Willie Nelson - Tougher Than Leather

This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Tougher Than Leather, the thirty-first studio album from American country singer/songwriter Willie Nelson. This 1983 record went to number 39 on the US Billboard Hot 200, number 48 on the Canadian charts, and number 4 on the US Billboard Country charts.

Nelson’s band for this release included Paul English (drums), Johnny Gimble (fiddle and mandolin), Grady Martin (guitar), Bobby Nelson (piano), Jody Payne (guitar), Mickey Raphael (harmonica) and Bee Spears (bass).

The overall theme of the record is reincarnation, which ties together a number of the tracks into an overall narrative about an Old West gunfighter who comes back in modern times to face karma.