On the Road Again (Willie Nelson song)

Background and writing

In 1980, Nelson starred in his first leading role in the Jerry Schatzberg film Honeysuckle Rose, about an aging musician and his relationship with his family, who also are part of his band that travels throughout the United States while playing in different venues. Shortly after signing the contract, Nelson was approached during a flight by Schatzberg and the executive producer of the movie, who requested him to write a song about life on the road to use as the theme song. Nelson quickly wrote the song on a barf bag. The tune featured a "train beat".

Recording

The track was recorded during production of the film, in what was essentially a series of live-show performances across multiple venues in Texas.

The recording was engineered by Bradley Hartman, who had previously recorded and mixed Stardust as well as several of Nelson's projects in the mid-1970s. Hartman utilised Brian Ahern's Enactron Truck which provided a Stephens 24-track tape machine and a Neve split console, syncing the audio to the Honeysuckle Rose film. Nelson sang into a Shure SM58 mic; to capture the live band and ambience, additional mics were used (including 451s as overheads).

“On the Road Again” was recorded multiple times, with roughly a dozen takes in different venues and varying audiences, before the final take was selected. The version used for the single and soundtrack was recorded at a club in Austin, Texas, known as the Soap Creek Saloon, over a two-day engagement.

For post-production, the multitrack tapes were later taken to studios in New York City and Los Angeles. Hartman completed the mixing of the album and single at Wally Heider Studios (Studio 4), using their then-new Neve 8108 console and Ampex tape machine. Hartman's final mix preserved the live nature of the take, with audience mics blended in to retain crowd response and ambience, keeping the recording's “live performance” vibe rather than creating a wholly studio-polished sound.

Release and reception

The song was released with Nelson's 1980 album Honeysuckle Rose, reaching the first position on Billboard's top country albums, while it ranked twenty on the Billboard Hot 100. Nelson received a Grammy Award for Best Country Song, while he was nominated for Best Original Song during the 53rd Academy Awards. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 471 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2011, "On the Road Again" was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Legacy

The song has also featured in several other films and TV series including King of the Hill, South Park, Shrek, Shameless, Family Guy, Forrest Gump, The Big Green, The Littlest Hobo, Monk, Open Season 3, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, *Dumb and Dumber To, *Nomadland, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

A live version of the song is featured in the 2008 video game Guitar Hero World Tour, while the studio version was released for Rock Band via the Rock Band Country Track Pack.

Conan O'Brien performed the song as "My Own Show Again" during his 2010 Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, changing the lyrics to reflect how he could not wait to return to hosting a television series after leaving The Tonight Show earlier in the year.

"Forever Country", a promotional single released in 2016, features the song as a medley with "I Will Always Love You" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads".

First Aid Kit released a cover of "On the Road Again" as a single in 2020. Proceeds from the song sales were donated to Crew Nation in order to support the members of the crew who were forced off the road and out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Charts

Certifications

Footnotes

References

References

1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20061228114429/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596316/on_the_road_again "On the Road Again"], from "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', November 2004.
2. Whitburn, Joel. (2002). "Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001". Record Research.
3. Schultz, Barbara. (2006-07-01). "Classic Tracks: Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again"".
4. (11 October 1986). "Chart Beat: The Long-Playing, Hit-Studded Record of One of the Most Prolific and Successful Artists in Music History".
5. "Nomadland (2020) - Soundtracks - IMDb".
6. Scott Sepich. (April 13, 2010). "Conan O'Brien Revives Edgy 'Late Night' Vibe at First Live Show".
7. Finan, Eileen. (September 16, 2016). "The Story Behind Country Music's Epic Mash-Up! Plus: Hear Blake, Carrie, Miranda and 36 Other Stars Sing 'Forever Country'". [[People (magazine).
8. (August 14, 2020). "First Aid Kit Share Cover of Willie Nelson's 'On the Road Again'". Spin.
9. Kent, David. (1993). "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992". Australian Chart Book.