Ali Siddiq on "Midnight Rider"

One by Willie

John Spong

Willie Nelson, Music, Music History, Music Commentary, Guitar, Spong, Music Interviews, Society & Culture, Austin, Texas Monthly, Country Music, Arts, Americana, Songwriting, Outlaw Country

4.6 • 898 Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Comedian Ali Siddiq zooms in on Willie Nelson’s 1979 cover of the Allman Brother’s tale of a desperate outlaw’s life on the lamb, “Midnight Rider.” It’s a song Ali used to blast in his Monte Carlo during his days as what he calls “street pharmaceutical rep” in Houston’s Third Ward, as detailed in his groundbreaking 4-part comedy special Domino Effect, and it gets him thinking aloud on American culture’s enduring fascination with gangsters and outlaws…plus such Willie-adjacent lessons as the significance of working every angle to control your destiny, and the importance of taking the gifts that save you--like comedy and music--and paying them forward to save others.

With cameo appearances by Aretha Franklin, Martin Lawrence, and Willie’s old drummer Paul English—who Ali can tell, just from looking at one photo, was an actual outlaw.

Transcript

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0:00.0	One by Willie is brought to you by Waterburger.
0:03.4	Willie's been doing things his way for over 70 years, and Waterberger's been doing the same.
0:08.8	Fresh beef, made to order, no shortcuts.
0:12.2	Some things are just worth doing right.
0:14.2	Find yours at waterburger.com.
0:17.2	Hey, this is Josh Modell, host of the Talk House podcast.
0:20.5	Each week, we pair up handpicked creative minds, musicians, filmmakers, actors, and more for illuminating one-on-one conversations that touch on everything from the mechanics of music making to their favorite candy, to their social and emotional well-being. We throw the usual journalist interview subject paradigm out the window and just let these conversations go where they will, which is often unexpected places. Listener favorites from the past few seasons include
0:42.3	Jermaine Clement chatting with Rubin from UMO, Robert Glasper with Emily King, Guillermo
0:47.3	del Toro with William Friedkin, and Hamilton Lighthouser with Ethan Hawk. We've had Hall of Famers like
0:52.6	Michael Stipe, Tegan and Sarah, and Jeff Tweedy. The list goes on and on because there are endless possibilities when you pair up two talented people and just ask them to chat. It's like sitting in on a conversation you'd otherwise never get to hear, and we think it's pretty great. Plus, the conversation continues at talkhouse.com, where you'll find tons of artist written reviews essays and
1:11.0	playlists check out the talk house podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts
1:15.0	day there i'm john spong and this is one by willie a podcast in which i talk each week
1:25.6	to one notable willy nelson fan about about one Willie song that they really love.
1:31.2	This week, comedian Ali Sadiq talks about Willie's 1979 cover of the Alman Brothers' desperate tale of an outlaw on the lamb, Midnight Rider.
1:41.7	Now, if you don't know, Ali, he first came to national attention in 2015 when his 10-minute
1:47.0	bit Mexicans got on boots about trying to avoid a prison riot while he was locked up in
1:52.5	the Torres unit outside San Antonio, went viral on YouTube.
1:57.1	It ended up being part of his truly revolutionary, four-part comedy special domino effect,
2:02.7	in which he details in a decidedly cautionary way. His life is what he calls a street
2:08.3	pharmaceutical rep in Houston's third ward, his 1992 arrest with five kilos of cocaine,
2:15.1	$92,000 in a gun, and his efforts to not just survive, but thrive
2:20.4	in prison and turn his life around. So Ali will get into the surprising, or not, occasions that he
	...

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