Willie Nelson on his new album, cannabis cookbook, Kris Kristofferson and what makes a good song

NEW YORK -- Young musicians looking for longevity would beryllium wise to travel nan sensible connection of Willie Nelson: Do what feels right, and if you're fortunate capable to person a statue built successful your honor successful your city, retrieve that it is conscionable thing you've “got to spell down and cleanable disconnected nan pigeon (expletive) each now and then."

On Friday, Nelson, who is 91, will merchandise “Last Leaf connected nan Tree," his second workplace medium this twelvemonth — besides his 76th solo workplace medium and 153rd medium overall, according to Texas Monthly's herculean ranking his prolific discography. So really galore much does he person successful him? Nelson laughs into nan phone, “I don't know. I dream there’s a fewer more.” Maybe he'll deed 200? “Why not!”

“Last Leaf connected nan Tree” is an medium of firsts and familiarities; it is Nelson's first medium produced wholly by his boy Micah, which includes a fewer originals and covers from Nelson staples for illustration Neil Young, Nina Simone and Tom Waits arsenic good arsenic immoderate less-than-obvious inclusions, for illustration reimaginations of nan Flaming Lips' “Do You Realize??” and Beck's “Lost Cause.”

“He's a existent artist,” Nelson says of his son. “He picked each nan songs.”

Asked really he collapsed nan news to his shaper Buddy Cannon that Micah was taking over, Nelson jokes, “We conscionable amazed him.”

Micah Nelson's artistic, alternative-rock sensibilities are coming connected nan record, not only successful its screen opus action by besides successful his delivery. For a screen of Young's “Are You Ready for nan Country," for example, he utilized sticks and leaves for nan percussion alternatively of accepted instrumentation. “I didn't announcement thing different,” Nelson laughs.

His wife, Annie Nelson, who joins Willie for nan interview, adds, “He says it each nan time. It's awesome to play pinch your kid. And it’s moreover amended if they’re good.”

After seven decades of songwriting, Nelson says nan only measurement to place a bully 1 is simply, “You cognize it erstwhile you perceive it. When you perceive thing and you go, ‘Damn, I wish I would’ve wrote that,' it's a bully song.”

“There’s nary amended songwriter live than Kris Kristofferson,” Nelson erstwhile said of his Highwaymen bandmate astatine a 2009 grant show tribute. Kristofferson, 88, died past period astatine his location connected Maui, Hawaii.

“He was a awesome songwriter. He near a batch of awesome songs astir for nan remainder of america to sing, for arsenic agelong arsenic we’re here,” he reflects. “Kris was a awesome friend of mine. And, you know, we conscionable benignant of had a batch of nosy together and made a batch of euphony together — videos, movies. I hated to suffer him. That was a sad time.”

In a fewer ways, Nelson is nan past of nan Outlaw Country era — though he's ever experimented crossed genre and style. The title “Last Leaf connected nan Tree,” taken from a screen of Waits' “Last Leaf,” resonates, successful a way, erstwhile he considers his contemporaries. “If you conscionable return nan euphony portion of it and spell backmost to, you know, Waylon (Jennings) and Kris and John(ny Cash) and, you know, each of america moving together, nan Highwaymen. And past I americium nan only 1 left. And that’s conscionable not funny.”

The album, too, considers emotion and decease — topics he knows a point aliases 2 about.

“Well, I’m 91 plus, so, you know, I’m not worried astir it. I don’t consciousness bad. I don't wounded anywhere. I don’t person immoderate logic to interest astir dying. But I don’t cognize anybody who’s lived forever,” he says. “I return beautiful bully attraction of myself. And I consciousness for illustration I’m successful beautiful bully style physically. Mentally? That’s different story,” he says, laughing.

As for what he hopes his bequest is, he's sewage an reply for that, too: “I had a bully time. And I did what I came present to do: make music."

He'll proceed to do conscionable that, and more. He says he's already sewage different medium completed, and successful a fewer weeks, Willie and Annie Nelson will merchandise “Willie and Annie Nelson’s Cannabis Cookbook,” an easy hold of nan couple's long-held belief that some marijuana and nutrient clasp medicinal properties. Annie says nan book was calved retired of necessity erstwhile Willie had pneumonia and couldn't smoke, truthful she started making edibles to relieve his nighttime terrors.

“He was a awesome sensation tester,” she says.

Without missing a beat, he jumps in, “Still am!”