08 October 2023

Austin City Limits pilot episode, 1974

"The deliberate lack of production slickness plus attention to audio detail pleased even the notoriously TV-shy Nelson. Lead Marketer Ken Waggoner, and Austin City Limits creator Bill Arhos pitched the pilot to PBS as part of its 1975 pledge drive. The show's success as a fundraiser was enough for Arhos to get Austin City Limits green-lighted as a series."
In 1974 I was living just three hours away, in Dallas.  I was already a big Willie Nelson fan, but my job would probably have prevented me from attending this performance, had I known about it.  Glad I can enjoy it vicariously now.

4 comments:

  1. Wow, that was great, thank you.
    It showed his guitar playing up close which is rare, they usually dwell on head shots and singing. The girl on piano was pretty impressive too.
    xoxoxoBruce

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  2. Early Willie fans may want to check out "Country Music Concert" from 1966 recorded live at the Panther Hall Ballroom... Most of it on YouTube. It is different than this one but for me he was never better...

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  3. Suggest watching as a follow-on to ACL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oikz3cGnEIM 1:31:03 FULL CONCERT (4th of July Picnic, 1974) Willie Nelson

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