Top 5 Artists Willie Nelson Has Never Worked With… But Should

The always prolific Willie Nelson has been unusually busy lately, even by his standards. In the last two weeks alone, there’s been the new remastered version of his classic Stardust -30th Anniversary Legacy Edition, and just yesterday a newly unearthed concert with Wynton Marsalis, called Two Men with the Blues was released by Blue Note.

This got to me to thinking. Since Willie has recorded collaborations with every known artist in the universe already – that is unless all those duets with Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Leon Russell, Julio Iglesias, U2, Aerosmith, the Ramones (okay, I lied about that one) and of course, Waylon, Kris, and Johnny don’t count anyway – just who hasn’t the Red Headed Stranger laid down tracks with? And while were at it, what better excuse for a Top 5 list?

1. Radiohead Seriously, think about it. Imagine Willie’s creaky old voice taking on “Creep,” or better yet, singing Thom Yorke’s immortal words, “yesterday I woke up sucking a lemon,” from “Everything In It’s Right Place”? I can also easily picture Thom Yorke’s lonely, isolated wail doing the Merle Haggard part on “Pancho and Lefty.” Okay, maybe we’ll scratch that last one.

2. AC/DC This one’s a natural. Especially when you think of all of the marketing possibilities associated with the whole “Highway” connection. If Willie Nelson hasn’t ridden one way up and three ways down the “Highway To Hell” you tell me just who the hell has. Likewise, throw a few choice chunky Angus Young licks into the mix on “Highwayman,” and you’ve got something that’ll ring through WalMart parking lots from Okananogan to Oskosh. Best of all, AC/DC’s already got the WalMart exclusivity deal signed, sealed, and sewn up.

3. Snoop Dogg Since Snoop shares the same fondness for the green as Willie (and by that, no, we don’t mean the environmentally fashionable definition), these two should be off and running once the first blunt gets lit. Iskey-whizzle to the iver-rizzle y’all, cause these two O.G.’s got “Gangsta’ On Their Mind.”

4. David Bowie Since Bowie has adapted so many personas over the years, there are any number of possibilities here, but personally I like the idea of a Ziggy Stardust take on Stardust. Guess he’d have to break out that red/orange hair again too. Okay, maybe not. Still, I can almost picture this. Ground Control to Major Haggard anyone?

5. Metallica Ready to “Ride The Lariat”? Cause personally, I always thought songs like “Wherever I May Roam” and “Unforgiven” were country songs cleverly disguised as FM rock friendly metal anyway. I could also see a speed metal take on “Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.” With songs like “Don’t Tread On Me,” you’ve even got the misplaced redneck factor covered here. No? Okay, maybe that pairing really is “The Thing That Should Not Be."