A Beautiful Time

A Beautiful Time
A Beautiful Time
Studio album by Willie Nelson
Released	April 29, 2022
Studio	The Tracking Room (Nashville, Tennessee); East Iris (Nashville, Tennessee); Blackbird (Nashville, Tennessee); Pedernales Recording (Spicewood, Texas); Sound Emporium (Nashville, Tennessee);
Genre	Country
Length	49:19
Label	Legacy
Producer	Buddy Cannon
Willie Nelson chronology

A Beautiful Time is the 72nd solo studio album by Willie Nelson, released on April 29, 2022, on his 89th birthday. Produced by Buddy Cannon, the album includes original songs by Nelson, as well as covers of the Beatles and Leonard Cohen.^[1]

On February 10, 2022, Nelson released the single "I'll Love You Till the Day I Die" a song written by Chris Stapleton and Rodney Crowell.^[2]

A Beautiful Time won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards while Crowell and Stapleton's lead single "I'll Love You Till the Day I Die" was a nominee in the Best Country Song category at the same awards.^[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	84/100^[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[5]
And It Don't Stop	A^[6]
The Arts Desk	^[7]

A Beautiful Time received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 84 out of 100 based on four reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[4]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic praised the record's "earned wisdom and wry humor", concluding that "it's still a marvel to hear him find sustenance and surprises within his music".^[5] Liz Thomson of The Arts Desk called the album "classic Nelson" ^[7] while No Depression, though acknowledging that the remote recording meant that the musicians performed without "other players to bounce off", praised Nelson's vocals and guitar playing and gave their verdict that it "is a delightful album from beginning to end".^[8] Veteran critic Robert Christgau ranked it as the fourth best album of 2022.^[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I'll Love You Till the Day I Die"	Chris Stapleton Rodney Crowell	4:11
2.	"My Heart Was a Dancer"	Willie Nelson Buddy Cannon	3:11
3.	"Energy Follows Thought"	Nelson Cannon	3:18
4.	"Dreamin' Again"	Jack Wesley Routh Douglas Graham	3:57
5.	"I Don't Go to Funerals"	Nelson Cannon	2:27
6.	"A Beautiful Time"	Shawn Camp	4:57
7.	"We're Not Happy (Till You're Not Happy)"	Camp Charles R. Humphrey III	3:17
8.	"Dusty Bottles"	Jim "Moose" Brown Scotty Emerick Don Sampson	3:31
9.	"Me and My Partner"	Ken Lambert	2:12
10.	"Tower of Song"	Leonard Cohen	5:00
11.	"Live Every Day"	Nelson Cannon	3:12
12.	"Don't Touch Me There"	Nelson Cannon	2:38
13.	"With a Little Help from My Friends"	John Lennon Paul McCartney	3:43
14.	"Leave You with a Smile"	Cannon Bobby Terry Matt Rossi	3:42
Total length:			49:19

Personnel

Performance

Barry Bales – upright bass
Jim "Moose" Brown – piano, B-3 organ, synthesizer, Wurlitzer
Buddy Cannon – background vocals
Melonie Cannon – background vocals
Chad Cromwell – drums
Fred Eltringham – drums, percussion
Kevin "Swine" Grant – upright bass
Mike Johnson – steel guitar
Catherine Marx – Wurlitzer, piano, B-3 organ
James Mitchell – electric guitar
Willie Nelson – lead vocals, Trigger
Mickey Raphael – harmonica
Bobby Terry – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar, bass, piano
Lonnie Wilson – drums, percussion

Production

Buddy Cannon – production
Tony Castle – recording, mixing
Steve Chadie – recording
Shannon Finnegan – production coordinator
Andrew Mendelson – mastering

Other personnel

Frank Harkins – art direction and design
Pamela Springsteen – photography

Charts

Chart performance for *A Beautiful Time*
Chart (2022)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[10]	122
Australian Country Albums (ARIA)^[11]	8
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[12]	49
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[13]	100
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[14]	74
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[15]	44
Scottish Albums (OCC)^[16]	14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[17]	19
UK Country Albums (OCC)^[18]	2
UK Album Downloads (OCC)^[19]	26
US Billboard 200^[20]	100
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[21]	13

References

^ Corcoran, Nina (February 10, 2022). "Willie Nelson Announces New Album A Beautiful Time, Shares New Song "I'll Love You Till the Day I Die": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
^ Hudak, Joseph (February 10, 2022). "Willie Nelson Records Songs by Chris Stapleton, the Beatles for New Album 'A Beautiful Time'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
^ "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". Grammy.com. November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "A Beautiful Time by Willie Nelson". Metacritic. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "A Beautiful Time - Willie Nelson | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
^ Christgau, Robert (May 11, 2022). "Consumer Guide: May, 2022". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Thomson, Liz (April 27, 2022). "Album: Willie Nelson - A Beautiful Time". The Arts Desk. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
^ Heselgrave, Doug. "ALBUM REVIEW: Humor and Humanity Run Through Willie Nelson's 'A Beautiful Time'". No Depression. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
^ Christgau, Robert (January 25, 2023). "Dean's List: 2022". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
^ "Willie Nelson ARIA Chart history (albums) to May 2025". ARIA. Retrieved June 8, 2025 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
^ "ARIA Australian Top 40 Country Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
^ "Ultratop.be – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
^ "Willie Nelson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
^ "Willie Nelson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2022.

