Willie Nelson collaborated with fellow free spirit Lucinda Williams for a raw, raucous version of "Live Forever" that's the title track of a forthcoming Billy Joe Shaver tribute album.
"Live Forever" first appeared on 1993's Tramp on Your Street, an album by Shaver (the duo of Billy Joe and his son Eddie). It's since gotten larger platforms with assists from Big & Rich and the film Crazy Heart.
Variety premiered Nelson and Williams' version in conjunction with the announcement of Live Forever: A Tribute To Billy Joe Shaver (out Nov. 11 via New West Records and Pedernales Records).
In a press release, Nelson described the elder Shaver, whose way with words elevated the outlaw image of Waylon Jennings and other peers, as a songwriter who "was just real; there wasn't one phony drop of blood in him."
A wide range of Shaver's songwriting students contribute covers to the Charlie Sexton and Freddy Fletcher-produced project, from outlaw contemporaries (Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle) to mainstream country stars (George Strait, Miranda Lambert) and Americana notables (Amanda Shires, Allison Russell).
Shaver died on Oct. 28, 2020.
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Live Forever: A Tribute To Billy Joe Shaver Tracklist
1. "Live Forever," Willie Nelson and Lucinda Williams
2. "Ride Me Down Easy," Ryan Bingham and Nikki Lane 3. "Old Five and Dimers Like Me," Rodney Crowell 4. "I'm Just An Old Chunk Of Coal (But I'm Gonna Be A Diamond Someday)," Miranda Lambert 5. "I Couldn't Be Me Without You," Edie Brickell 6. "You Asked Me To," Nathaniel Rateliff 7. "Willy The Wandering Gypsy And Me," George Strait 8. "Honky Tonk Heroes," Amanda Shires 9. "Ain't No God in Mexico," Steve Earle 10. "Ragged Old Truck," Margo Price 11. "Georgia On A Fast Train," Willie Nelson 12. "Tramp On Your Street," Allison Russell