Musician Willie Nelson performs before an event for Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in Houston on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

NEW YORK (AP) — Young musicians seeking longevity would be wise to follow Willie Nelson’s wise words: Do what feels right, and if you’re lucky enough to have a statue erected in your honor in your city, remember that. it’s just something you have “I have to go down and clean the (expletive) pigeon every once in a while.”

Nelson, 91, will be released on Friday “The Last Leaf on the Tree” it’s his second studio album this year—it’s also his 76th solo studio album and his 153rd album overall, according to Texas Monthly’s ranking of Hercules on his prolific discography. So how many more are there in there? Nelson laughs into the phone, “I don’t know. I hope there are a few more.” Maybe it will reach 200? “From where!”

“The Last Leaf on the Tree” An album of firsts and acquaintances; This is Nelson’s first album produced entirely by his son Micah; It features several originals and covers from Nelson notables like Neil Young, Nina Simone, and Tom Waits, as well as less-obvious additions like re-imaginings of the Flaming Lips. “Are you aware??” and Beck’s “Lost Cause.”

“He is a real artist” Nelson says about his son: “He picked all the songs.”

Nelson jokes when asked how producer Buddy Cannon broke the news of Micah’s takeover. “We just surprised him.”

Micah Nelson’s artistic, alternative rock sensibility is present on the album not only in his choice of cover songs but also in his presentation. For a cover by Young “Are You Ready for the Country” for example, he used sticks and leaves for percussion rather than traditional instrumentation. “I didn’t notice anything different” Nelson laughs.

His wife, Annie Nelson, who joined Willie for the interview, adds: “He says that all the time. It’s great to play with your child. And if they’re good, even better.”

After seven decades of songwriting, Nelson says the only way to define a good song is simply this: “You know it when you hear it. When you hear something and say, ‘Damn, I wish I wrote that,’ it’s a good song.”

“There is no better songwriter alive than Kris Kristofferson” Nelson once mentioned his Highwaymen bandmate at an awards ceremony in 2009. Kristofferson, 88, died last month at his home in Maui, Hawaii.

“He was a great songwriter. “He left a lot of great songs for the rest of us to sing while we’re here.” it reflects. “Kris was a great friend of mine. And, you know, we had a lot of fun together and made a lot of music together – videos, movies. I hated losing him. “It was a sad time.”

Although he has always experimented with different genres and styles, Nelson is the last of the Outlaw Country era in several respects. Title “The Last Leaf on the Tree” Taken from a cover by Waits “Last Leaf” It resonates in a way when you think of your contemporaries. “If you just take the music part of it and go back to Waylon (Jennings) and Kris and John (ny Cash) and the Highwaymen that we all worked with. And then I was the only one left. And it’s not funny at all.”

The album also deals with love and death; These are topics he knows a thing or two about.

“Well, I’m over 91, so I’m not worried about that. I don’t feel bad. No part of me hurts. I have no reason to worry about dying. But I don’t know anyone who has lived forever.” he says. “I take pretty good care of myself. And I feel like I’m in pretty good shape physically. Mentally? That’s another story.” he says, laughing.

As for what he hopes his legacy will be, he has an answer: “I had a good time. “So I did what I came here to do: make music.”

He will continue to do this and more. He says he already has another album completed and that Willie and Annie Nelson will be released in a few weeks. “Willie and Annie Nelson’s Cannabis Cookbook” it’s an easy extension of the couple’s long-held belief that both marijuana and food have medicinal properties. Annie says the book was born out of necessity when Willie had pneumonia and couldn’t smoke, so she started making edibles to ease his night terrors.

“He was a great taste tester” he says.

He jumps in without missing a beat, “I still am!”