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Song of the Week: Crying, in the rain, because Willie Nelson's Bako concerts are sold out?

Willie Nelson, Nashville recording studio, 2011.
Willie Nelson, Nashville recording studio, 2011.
(
David McClister
)

About the Show

Over 11 years and 570 episodes, John Rabe and Team Off-Ramp scoured SoCal for the people, places, and ideas whose stories needed to be told, and the show became a love-letter to Los Angeles. Now, John is sharing selections from the Off-Ramp vault to help you explore this imperfect paradise.

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Seeing Willie Nelson perform should be on your bucket list. He's a giant in music, and he's 83. But you're going to have to wait "a little bit longer," because all three nights - Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday - at Buck Owens Crystal Palace in Bakersfield are sold out .

So for the rest of us, left crying in the rain, as it were, our song of the week is "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain."

Nelson wrote many great songs -- like "Crazy" -- but this wasn't one of them. "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" was written by Fred Rose back in 1947, and was first performed by Roy Acuff. Nelson recorded it for his 1975 hit album "Red Headed Stranger," and it went to #1 on the Country chart and #21 on the Hot 100.

True legend: "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" is the last song Elvis ever sang.