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Willie Nelson and the Secret Sisters Approach Transcendence on ‘It Won’t Be Long’

The Secret Sisters

Country legend Willie Nelson recently blessed the Outside Lands audience with a set chock-full of classics that paid homage to the spirit of family — his sister and sons joined him alongside some old friends (and, um, John Stamos). This fall, the Redheaded Stranger will continue on in the spirit of collaboration, releasing To All the Girls, whose title, of course, owes to Nelson’s 1984 hit with Julio Iglesias, “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before.” We’ll have to avoid taking the song’s implications too literally here, as Willie’s lined up an incredible roster of female artists to assist on the 18 songs included therein.

From Dolly Parton and Rosanne Cash, to Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, to Mavis Staples and Norah Jones and Emmylou Harris, the mix doesn’t linger on era or genre so much as focus on talent. As for the source material, it’s set to be a mix of Americana, gospel, and pop. Below, you’ll find “It Won’t Be Very Long,” a soulful spiritual originally by Sam Cooke’s Soul Stirrers and here remade with help from country traditionalists the Secret Sisters, a.k.a. Laura and Lydia Rogers. The Muscle Shoals-raised duo can be seen above reflecting on Nelson’s legacy, and heard below duetting with the man himself.

To All the Girls is out October 15 on Legacy.

Willie Nelson, To All the Girls… track list:

1. Dolly Parton – “From Here to the Moon and Back”
2. Miranda Lambert – “She Was No Good for Me”
3. Secret Sisters – “It Won’t Be Very Long”
4. Rosanne Cash – “Please Don’t Tell Me”
5. Sheryl Crow – “Far Away Places”
6. Wynonna Judd – “Bloody Mary Morning”
7. Carrie Underwood – “Always on My Mind”
8. Loretta Lynn – “Somewhere Between”
9. Alison Krauss – “No Mas Amor”
10. Melonie Cannon – “Back on Earth”
11. Mavis Staples – “Grandma’s Hands”
12. Norah Jones – “Walkin'”
13. Shelby Lynne – “Til the End of the World”
14. Lily Meola – “Will You Remember Mine”
15. Emmylou Harris – “Dry Lightning”
16. Brandi Carlile – “Making Believe”
17. Paula Nelson – “Have You Ever Seen the Rain”
18. Tina Rose – “After the Fire Is Gone”