[1] Corcoran, Nina (February 10, 2022). "Willie Nelson Announces New Album A Beautiful Time, Shares New Song "I'll Love You Till the Day I Die": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 10, 2022.

[2] Hudak, Joseph (February 10, 2022). "Willie Nelson Records Songs by Chris Stapleton, the Beatles for New Album 'A Beautiful Time'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 10, 2022.

[3] "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". Grammy.com. November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.

[Metacritic-4] "A Beautiful Time by Willie Nelson". Metacritic. Retrieved April 30, 2022.

[AllMusic-5] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "A Beautiful Time - Willie Nelson | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved April 28, 2022.

[6] Christgau, Robert (May 11, 2022). "Consumer Guide: May, 2022". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved March 11, 2023.

[The_Arts_Desk-7] Thomson, Liz (April 27, 2022). "Album: Willie Nelson - A Beautiful Time". The Arts Desk. Retrieved April 28, 2022.

[No_Depression-8] Heselgrave, Doug. "ALBUM REVIEW: Humor and Humanity Run Through Willie Nelson's 'A Beautiful Time'". No Depression. Retrieved April 28, 2022.

[9] Christgau, Robert (January 25, 2023). "Dean's List: 2022". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved March 11, 2023.

[ARIA_Chart-10] "Willie Nelson ARIA Chart history (albums) to May 2025". ARIA. Retrieved June 8, 2025 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.

[11] "ARIA Australian Top 40 Country Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.

[ac_Austria_Willie_Nelson-12] "Austriancharts.at – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 11, 2022.

[ac_Flanders_Willie_Nelson-13] "Ultratop.be – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2022.

[ac_Netherlands_Willie_Nelson-14] "Dutchcharts.nl – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 7, 2022.

[ac_Germany_Willie_Nelson-15] "Offiziellecharts.de – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 6, 2022.

[ac_Scotland_-16] "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2022.

[ac_Switzerland_Willie_Nelson-17] "Swisscharts.com – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2022.

[ac_UKCountry_-18] "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2022.

[ac_UKDigital_-19] "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2022.

[ac_Billboard200_Willie_Nelson-20] "Willie Nelson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2022.

[ac_BillboardCountry_Willie_Nelson-21] "Willie Nelson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2022.

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v t e Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Country Album
1965–1966 (as Best Country & Western Album)	Dang Me/Chug-a-Lug – Roger Miller (1965) The Return of Roger Miller – Roger Miller (1967)
1995–2025 (as Best Country Album)	Stones in the Road – Mary Chapin Carpenter (1995) The Woman in Me – Shania Twain (1996) The Road to Ensenada – Lyle Lovett (1997) Unchained – Johnny Cash (1998) Wide Open Spaces – Dixie Chicks (1999) Fly – Dixie Chicks (2000) Breathe – Faith Hill (2001) Timeless: Hank Williams Tribute – Various Artists (2002) Home – Dixie Chicks (2003) Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers – Various Artists (2004) Van Lear Rose – Loretta Lynn (2005) Lonely Runs Both Ways – Alison Krauss & Union Station (2006) Taking the Long Way – Dixie Chicks (2007) These Days – Vince Gill (2008) Troubadour – George Strait (2009) Fearless – Taylor Swift (2010) Need You Now – Lady Antebellum (2011) Own the Night – Lady Antebellum (2012) Uncaged – Zac Brown Band (2013) Same Trailer Different Park – Kacey Musgraves (2014) Platinum – Miranda Lambert (2015) Traveller – Chris Stapleton (2016) A Sailor's Guide to Earth – Sturgill Simpson (2017) From A Room: Volume 1 – Chris Stapleton (2018) Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves (2019) While I'm Livin' – Tanya Tucker (2020) Wildcard – Miranda Lambert (2021) Starting Over – Chris Stapleton (2022) A Beautiful Time – Willie Nelson (2023) Bell Bottom Country – Lainey Wilson (2024) Cowboy Carter – Beyoncé (2025)
From 1966–1993, the category was retired.

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