Willie Nelson Launches Label

Willie Nelson photo courtesy of Lost Highway Records.

March 14, 2007 — Willie Nelson is joining with family and friends to create his own record label. Billboard.com reports that Willie will launch Pedernales Records with the June 15 release of the debut album by 40 Points, a quartet featuring his sons Lukas and Micah. His partners in the company include producer James Stroud and longtime manager Mark Rothbaum.

"I just think it's a good idea," said Willie, who will formally announce the label on Friday at the South By Southwest Music & Media Conference in Austin, Tex. "I have a whole lot of material I've recorded over the last 25 years in my studio in Texas, and it's just laying there. Also, there's other artists I think could use a good record label. Everything just seems so right about it."

Willie says his own stash of material includes performances with Wynton Marsalis, Les Paul, Grady Martin and Jackie King. He says he plans to record solely for Pedernales after his current deal with Lost Highway expires.

Willie's next project, "Last of the Breed," a two-disc collaboration with old friends Merle Haggard and Ray Price, comes out March 20. The trio is currently on tour, backed by Asleep at the Wheel, and will play two nights in Austin following the label announcement.

Willie also recently recorded a song called "What a Difference a Day Makes" to benefit radio personality Don Imus' Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer and co-wrote "Right to Dream" for the film Tennessee with Mariah Carey. "She's a sweetheart," Nelson says, "and she can really, really sing. It was no more left field than working with Julio Iglesias."