Willie Nelson sang “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” on his 1975 album Red Headed Stranger.
Red Headed Stranger was a concept album built around a sparse, dramatic story of love, jealousy, and flight. Nelson’s restrained performances and minimalist arrangements contrasted with the fuller production common in much Nashville country music at the time.
“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” was written by Fred Rose and had been recorded by other artists before Nelson’s version. His recording became a major crossover success and earned him the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male.
The song is sometimes described as a Nelson original because his version became so definitive. Nelson recorded it, but the songwriting credit belongs to Fred Rose, an important distinction in country-music history.