When I was growing up, there was a picture of him hanging on our living room wall, right along side other family portraits. His voice could often be heard coming from the den and wafting down the hallway as he sang. I even spent a couple of July Fourth holidays picnicking with him in Luckenbach, Texas. And still to this day, I call him "Uncle Willie."

And when the Texas Monthly celebrating Willie Nelson's 75th birthday showed up in our mail yesterday, I actually got a bit choked up. I'm no designer. I've never shot a photo for a magazine cover, but I know when a good cover hits me like a ton of bricks. And this one certainly did. It's just him. No barcode, no cover blurbs teasing inside stories, no airbrushing. It's just Uncle Willie. Aging and full of history and music and legend.

A striking cover. That's all.