Willie Nelson - You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker

Cindy and Willie: Works for me!

While browsing the CD sale rack at Joe Dahlquist's Ben Franklin store in Reed City recently, I struck gold, so I figured I'd share it with you.
Willie Nelson's latest CD marks a welcome return to country music as it was over fifty years ago. You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker is Willie's tribute to one of the great songwriters from the golden era that gave us Bob Wills, Gene Autry, Webb Pierce, Ernest Tubb and Eddy Arnold, just to name a few of the stars who covered Walker's tunes.
The album is equal parts Walker and Willie, a winning combination. I didn't know that much about Walker, but I've been a fan of Willie for nearly thirty years. Of course Nelson has been writing and recording songs himself for close to fifty years now, but only started receiving national recognition in the late seventies with the release of his landmark concept album, Red-Headed Stranger. With that record he broke free of the normal Nashville product and established what came to be called the "outlaw sound." He was soon joined in this movement by Waylon, Jerry Jeff, Johnny and Kris, and others.
I started seriously collecting Willie's stuff after the crossover success of his beautiful ballad, "You Were Always on My Mind." Well, I call it beautiful, but I'll concede that Willie's voice is probably an acquired taste. My wife calls his singing just plain awful. I call it, well, "just plain Willie," like an old friend's familiar voice. And the sounds he coaxes from the gut strings of that old much-patched guitar are, to me, simply sublime.
From the opening notes of "Bubbles in My Beer" to the closing strains of "I Was Just Walkin' Out the Door," there are just no bad tracks on this disc. With an all-star musical ensemble led by fiddler Johnny Gimble (who once played with the Texas Playboys) and backing vocals by the venerable Jordanaires, country music just doesn't get much better than this.
The title track is, of course, an absolute gem. It's a song that nearly every major vocalist of the past half century has recorded, but Willie somehow makes it his own. Even Eddy Arnold and Jerry Vale would have to tip their hats to Willie's treatment.
"Sugar Moon" has been a favorite tune of mine ever since I heard Leon Redbone's mellow rendition back in the eighties. (Never heard Leon? Find him. Listen. Enjoy!)
There are few songs here that don't strike a familiar chord, but one I had never heard before is "Dusty Skies," perhaps one of the most moving pieces on the album. It's Walker's response to the national misery of the Great Depression and the devastation that was the "dust bowl" of Oklahoma. Willie's soulful nasal twang blends perfectly with the velvet voices of the Jordanaires and mournful moan of Charlie McCoy's mouth organ as he sings --

"So get along little dogies, we're movin' off of this range
Never thought as how I'd make a change
But the blue skies have failed and we're on our last trail
Underneath these dusty skies
These ain't tears in my eyes
Just sand, from these dusty skies."

Cindy Walker, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, died on March 23, 2006. She was 87. But she lived to see this album made and was very pleased with it. Willie is too. He compares it to Stardust, his classic 1978 album of pop standards. If you like good music, you'll like this album. If you like Willie, you'll love it. - Tim Bazzett, author of the ReedCityBoy trilogy ([...])
April 6, 2008

Fantastic! I love it.

I listen to this album over and over again while driving to and from work. I just love it. Each song is wonderful, and Willie performs each one as only Willie can. Read Cindy Walker's bio. She was a wonderful writer and an interesting character, and so is Willie. I love this album. February 8, 2008

Texas Greatest Musicians

Willie and Cindy are two of Texas' greatest musicians. Cindy is as obscure to today's public as Willie is famous, but the respect Willie shows for her work tells it all. Cindy passed on a few days after the CD was released, March 24, 2006, in Mexia, Texas.

I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to this CD.
September 11, 2007

Put some money in the juke box.

On this CD, Willie Nelson sings songs written by the late Cindy Walker. He performs 13 of her songs here, which date from 1942 to 1963. Most of these songs were hits way back then for country music legends like Bob Wills, Eddy Arnold, Ernest Tubb, Red Foley and Webb Pierce. Interestingly, Miss Walker wrote most of these songs from a man's point of view, probably because there weren't many popular female country singers back then. (Kitty Wells was the first female country music superstar, and she didn't have her first hit until 1952.) These songs fit Willie Nelson like a glove, and he performs them quite well in his trademark style. I'm sure that Willie's fans will really enjoy this CD. June 16, 2007

great songs from a great singer

I've always liked Willie Nelson and this is one of his best albums. All songs are good - good easy listening. May 18, 2007

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