Sturgill Simpson Praises Willie Nelson For Struggling Against The Nashville Country Music Machine: “They Didn’t Know What To Do With Him”

Sturgill Simpson giving credit to one of the forefathers of outlaw country. In the modern day, there might not be an artist that fits the mold of outlaw more than Sturgill Simpson. He might not sound exactly like some of the greats of the outlaw movement, but his intentions and lyrical disposition undeniably mirror the likes of Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings . And I can't mention the outlaw movement without including the name Willie Nelson ... and neither can Sturgill. When he was asked by Qobuz about his sound comparisons to Waylon Jennings , the topic of what is called the "Nashville Machine" came up, and the names of Jennings, Nelson, and Haggard were thrown out as examples of artists who went against it. Simpson really liked the Willie Nelson example, as he explained himself in the interview: "Willie is a great example. He was in Nashville for a long time, and they just didn't know what to do with him. They didn't understand the esoterics of art that he had inside of him. And his career didn't even start until he retired. He moved back to Austin in his forties and then (said), 'It doesn't matter what I do now, I'm retired. I've got publishing on these classics.' So he started writing all of these heady, country concept records and they got canceled. Or not canceled, but those three classic records we all love so much now go him dropped from Atlantic Records. You know? Nobody bought him. And it wasn't until years later that people caught up to what he was doing." Someone that stuck with their sound and didn't listen to what any labels had to say about it... sounds like a good way to describe Nelson and Simpson. Sturgill admitted that he looked up to - and listened to - Willie Nelson more than anyone. Hearing that, it makes sense to hear his advice for how to be your own artist and not get wrapped up in the churn and burn of the fast-paced, single-focused music industry: "You've got to... it's not about charts or sales. You can never approach this endeavor as, 'Is this going to make me successful? And how do I stay successful? And if I do a duet with these people in 8 million different streams of music to gain relevance and visibility, (will that help?)' It's just never been something I was interested in, because of the guys you're talking about (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard)." Seems like a direct shot at some modern day country artists... and a warranted one at that. You can hear Johnny Blue Skies rail against the Nashville Machine a little bit more in the video below: https://youtu.be/uwm5KqggwZY?si=Olpg1otzAYx2zjUK&t=775