It seems like every country artist has a Willie Nelson story of their own. It might be with his music early on in their life or even personally meeting the country legend personally. The latter in particular feels like a badge of honor for those who finally break through within the industry. Once Tennessee Whiskey became a household staple, it was only a matter of time for Chris Stapleton to have his moment. Now, he gets to talk all about his times with Willie Nelson.
Recently, Chris Stapleton appears on The Howard Stern Show for an interview. There, he discusses a myriad of topics such as his Super Bowl performance, his work with Justin Timberlake and more. Moreover, it's only right that Stern asks the obvious of any big artist in country music: Has Stapleton ever smoked with Willie Nelson? He lights up with joy, "Of course! Of course. I haven't played poker with him, that's the other one that people do is play poker with him. But I'm a terrible poker player, so I might as well just hand him a bunch of money and just sit there and let him tell jokes. He tells great jokes."
Chris Stapleton Retells The Time He Sat Aside Willie Nelson at the Rock Hall of Fame
Still, Chris still feels a little out of his depth next to an all time great like Willie. Naturally, his time onstage with Willie for his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction still feels surreal for Stapleton. Stapleton can hardly wrap his head around the fact he's with Nelson's family at the time. "His sons are behind us and I'm feeling kinda weird," Chris says. "I'm just like, your sons are behind us, man. Like, they're in the band, also maybe they should sit up here. I didn't feel like I should be the guy seated next to Willie, you know? Then they handed it over to Willie and I'm just really taking this moment in, very, very moving."
At this point, Stapleton gets a bit emotional until it's time to perform. Then, he ticks off that bucket list moment, cementing him as one of the greats. "I was getting a little moved and choked up. And then Willie leans over to me and goes, 'What song are we playing?'" Chris says. "And I go, 'Whiskey River.' And he said 'Alright,' and that just took me out of, right back to like, this is the coolest thing."
