Rodney Crowell on "Bloody Mary Morning"
One by Willie
John Spong
4.6 • 898 Ratings
🗓️ 13 April 2021
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Even though singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell had already been a diehard Willie fan for 10 years when Phases and Stages came out in 1974, he says he was positively gobsmacked by the album’s lead single, “Bloody Mary Morning.” On this episode he dives deep into all that, then goes on to describe his first recording session with Willie a few years later...including the red Camaro he saw doing donuts outside the studio when he got there. And you will not guess who was driving.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Texas Monthly. |
| 0:11.0 | Hey there, I'm John Spong with Texas Monthly, and this is One by Willie, a podcast in which I talk |
| 0:17.7 | each week to one notable Willie Nelson fan about one Willie song that they really love. |
| 0:23.1 | This week, we talked to singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell about Bloody Mary Morning. |
| 0:28.2 | It's a song that barely dented the country top 20 when it was released as a single in 1974, |
| 0:34.0 | but is the lead track on side two of Willie's landmark album phases and stages, |
| 0:39.4 | not to mention being a 90-mile-an-hour barn burner that has been a highlight of every |
| 0:43.4 | Willie concert since then, it went on to become an all-time country classic. |
| 0:48.4 | And it prompts thoughts from Rodney on nasty hangovers, |
| 0:52.0 | going to Willie shows as a Houston high school kid in the mid-60s, |
| 0:55.9 | and that time in the late 70s, when Rodney showed up for a recording session with Willie |
| 1:00.5 | in Bogalusa, Louisiana, only to discover a red Camaro doing donuts in a field next to the studio. |
| 1:07.6 | And you will not guess who was driving that red Camaro. |
| 1:12.6 | So let's do it. It's art. |
| 1:13.6 | Well, it's a bloody merry morning, baby, left me without warning sometime in the night. |
| 1:24.6 | So I'm flying down to Houston with forgetting her the nature of my flight. |
| 1:30.4 | What's so cool about Bloody Mary morning? |
| 1:33.2 | It's a ridiculous question. |
| 1:35.8 | You're asking me or are you telling me? |
| 1:38.4 | Well, you've picked Bloody Mary Morning to talk about, and I wonder why. |
| 1:44.8 | What do you like about Bloody Mary Morning? |
| 1:46.7 | What's the big deal? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John Spong, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of John Spong and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.