Willie Nelson Once Got Too High to Play a Concert
Willie Nelson's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live was focused on smoking marijuana, with the country legend admitting that he can get — and has been — too high to perform.
Talking to guest host George Lopez from his home in Austin, Texas, Nelson told childhood stories of smoking everything from grapevines to cedar bark in talking about his early relationship with marijuana. The 87-year-old has long been a proponent of the benefits of the drug, and says early in this conversation that he's not surprised to see it being normalized and legalized in many states.
"I think now that it's in 30 states medicinally," he says, "and in a lot of states, recreationally, it's legal. So it's on the way, and I think it's a good thing."
Too much of a good thing isn't always a good thing, however. Lopez tells a story of watching Merle Haggard nearly miss a concert because he'd partied a little too hard and then turns those circumstances to Nelson to address. It's happened, he admits. Watch at about the three-minute mark below:
"I don't remember the town, but I do remember that I wasn't able to do a show," Nelson says. "I walked out there and said, 'Sorry,' and went back to the bus, and I came back about a month later and said, 'I think I remember being here before.'"
Nelson was appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live to talk about his new album, the critically acclaimed First Rose of Spring. It's the country legend's 70th studio album and one he's very proud of; the title track in particular is one he knew he needed to record immediately upon hearing it, and it won't be the last fans hear from him.
While locked indoors in Texas, Nelson has continued to stay busy. Along with sons Lukas and Micah, he's working on several albums, including a Roger Miller covers project and another album of Frank Sinatra songs. The Sinatra album would be a follow-up to Nelson's My Way, released in 2018.
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