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Willie Nelson Announces Frank Sinatra Tribute Album, ‘That’s Just Life’

Country singer Wille Nelson has announced a new Frank Sinatra tribute album titled That’s Just Life.

The album is Nelson’s second record of Sinatra covers. He released the first such album, My Way, in 2018.

Nelson Releases Second Sinatra Tribute

That’s Just Life is due out on February 26, 2021. Nelson released it through Legacy Recordings, according to Pitchfork. He recorded it at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, as well as at Pedernales Studios in Austin. The record’s producers are Buddy Cannon and Matt Rollings.

Nelson’s first Sinatra tribute album got him a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Solo Album. This second album is full of songs from the 1950s and 1960s, per Spin.

The following are the tracks on the album:

  • Nice Work If You Can Get It 
  • Just In Time 
  • A Cottage For Sale 
  • I’ve Got You Under My Skin 
  • You Make Me Feel So Young 
  • I Won’t Dance (featuring Diana Krall) 
  • That’s Life 
  • Luck Be A Lady 
  • In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning 
  • Learnin’ The Blues 
  • Lonesome Road 

What He Learned From Sinatra

Nelson is a longtime admirer of Sinatra. He says he learned the right way to sing from listening to Sinatra’s music.

“I learned a lot about phrasing listening to Frank,” Nelson told AARP Magazine in 2018. “He didn’t worry about behind the beat or in front of the beat, or whatever — he could sing it either way, and that’s the feel you have to have.”

He seemed to believe Sinatra had gone astray a bit by the 1970s when Ol’ Blue Eyes was churning out pop songs that fell flat. But that’s one of the pitfalls of fame, as Nelson knows.

“You’ve got these guys over here saying you ought to do this and those guys over there saying you ought to do that,” Nelson added. “Next thing, you don’t know what to do.”

Nelson’s new album will also feature cover art that pays homage to Sinatra’s 1955 album In the Wee Small Hours