The Little Willies

Don’t try to read anything into the post title. It simply refers to a group of musicians who have successful careers on their own, but who enjoy getting together from time-to-time to perform, and they’re about to release a new album entitled For The Good Times. This album is essentially a cover tribute to some of the classics of country music.

If that title sounds familiar, you’re probably recognizing it as the song that made Ray Price’s career. Did you also know that it was written and recorded by Kris Kristofferson?

Anyway, back to The Little Willies. I may be the last person on the planet to realize it, but the group consists of four men and one woman, and that woman is none other than the incomparable songwriter, singer, and pianist, 9-time Grammy-winning Norah Jones, who also happened to attend the University of North Texas in Denton (where my lovely bride spent the first two years of her college career before wising up).

For The Good Times is now available for pre-ordering via iTunes and Amazon.com, and will be released on January 10, 2012. I’ve heard one cut from the album, the band’s cover of Dolly Parton’s haunting Jolene, and it’s worth the price of the album all by itself. 

If you’re looking for music that pays tribute to the history of country without copying it, I suspect that this will more than fill the bill.