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Willie Nelson Announces New Album of Frank Sinatra Hits My Way, Releases “Summer Wind”

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 16: (EDITORS NOTE: This image has been converted to black and white) Willie Nelson performs at The Life & Songs of Kris Kristofferson produced by Blackbird Presents at Bridgestone Arena on March 16, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Essential Broadcast Media)

Willie Nelson has announced his followup to his album of original songs from earlier this year, Last Man Standing: an album of Frank-Sinatra-popularized standards called (aptly) My Way. But don’t let the title worry you, the album covers a lot of ground in the Sinatra discography, including a lot stronger selections than Donald Trump’s Paul-Anka-penned favorite, which Sinatra himself grew to loathe. Today, Nelson has released a video for his take on “Summer Wind,” one of the highlights of Sinatra’s ’60s discography. You can also look forward to takes on “One For My Baby (And One More For the Road)” and “It Was a Very Good Year.” Norah Jones guests on a version of Cole Porter’s “What Is This Thing Called Love?”

Nelson released one of the seminal and successful crossover standards albums, Stardust, in 1978. He has recorded American Songbook tunes since, including a full album of George Gershwin songs in 2016. In a recent interview with AARP Magainze, Nelson said: “I learned a lot about phrasing listening to Frank [Sinatra]. He didn’t worry about behind the beat or in front of the beat, or whatever – he could sing it either way, and that’s the feel you have to have.”

If you are interested in country and rock musicians singing Sinatra’s hits, you can wait out Nelson’s album release date (September 14) by listening to the five discs worth of Chairman of the Board standards Bob Dylan has released over the course of the past five years (read our review of his Triplicate triple album of last year here). You can check out the full track list for My Way and watch the video for Nelson’s beautiful take on “Summer Wind”–more languid and vulnerable than Sinatra’s–below.