Texas Monthly.

Hey there, I'm John Spong with Texas Monthly magazine, and this is One by Willie, a podcast in which I talk each week to one notable Willie Nelson fan about one Willie's song that they really love.

This week, legendary singer-songwriter Ray Wiley Hubbard, who in addition to being Willie's running buddy for more than 50 years,

happens also to be a founding father of Americana music and one of the absolute most amazing storytellers you're ever going to hear.

And he's going to talk about Whiskey River. The song, of course, has long been the

unmistakable opening number at Willie shows, and it might as well be the Texas National Anthem.

But for Ray, it prompts very personal, very specific, and very hilarious, memories of seeing Willie play it over the years before it sends him down rabbit holes relating to that time he was kidnapped by Willie's road crew, the reason Willie's drummer, Paul English, was not a fan of the Eagles, and Willie's smile. Let's do it.

It's smile. Let's do it. It's hard.

Whiskey River take my mind.

Long never memory taught to me.

It's the goofy question that we start every episode with, but it's particularly goofy in this episode because the song is Whiskey River.

But for you, what's so cool about Whiskey River?

Well, the first time I heard Willie do Whiskey River, I mean, it's his opening song. He's opened with it for forever.

And there was an old club in Dallas, first time in my son was called 57

doors. And what had happened, Willie had got, Gina McCausen, who had booked the Western place,

had booked Willie when he had short hair. Willie started letting his hair grow. He came back.

And the owner said, well, you can't have Willie play. So Gino left, know and and and took Willie with him and he opened

this new club called 57 doors so okay which a more kind of a rock club in a way and so

Willie went with Gino to uh to 57 doors so the first time I heard him you know it was just

I'd been playing there as kind of the house band.

And all of a sudden, you know, when Willie come out and just that... Down, down, down, down.

Whiskey, wherever, and everything goes nuts.

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