Willie and Mickey still being outlaws after all these years

I've always liked Willie Nelson. There are a lot of reasons why, but what really stands out is that he's loyal to the guys in his band.

It's not often a frontline performer will use the same musicians for decades. Many will record with a fresh set of players, and maybe tap some local talent to fill the backing band while on tour. But Mickey Raphael served as Willie's harmonica player since 1973, when Nelson was still playing local gigs. Texas football coach Darrell Royal introduced them, and Mickey knew nothing from nothing about playing country music.

“When I first got with Willie I had no country background at all,” Raphael told the Las Vegas Sun. “I had one Willie Nelson record … Of course I did this amazing crash course in country music, especially Willie’s catalog. The more I heard, the more I fell in love with his music and his style.”

At the time, Nelson had formidable credentials as a songwriter, but few knew he could sing.

Raphael's best-known work is probably Nelson's "On The Road Again" (a song every bar band knows), but it was his version of "Georgia On My Mind" that really caught my attention. He got away from the usual country-style harp there, made it bluesy, and captured several different moods in that song.

This was during Willie's period when he was struggling to pay back taxes, and he recorded some old pop songs. But while on the surface these albums may sound like a cheap attempt to make money in a hurry, they turned out to be quality stuff. To this day, I'd have to say his version of "Blue Skies" was Willie Nelson at his finest.

Willie's 76 now and looking even more weathered than ever these days, but he's still at it, while Mickey is 58. The two are now on tour, and during a show in Vegas (with Asleep At The Wheel sharing the billing) Raphael talked to Sun reporter Jerry Fink:

LVS: Willie’s underrated as a guitarist, isn’t he?

RAPHAEL:People don’t know what a great guitar player he is. Since (the band’s longtime guitarist) Jody Payne retired almost two years ago Willie’s the only guitar player in the band, and he really gets to stretch out.

LVS: Do you think Willie will ever retire?

RAPHAEL: Years ago when we were playing a lot of scary redneck joints I asked Willie, “How long do we have to play these places?” He said, “If we’re lucky, a long, long time.” He’ll play till he drops. Me, I’m just lucky to be making a living playing harmonica.

Mickey's one of my favorite harp players -- right behind guys like Lee Oskar, Howard Levy, and Charlie McCoy -- and I'm glad to see he's still blowing up a storm. With Willie, where he belongs.

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