What a show.
Back in 1984, Willie Nelson’s hosted his Willie Nelson’s All-Star New Years Eve Party, where he counted down to the year 1985 at The Summett in Houston, Texas with some of his closest, and most famous, friends.
Along with Willie headlining, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Jessi Colter, June Carter Cash, BB King and others all took the stage throughout the evening to perform with him. Of course, Waylon and Willie sang some of their biggest hits together, including “Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys,” “Good Hearted Woman” which had to have been incredible to see.
Waylon, Jessi and BB also had their own little mini sets, and I just can’t help but think how amazing it was to be there and see this live. I’m not overly into New Year’s Eve and those types of celebrations, but the concert itself is a truly once in a lifetime lineup when many of the performers were still in the prime of their careers.
Tonight, of course, Ryan Seacrest will host a big New Year’s show live from Time’s Square in New York City, and there will be a big celebration in Nashville, and both shows will feature performances from some of country music’s biggest stars, but something like this can never be recreated.
Johnny and Kris also co-hosted the TV segments on HBO with Jim Varney, which was really fun to see and they did a great job. Their charisma and charm never ceases to amaze me, and Johnny also told Kris his New Year’s resolution that year was to “stop wearing black,” and that he’d go for more navy blue. You can see how that stuck… it didn’t, thankfully.
And if you’re staying in tonight, or just want something fun to watch ahead of all the other live TV shows starting… this is something else. If I could teleport back to 1984 and get to see this live in person, that’s where I would be tonight… here are a few of my favorites, and the full special is included at the bottom of this post.
“Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys”
“Good Hearted Woman”
“Night Life (with BB King)”
The full special, with timestamps and a full tracklist below as well if you want to skip around:
Willie Nelson and Family Band:
1.Willie and B.B. KING at 00:19:56 – 00:24:42
2.Waylon Jennings and Willie at 00:38:46 – 00:43:28
3.Willie Nelson and Family Band: 00:45:09
BB King:
4.Let The Good Times Roll
5.The Thrill Is Gone
6.Night Life + Willie Nelson
Jesse Colter:
7.I’m Not Lisa
Waylon Jennings:
8.Storms Never Last + Jesse Colter
9.America
10.Are You Ready For The Country
Waylon & Willie:
11.Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys
12.Good Hearted Woman
Willie Nelson and Family Band:
13.Blue Skies
14.Georgia
15.I Gotta Get Drunk
16.MIDNIGHT TOLLS “East Coast”
17.I Been To Georgia On A Fast Train
18.Forgiving You Was Easy
19.She Is Gone
20.I’m a Memory
21.Me & Paul
22.Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
23.Stardust
24.Angel Flying To Close To The Ground
25.On The road Again
26.Always On My Mind
27.City Of New Orleans
28.All The Girls I’ve Loved Before
29.I Still Miss Someone with Johnny Cash
30.Eye of the Storm with Kris Kristofferson
Everyone Jam:
31.Will The Circle Be Unbroken “Everyone Jam”
32.Amazing Grace “Everyone Jam”
33.MIDNIGHT TOLLS ‘TEXAS”
34.Uncloudy Day “Everyone Jam”
25.Whisky River “Everyone Jam”