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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1982)
I dr>i uo ssiaovui At Ease, The Battalion Friday, November 12, 1982 Willie takes time to play at A&M Red-headed stranger comes to town by Dana Smelser Battalion Staff The red-headed stranger is on the road again, and on this tour Willie and the boys will be pull ing into G. Rollie White Col iseum for a concert on Friday, Nov. 19. _ Willie Nelson, is the 49-year- old man who wears his long hair in braids, has topped the music charts in recent years with a style of music that includes country, rock, folk and middle- of-the-road pop, without really belonging to any of them. Although Nelson is a re spected musician who has re ceived national acclaim, he was singing honky-tonk music in Texas roadhouses as long ago as the 1950s. He ventured to Nash ville in the 1960s, but his earthy singing style seemed to go against the grain of the slick sound that was vogue during that era. Nelson decided to stick to songwriting and his acceptance as a songwriter came quickly. The late Patsy Cline had a huge hit with Nelson's "Crazy.” Since, a variety of artists have recorded Nelson's work, includ ing Elvis Presley, Linda Ron- stadt. Perry Como, Ray Charles, Doris Day , Andy Williams and Bing Crosby. He wasn't satisfied with just writing, so Nelson came back to Texas in 1969 to find a market for his music and singing style. He realized that many young peo ple had an interest in country music but their hair was too long to get into any country music clubs. So, Nelson performed at one of the most celebrated rock clubs and tested his theory, and he was right. Nelson was ready to begin his new career. Nelson continued to go un noticed until 1975 when Red Headed Stranger was released. "Blue Eyes Cryin In the Rain," a tune released from the album, quickly went to the number one spot. Later in the year, it won Nelson his first Grammy Award for Best Male Country Perfor mer. His career took off. Nelson's latest album. You're Always On My Mind," is the number one album on the coun try music charts. Tickets for the 8 p.m. concert are $10, $11.50 and $12 and can be bought at the MSC Box Office. Post offices are alive with sounds of music by David Hatch Battalion Reporter Recording doesn't only mean big business for singers; it also means big bucks for mail-order businesses. The two record clubs that offer the most popular selec tions also are two of the largest mail-order businesses in the na tion. Because Columbia record and tape club and the R.C.A. music club offer a wide variety of re cordings, they're able to gener ate business from all parts of the country. The clubs attract business by making introductory offers that seem too good to refuse. Columbia is offering the new club-member 11 records or tapes for a penny. By accepting this offer, the customer agrees to buy eight more records within the three years at regular club prices. R.C.A. offers six records for a penny, but the customer has five years to purchase six other records at regular prices. When the invoice arrives with the records, the new club mem ber may find that even his ori ginal penny purchase has jumped to over a dollar. Club members pay postage, handling and insurance costs. The club member is given 30 days to pay the bill before incur ring a late charge and having purchasing privileges blocked. But the honeymoon isn't over yet. The clubs continue to give purchasing incentives to mem bers, such as the buy-two-get- one-free deal. Giving out special bonus points that are go toward the purchase of a stereo also is a gimmick used to keep club members interested. A club member also may re ceive free recordings and other prizes by persuading others to join. The clubs offer disk records, cassette, 8-track, reel-to-reel tapes and a large selection of re cordings. They have catalogued virtually everv record ever re corded and therefore are able to offer oldie-but-goodies. The record clubs place new recordings into their inventories soon after the albums are re leased. Albums released in Sep tember are now finding their way on to both Columbia's and R.C.A.'s order forms. In order to offer lower-priced albums, record clubs contract with record companies — a fact prominently displayed on the record-jackets or tape labels. Willie Nelson For the special look you demand 846-4771 'U/’top tf\ in 14 kL tfold. . . /I kL tfeUout <ftdd lOfie bracelet U20P 0 14 KL ifellxua cyJA Lnaoelet 230 00 iamond Room 3731 E 29th ■ 846-4706 Bryan 707 Shopping Village 693-7444 College Station