Stardust (1978)

Stardust is the 22nd studio album by Willie Nelson, released in April 1978. Its ten songs consist entirely of American pop standards that Nelson picked from among his favorites. Nelson asked Booker T. Jones, who was his neighbor in Malibu at the time, to arrange a version of "Moonlight in Vermont". Impressed with Jones's work, Nelson asked him to produce the entire album. Nelson's decision to record such well-known tracks was controversial among Columbia executives because he had distinguished himself in the outlaw country genre. Recording the album took only ten days.

Stardust was met with high sales and near-universal positive reviews. It peaked at number 1 in Billboard's Top Country Albums and number 30 in the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, it charted at number 1 in Canadian RPM's Country Albums and number 28 in RPM's Top Albums. The singles "Blue Skies" and "All of Me" peaked, respectively, at numbers one and three in Billboard's Hot Country Singles.

In 1979, Nelson won a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for the song "Georgia on My Mind". Stardust was on the Billboard's Country Album charts for ten years—from its release until 1988. The album also reached number one in New Zealand and number five in Australia in 1980. In 2012, the album was ranked number 260 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was originally certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in December 1978. In 1984, when it was certified triple platinum, Nelson was the highest-grossing concert act in the United States. By 2002, the album was certified quintuple platinum, and it was later inducted into the 2015 Grammy Hall of Fame class.

Background and recording

After the critical and commercial success of 1975's Red Headed Stranger, Nelson became one of the most recognized artists in country music. He replicated this success in 1976, releasing Wanted! The Outlaws (featuring Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser), which became the genre's first certified platinum album. His 1977 release To Lefty from Willie peaked at number 3 on Billboard's Top Country Albums.

By 1977, Nelson had decided to record a collection of American pop standards to follow. At the time, Nelson lived in Malibu, California. While he spent the summer days jogging on the beach, he reminisced about the songs that inspired him to start a career in music and about the influence Frank Sinatra had on him. On a trip to Nashville, he mentioned his plan to Columbia Records executive Rick Blackburn. Blackburn had a negative reaction to Nelson's idea, and he recommended that he focus on writing new material instead. Nelson told Blackburn that his younger audience would not know the songs, while he expected to reach older audiences that did not listen to his music at the time.

Nelson was living in the same neighborhood in Malibu as producer Booker T. Jones. After one of his morning runs, Nelson encountered Jones in the neighborhood, and the two of them became acquainted. Nelson was aware of Jones's work with the M.G.'s. He later visited Jones at his home to try some of the material he had in mind for his next album. The two became friends, and Nelson asked Jones to arrange "Moonlight in Vermont" for him. Pleased by the results, he later asked Jones to produce his next album.

Nelson selected his ten favorite pop songs from his childhood, starting with "Stardust". Nelson and his sister, Bobbie, had sheet music for the song that he had tried to perform with his guitar but did not like that arrangement. Jones adapted the song for Nelson, who also picked "Georgia on My Mind", "Blue Skies", "All of Me", "Unchained Melody", "September Song", "On the Sunny Side of the Street", "Moonlight in Vermont", "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", and "Someone to Watch Over Me" for the album. Initially, Nelson expressed to Jones his doubts about recording "Georgia on My Mind", as he compared his rendition to that of Ray Charles. Jones told him, "Ray did it his way, and you'll do it yours." Following Jones's advice, Nelson decided to create his own version of each of the songs with the support of Jones's arrangements.

Nelson then approached Brian Ahern to use the recording trailer parked at his home in the Hollywood Hills, Enactron Truck Studio. Ahern set up cables leading from the console of the truck to his own house, where the musicians played. The band worked on the songs that were produced using a few takes in the living room, while harmonicist Mickey Raphael did his part in a tiled bathroom shower. Jones decided to keep the arrangements sparse, without the use of backup singers or additional strings. It was recorded from December 3–12, 1977.