Willie Nelson to Toast Frank Sinatra in “That’s Life”

Willie Nelson is paying tribute to close friend and musical colleague Frank Sinatra with his 71st studio album and 15th album for Sony’s Legacy imprint called That’s Life to be released on February 26th, 2021. It’s not the first time Willie will tribute Ol’ Blue Eyes. His 2018 album My Way did similar, and ended up earning Willie Nelson a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Solo Album.

To capture the essence of Sinatra, Nelson recorded the new album at Capitol Studios in Hollywood where many of Sinatra’s most memorable recordings were captured, with additional work done at Willie’s Pedernales Studios in Austin, Texas. Producing the album will once again be Buddy Cannon along with Matt Rollings, who worked on the last Sinatra tribute as well. Along with reprising 11 songs from the Great American Songbook made famous by Frank, the record will also include lush string and horn arrangements.

Grammy-winning engineer Al Schmitt mixed the new record, with Kristin Wilkinson and Chris McDonald handling the orchestral arrangements. That’s Life also sees contributions from Mickey Raphael on harmonica, Dave Matthews Band saxophonist Jeff Coffin, and Grammy-winning vocalist Diana Krall on the song “I Won’t Dance.”

The cover of Sinatra’s 1955 album In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning was the inspiration for the cover art of That’s Life. Ahead of the release, Willie Nelson has revealed his take on the song “A Cottage for Sale” (listen below). Penned by Willard Robison and Larry Conley, Frank Sinatra recorded the song for his 1959 album No One Cares.

That’s Life is now available for pre-order, while a limited-edition marble blue-colored vinyl will be available exclusively at Barnes & Noble.

TRACK LIST:

  1. Nice Work If You Can Get It (Ira Gershwin & George Gershwin; Sinatra-Basie: An Historic Musical First, 1962)
  2. Just In Time (Adolph Green, Jule Styne & Betty Comden; Come Dance With Me!, 1959)
  3. A Cottage For Sale (Larry Conley & Willard Robison; No One Cares, 1959)
  4. I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Cole Porter; Songs For Swingin’ Lovers!, 1956)
  5. You Make Me Feel So Young (Josef Myrow & Mack Gordon; Songs For Swingin’ Lovers!, 1956)
  6. I Won’t Dance – featuring Diana Krall (Jerome Kerr, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields; A Swingin’ Affair!, 1957)
  7. That’s Life (Dean Kay & Kelly Gordon, That’s Life, 1966)
  8. Luck Be A Lady (Frank Loesser; My Kind Of Broadway, 1965)
  9. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning (David Mann & Bob Hilliard; In The Wee Small Hours, 1955)
  10. Learnin’ The Blues (Dolores Vicki Silvers; Session with Sinatra EP, single, 1955)
  11. Lonesome Road (Nathaniel Shilkret & Gene Austin; A Swingin’ Affair!, 1957)
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