Texas in My Soul
| Texas in My Soul | ||||
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| Studio album by Willie Nelson | ||||
| Released | 1968 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Chet Atkins | |||
| Willie Nelson chronology | ||||
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Texas in My Soul is the seventh studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. It was an early concept album that aimed to pay tribute to the State of Texas. The original album artwork features the Alamo, along with three San Antonio construction projects completed in 1968: the Tower of the Americas, HemisFair Arena and the HemisFair monorail system. All of these projects for HemisFair '68 were constructed by a joint venture of two general contractors: Gerald Lyda's Darragh & Lyda Inc. of San Antonio, Texas and the Houston-based H. A. Lott Inc.
"Dallas" was co-written by Dallas-based music promoter Dewey Groom who owned and operated the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas where Nelson regularly played.
"Texas in My Soul" was written in the late 1940s by Ernest Tubb and Zeb Turner, along with an uncredited Justin Tubb, Ernest's eleven-year-old son. While singles were cut and released by Tex Williams and Hank Penny, Ernest never recorded the song.
"San Antonio" became Nelson's sixth RCA Victor single, peaking at #50, but lingering on the charts for nine weeks. The song was written by San Antonio steel guitar player Jerry Blanton who performed with George Chambers and the Country Gentlemen. Chambers and his band had recently backed up Nelson for four weeks in Las Vegas.
"The Hill Country Theme" was written by Cindy Walker for Texas Hill Country-born Lyndon B. Johnson, who was President of the United States at the time. The song was adopted as Johnson's official theme song. Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops recorded a symphonic version of the song which was included on one of their RCA Victor albums.
"Waltz Across Texas" was written by Ernest Tubb. This album marked the first time that Nelson recorded the song. Producer Pete Drake produced the 1978 Ernest Tubb tribute album, The Legend and the Legacy which featured a duet between Tubb and Nelson.
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| Allmusic |    link |
Track listing
- "Dallas" (Dewey Groom, Don Stovall) - 2:16
- "San Antonio" (Jerry Blanton) - 2:32
- "Streets of Laredo" (Traditional) - 3:33
- "Who Put All My Ex's in Texas" (Eddie Rabbitt, Tony Moon, Larry Lee)-2:16
- "The Hill Country Theme" (Cindy Walker) - 2:20
- "Waltz Across Texas" (Ernest Tubb) - 2:28
- "William Barrett Travis Letter" (Merle Travis) - 2:05
- "Remember the Alamo" (Jane Bowers) - 2:57
- "Texas in My Soul" (Zeb Turner, Ernest Tubb) - 2:02
- "There's a Little Bit of Everything in Texas" (Ernest Tubb) - 2:21
- "Beautiful Texas" (W. Lee O'Daniel) - 2:41
Personnel
- Willie Nelson - vocals, guitar
- Chet Atkins - guitar
- Grady Martin - guitar
- Jimmy Day - steel guitar
- Ray Stevens - vibes, organ
