WASHINGTON – Willie Nelson says Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe” is like “smoking a great joint without all the coughing or smoke.”
Perhaps that’s enough said about why the notorious country music redhead (whose age is showing) chose to cover the Seattle natives’ 2009 track from their ninth album, “Backspacer.” Nelson performed this cover with Lukas Nelson on SiriusXM recently, where he described his particular brand of appreciation for the song and plugged his new album “Heroes.”
The grunge movement pioneers weren’t the only artists who received an homage from or lent a hand to the country singer, whose career spans six decades and 200 albums. Tracks from his newest record also include “Roll Me Up,” featuring a surprisingly sultry baritone chorus from rapper Snoop Dogg, and a cover of “The Scientist” by Coldplay.
Check out the live performance of “Just Breathe” and listen to “Roll Me Up” below:
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