legend has inspired quite a song, by an artist you probably have never heard of… and that would be Luann de Lesseps, AKA “The Countess,” who is a star on The Real Housewives of New York City.
She’s honestly quite a character and so funny, and fans know that she’s a cabaret star and she has released several singles over the years, including “Chic C’est La Vie,” “Girl Code,” and “Feelin’ Jovani,” and my personal favorite, “Money Can’t Buy You Class.”
But now, she released a single called “To All the Boys,” which interpolates Willie’s 1984 duet with Julio Iglesias “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” which was written by Hal David and Albert Hammond and became a genre-crossing hit. Peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it was a #1 hit on the country charts.
Willie later released an album called To All the Girls… in 2013, which celebrated his musical chemistry with female artists through a collection of incredible duets.
Luann’s version isn’t quite so deep and heartfelt, but it’s definitely something…
She told People that her producer brought her the song, and when he told her it was inspired by “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” she said she loved the song and she was in:
“Well, I was at a party with Dorinda and a producer comes up to me, who tours with Florence and the Machine, Aku, and he goes, ‘I’ve got a song for you.’ I said, ‘Oh yeah?’
And then he said, ‘You know that famous song from Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson ‘To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before?’’ I’m like, ‘Sure. I love that song.’ And then I knew I had to make it mine.”
She definitely put her own twist on it, and as fans who have watched her on Housewives for years know, she loves men… this was a way for her to put that into a song:
“I love my boys. My boys are Roger, who is my chief of staff, master of ceremonies. And so, I have a lot of my boys on the show. And listen, I’ve always had a love affair with boys, because I grew up with four brothers, which most people don’t know about me.
So, I feel comfortable with men. Although I have a ton of girlfriends, because I’m a girl’s girl, as well. I wrote that song ‘Girl Code’ with Jerry ‘Wonda,’ who tours with Melissa Etheridge, and many others. I’ve gotten to work with the greatest producers ever.”
It came originally to Aku because a friend of Dorinda said, ‘Oh, that song for Luann would be amazing,’ and called Greg Calejo, who is a super guy and had the vision. When he came to me, I said, ‘Oh my God. I love it.’ Aku sent me the beat, because he knows I want to do dance, and I was like, ‘Oh my God. This guy gets me.’ And that’s how it started.”
She also took inspiration from an old-school press photo of Julio in 1980, where he is hanging out at the pool with a bevy of beautiful women behind him:
“I worked with Philip Henry, who collaborates with people like Madonna and Mistr. Mistr is the sponsor of my tour, the song [and] the music video. My inspiration was if you look at the cover of Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson’s song, it was Julio in front of an old-school pool with a bevy of beautiful women behind him.
And I said to myself, “You know what? That inspires me for the music video.”
She filmed it at a friends house while they were filming their E! Network show The Golden Life, and it just so happened that the pool looked just like the one from the album cover:
“To be able to shoot it during The Golden Life was incredible, because my girlfriend had the same-shaped pool. I said, ‘Oh my God. Can I shoot my music here?’ And she’s like, ‘Sure.’ So, I found the location just by chance, because I went to visit her while I was in Palm Beach. And then I had all these hot men I know. It all fell into place.”
The lyrics are not at all like anything Willie would ever write, of course, and here’s just a taste:
“To all the boys I’ve loved before
Who traveled in and out of my door
Those boys who came along
I dedicate this song
To all the boys I’ve loved before
To all the boys I take on dates
And parade all over the states
You see me as headstrong,
And frankly, you’re not wrong,
To all the boys I’ve loved before”
Yeah, it’s something…
Obviously, I know a lot of Willie fans aren’t going to love this concept, and as a massive, longtime Willie Nelson fan, I don’t think his music is anything anyone should mess with. But at the same time, I am a little biased because I love Luann and think she’s a trip.
Even if the song is obviously not going to win a Grammy, and is slightly offensive to hardcore Willie fans like me, if she’s a fan of Willie, I have to say, she at least has good taste in the music she listens to.
Listen at your own risk:
“To All The Boys”
I will stick with this one, though…
