Download: Willie Nelson

WILLIE NELSON: “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground”

Willie Nelson has become such an American icon that people tend to forget his sublime artistry. A distinctive singer with a jazz vocalist’s sense of timing, he’s also one of country music all-time great guitarists and songwriters (he’s penned “Crazy,” “Hello Walls,” and “Funny How Time Slips Away,” among others.) This clip finds Nelson at a concert in ‘92 performing another original, “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” in which he expresses bitterness better than perhaps any pop scribe around.