Baby with a Machine Gun" (Ruspoli/Clemente), "Bird Dog" (Clemente/Garcia), "Nutty Picking Time" (Nelson), "I Don't Want You No More" (Nelson), "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" (Nelson), and "The Hustle" (Henderson). In March 1995, _The Best of Willie Nelson_ was certified Gold, at which point Nelson re-released _Last Man Standing_ in April. The single "I Always Get Lucky With You" entered the country charts at No. 18 in August. That autumn _The Complete Reprise Nashville Sessions_ was released, accompanied by _Razor & Tie: Live from Austin, TX_, which contained three live songs from Austin's Paramount Theatre. _Bling II: The Old, New, Used, Rare & Unreleased_ was also released that fall, as was _Willie the Kid: Live_. Three days later, the soundtrack of the movie _Wag the Dog_ was released, with Nelson on one of the two new songs, "Pancho and Lefty." In January 1996, a live version of "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" was released as a single. "Just Passin' Thru," which had previously been cut as an album track in 1983 for _Sides 1 & 2_ and was then included on a promo-only single, was released as a single in March, hitting number one on the country charts in May. "One Step Up" was released as the second single from _Bling II_ in June; it peaked at number one. In August 1996, a version of the song "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain," originally recorded for _The Coca-Cola Years_ , was included on _Across the Borderline_ , a tribute to Wille Nelson that featured a host of musicians, including Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Leon Russell. Also included on the album was "Last Man Standing" and the song that would be Nelson's next big hit, "Always on My Mind." "Always on My Mind" was released in December 1996 as the follow-up single from _Across the Borderline_. It was then included on _Greatest Hits Vol. III_. Nelson had previously been included on _Greatest Hits Vol. II_ and now, four years later, he was back in the compilation. Nelson was then approached to appear in a _Maverick_ re-release of the movie of the same name, a film about the exploits of Maverick. Nelson not only appeared in the film and sang two new songs for it, but he also appeared on its soundtrack album with the song "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain," written with Johnny Cash. Nelson was then approached to sing on "A House Is Not a Home," a popular song written by Keith Thomas that country singer-songwriter-record producer Randy Meisner covered for _The Secrets of Making Your Dreams Come True_ , a compilation album by various musicians that Meisner produced for Warner Bros. In July 1997, Nelson teamed up with Leon Russell for an album that was released as _The Greatest Men of Country Music_. That summer, in addition to being included on _The Greatest Men of Country Music_ , Nelson also sang three songs for his own release of _Willie Nelson Live: July 5th, Washington_ , which hit No. 11 on the country charts. Nelson's next record, _The IRS Tapes, Volume 1_ , appeared in January 1998. Nelson was given an opportunity to write a theme song for Bob Hope when the actor announced that he was retiring from television. Nelson, however, couldn't come up with a theme and decided instead to record this album of blues songs that he loved. With several more albums on the way, Nelson continued recording, but as the millennium approached he was increasingly interested in music that he hadn't released before. His tenth studio album, _Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain_ , was released in February 1999 and _Mission 2 Save a Soul_ , his first gospel album, came out that May. When it came to producing and writing albums, Nelson wasn't interested in following trends. His own path led him to record _The Complete Nashville Sessions_ , his tenth solo album, which appeared in April 1999. That fall, Nelson was at his creative best when he added four classic country songs to the canon in the form of "There's a Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere" (Souther), "If We Make It Through December" (Carpenter/Williams), "Sold American" (Holly), and "A Prison Song" (Sanchez). Nelson then appeared on _Greatest Hits 3_ , where he reprised his rendition of "Always on My Mind," and appeared on the Grammy-winning _Stoney End: A Tribute to the Music of Bill Monroe_. Nelson's next record _Blue Skies, No Fences: The Greatest Hits_ , which contained covers of songs made famous by classic country artists, was released in October 2000. The single "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" hit number one on the country charts. Three days later, _Million Miles_ , Nelson's first gospel release of new material, was released. His next record, _Smokey and the Bandit II Soundtrack_ , was released in May 2001, a project that reunited Nelson with his old friend, Waylon Jennings. Nelson, along with Sam Bush, also recorded a version of Jennings's song "Mountain of Love" for the album. With his twelfth studio album, _Healing Hands of Time_ , released in 2002, Nelson again stepped out of the genre he usually recorded in and, while still keeping it country, he produced one of his finest albums. Along with _Healing Hands of Time_ came the compilation _Honeysuckle Rose: A Tribute to Ray Price_ , which included an all-star recording of "Crazy." The following month, Nelson once again ventured into gospel when he made _Sings His Greatest Hits_. _Teatro_ , Nelson's thirteenth studio album, appeared in April 2003. The country and gospel-themed record was released on Nelson's own El Rancho label, a subsidiary of Universal Records. That September Nelson released _Last Man Standing_ , which featured guest appearances by Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams, and J. D. Souther. Later that same month Nelson was part of a tribute to his mentor Tompall Glaser's _Teatro_ , appearing on the album _Tompall Glaser's World of Nashville_. Nelson appeared on several albums of _Music City Roots_ , including _Roots Country_ , _Wade in the Water_ , and _Music City Roots Collection_. Nelson, along with Dwight Yoakam, appeared on the album _The Gospel According to Al Green_ , which hit number one on the country charts. In April 2005, Nelson joined the cast of _Willie Nelson Sings George Strait_. Nelson was also one of several performers on the 2005 tribute album _Ragged Old Flag: A Tribute to Johnny Cash_. ## RUTH ROGERS No one ever recorded the songs she sang to her seven children in the 1930s—their version of music was a unique one, and they still remember its lyrics: "In the days before the boys go away/I can give you a little something to make you blue." In fact, no one can sing them because Ruth Rogers isn't around anymore. But they also can't be forgotten because she's left behind the legacy of a woman who created some of the most popular musical theater songs of her era, wrote "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," and inspired people, including Burt Bacharach, to make their living in the entertainment business. But her impact went beyond songs. Rogers and her second husband, Fred, were the first husband and wife team to work as professional songwriters. With Fred, Ruth wrote such musicals as _The Boy Friend_ , _Spring is Here_ , _The Happy Time_ , _Oklahoma_ , and _South Pacific_. She also founded the New London Group, the group that started _The Boy Friend_ , and she worked with composers such as Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Rogers was also among the first artists to sing on _The Ed Sullivan Show_. Even in death, Rogers is continuing to spread her songwriting influence. Rogers's children—all of whom are musicians themselves—have released a Christmas album of their songs. And in addition to Rogers's songs, the album is made up of four songs written by Burt Bacharach: "This Time of the Year," "What A Little Moonlight Can Do," "Mele Kalikimaka," and "It's Cold Outside." ## BOB NEALY He was a comedian. He was a singer. He was a storyteller. He was a singer-songwriter. And though he never made a hit record, his songs have become part of a genre in a genre: the Americana. "I would say it's Americana," he said. "It is definitely folk, definitely a little bit of country, maybe a little bit of bluegrass