He gained a measure of fame writing songs that were hits for Faron Young ("Hello Walls"), Billy Walker ("Funny How Time Slips Away"), Patsy Cline ("Crazy"), and Roy Orbison ("Pretty Paper"), but most of his singles stalled on the charts, his biggest single at RCA being the Vegas-styled cover "Bring Me Sunshine," which hit number 13.

His producer, RCA head Chet Atkins, had tried various approaches, from a live LP to a Texas-themed concept album, but success remained elusive.

[2] The album contains a new version of "I Gotta Get Drunk," a song Nelson wrote in Houston before moving to Nashville in 1960, as well as "Bloody Mary Morning," a tune destined to become a highlight in the Texan's live shows.

In his 2015 autobiography, Nelson admitted the song was taken from his own unhappy experiences as a drinker: Both Sides Now contains the country standards "Wabash Cannonball" and "Crazy Arms," but what is most striking about the collection is the inclusion of material far beyond the confines of Nashville, as Streissguth notes: "Willie's own songs were as pleasing as ever, at home in a coffeehouse or a honky-tonk, but now they appeared next to his covers of other great songs of the day: Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now,' Fred Neil's 'Everybody's Talkin','...a perfect alignment of stars in early 1970s Nashville: the seasoned singer and the blossoming songwriters shone brightly.

"[5] Going completely against the grain of country music's traditionally right-wing conservative stance, he also identified with the hippie culture: "I liked that they put flowers in their hair and wore bright tie-dyed blouses and bell-bottomed pants.