Don Was on "Across the Borderline"
One by Willie
John Spong
4.6 • 898 Ratings
🗓️ 23 February 2021
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Don Was, the legendary producer who recorded Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and the B-52s’ “Love Shack,” and has worked with everyone from the Rolling Stones to Bob Dylan, calls Willie’s recording of “Across the Borderline” his favorite track he ever worked on. It was the title cut to the 1993 album that breathed new life into Willie’s career, and it prompts Don to discuss the fragile magic of a perfect first take, what it’s like to go out to eat with Willie and Ringo Starr, and the unusual sleeping arrangements Willie often makes when he’s out on the road.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Texas Monthly. |
| 0:11.0 | Hey there, I'm John Spong with Texas Monthly, |
| 0:14.2 | and this is One By Willie, a podcast in which I talk each week to one notable Willie Nelson fan |
| 0:20.0 | about one Willie song that they really love. |
| 0:23.1 | This week, we visit with Don Was, the acclaimed record producer who also happens to be the president of Blue Note Records. |
| 0:30.2 | Don's going to talk about the title track to the first Willie album that he produced, 1993s, across the borderline. |
| 0:37.7 | Now, a lot of people forget what a huge record that was for Willie, |
| 0:40.6 | one that kind of led to a rebirth in his career. |
| 0:43.6 | Don will talk about that fact, plus what it was like to record the album, |
| 0:47.2 | which will lead him to describe cutting a duet with Willie and Bob Dylan, |
| 0:51.1 | going out to eat with Willie and Ringo Starr, |
| 0:54.1 | and the unlikely sleeping arrangements Willie often makes when he's out on the road. |
| 0:58.8 | Let's do it. |
| 1:01.0 | These are. |
| 1:05.6 | There's a place where I've been told |
| 1:13.6 | Every street is paved with gold |
| 1:18.6 | And it's just across the borderline |
| 1:26.6 | So tell me about the song across the borderline. |
| 1:30.3 | Well, I heard the Rikuders version of it first. |
| 1:37.3 | Rye wrote it along with John Hyatt and Jim Dickinson. |
| 1:41.3 | The original recording, I think, is by Freddie Fender, and it's for the soundtrack |
| 1:45.1 | of a Jack Nicholson movie called The Border. But it's a beautiful song and is way deeper than |
... |
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