Legendary rocker made IRS jibe on album that paid off | Music News

Music legend Willie Nelson had the final snigger when he used an album to settle his money owed with the IRS – while poking enjoyable at the tax assortment service.

Fans had been left guffawing as they realized the album’s identify and content material had been a playful jab at the Internal Revenue Service.

Nelson isn’t the only stage veteran still performing, with Bob Dylan saying additional exhibits on the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour.

However the seasoned artist, who continues to play exhibits at the ripe age of 92, discovered himself in a financial gap to the tune of tens of millions of {dollars} in the early Nineties.

As a end result, the IRS seized Nelson’s property and slapped him with a whopping $32million invoice. But Nelson was decided to make the best of a dangerous state of affairs and launched a double album to clear the rest of his debt.

Fans are just now studying that the album was designed to chip away at his money owed, despite the manifestly apparent title. ‘The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories’ was launched via Sony Music for the soul objective of serving to Nelson sq. up with the IRS.

Initially accessible only through mail order in June 1991, it hit the mainstream market in December 1992.

Featuring an hour’s price of tunes with just Nelson and his acoustic guitar, the compilation of hits struck a chord with followers—and the IRS was fairly glad, too.

The taxman pocketed $3.6million from album gross sales. A subsequent fee of $9million over 5 years following its release cleared Nelson’s debt.

The album still has a particular place in the hearts of many of Nelson’s followers, who fondly recall some of the songwriter’s different unconventional escapades—including a memorable stint singing a country-tinged jingle for a Taco Bell business.

However, others could not help but really feel a pang of unhappiness for Nelson, remembering the late-night infomercials that peddled the album.

One Reddit person shared on the r/TodayILearned thread: “He sold it through late night infomercials. I remember seeing them on TV. It made me sad.”

Another added: “There was another one, where it’s just him sitting on a stool in front of a blue backdrop, singing some of the songs and begging people to buy it. That’s the one I remember the most.”

In one of the album’s advertisements, followers had been urged to show their assist for Nelson, with the suggestion that The IRS Tapes may change into a coveted collector’s merchandise down the road.

Fast ahead to the current, and a two-disc CD set of the album may be discovered on Amazon for around $39. Upon its initial release, the album garnered optimistic evaluations from critics, who praised its eclectic combine of new materials, quirky tracks, and “a few of his most familiar songs” unfold across its 24-song tracklist.

Standout tracks embrace ‘I Still Can’t Believe You’re Gone,’ ‘Who’ll Buy My Memories,’ and ‘What Can You Do To Me Now’.