Claim: Red Headed Stranger is a Willie Nelson album.

Red Headed Stranger is a 1975 album by American outlaw country singer Willie Nelson . After the wide success of his recordings with Atlantic Records , coupled with the negotiating skills of his manager , Neil Reshen , Nelson signed a contract with Columbia Records , a label that gave him total creative control over his works . The concept for the album was inspired by the `` Tale of the Red Headed Stranger '' , a song that Nelson used to play as a disk jockey on his program in Fort Worth , Texas . After signing with Columbia he decided to record the song , and arranged the details during his return to Austin , Texas , from a trip to Colorado . It was recorded at low cost at Autumn Sound Studios in Garland , Texas . The songs featured sparse arrangements , largely limited to Nelson 's guitar , piano and drums . Nelson presented the finished material to Columbia executives , who were dubious about releasing an album that they at first thought was a demo . However , Nelson had creative control , so no further production was added .   A concept album , Red Headed Stranger is about a fugitive on the run from the law after killing his wife and her lover . The content consists of songs with brief poetic lyrics and arrangements of older material such as Fred Rose 's `` Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain '' , Wolfe Gilbert 's `` Down Yonder '' and Juventino Rosas ' `` O'er the Waves '' . Despite Columbia 's doubts and the limited instrumentation , Red Headed Stranger was a blockbuster among country music and mainstream audiences . It was certified multi-platinum , and made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music . The cover of `` Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain '' , released as a single previous to the album full release became Nelson 's first number one hit . The title of the album would become a lasting nickname for Nelson . It was ranked # 183 on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time , and number one on CMT 's 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music . In 2010 it was inducted to the National Recording Registry .   In 1986 Nelson starred as the Red Headed Stranger in a movie of the same name , based on the story of the album . The album has had a strong cultural impact ; the song `` Time of the Preacher '' has been used often in the series Edge of Darkness , and its lyrics were used as well in the first issue of the comic Preacher .