"Willie Nelson & Family Ruffs”, December 16, 1984

These audio cassettes primarily feature Willie Nelson, though there are several of other recording artists. The cassettes are in varying condition, some have been recorded over multiple times and the labels are not always descriptive of what is on the tape. The series of audio recordings has been divided into 5 subseries; Jody Fischer recordings, Willie Nelson studio recordings, Willie Nelson dated live recordings, Willie Nelson undated live recordings, and other recording artists. The collection also included a variety of commercially produced and released cassettes that have been transferred to the library holdings.

The cassettes covered a broad scope of music, as well as some personal recordings of events, phone calls and jam sessions. The cassettes did not have a particular original order, and when possible have been arranged by date. The priority for sorting recordings was broken down by separating out the Studio recordings, Jody’s own recordings which give insight to the interests and activities outside of strictly music that she participated in as an individual and as Willie Nelson’s personal assistant. Following that recordings are sorted by those including Willie Nelson, and those of other artists.

When it is not possible to sort by date, the recordings are sorted by alphabetical order of contributing artists. Often the labels only include first names, such as Hank, Dolly, Kris, Frank, and Johnny to name a few. While some of the last names can be inferred based on other famous musicians and context, last names that have been added by the processing staff are put in parenthesis to indicate that they are additions not included on the actual labels. Subseries 1: Jody Fisher Recordings, 1988-1996, undated These recordings are difficult to date, frequently Fischer has recorded over other tapes, and many of her recordings have Willie Nelson music on the other side. These recordings include phone conversations, Hawaiian music taped from the radio on her trip to Hawaii, and programs focusing on Native American civil rights, amongst other topics. Subseries 2: Willie Nelson Studio Recordings, 1983-1987, undated These recordings with one exception are from the Pedernales Studio. They are arranged by date when possible, with undated recordings at the end of the series.

Subseries 3: Willie Nelson Recordings Dated, 1976-1995 These recordings vary from jam sessions to concerts to rough recordings prior to production. Often they include other artists such as Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, and other country, folk and blues artists.

Subseries 4: Willie Nelson Recordings, Undated These recordings are similar to those in subseries 3, except that they are undated. Recordings will be grouped by collaborating artists listed on the labels.

Subseries 5: Recordings by Other Artists, 1982-1986, undated These are other unproduced recordings in the Jody Fischer collections featuring other artists. These are sorted alphabetically by artist last name.