Johnny Cash. Motley Crue. Neil Young. U2. Harmonica player Mickey Raphael has played with them all, thanks to the help of Willie Nelson.
Tonight, Nelson, Raphael and the rest of the band will stop by John R. Emens Auditorium, continuing their U.S. tour.
"It's been a great tour. We've been going up right thorough the middle of the country. Started in Oklahoma, just worked our way north," Raphael said.
Raphael was introduced to Nelson through University of Texas football coach Darrell Royal.
"Willie at that time was playing around Texas and said, ‘Well just come sit in with us sometime,'" Raphael said. "I would show up at these beer joints where Willie was playing and sit in with the band. That was 1973."
From that point, Raphael was Nelson's harmonica player, touring "solid," as well as recording harmonica tracks. In addition to recording with Nelson, many other artists, such as Elton John, Motley Crue and Kenny Chesney, have come to Raphael asking him to record harmonica pieces on their songs.
"Everybody from Johnny Cash to Willie to Waylon to Kenny. Anytime anybody needs harmonica and wants to hire me, they do," Raphael said. "It's a real challenge to go in there and create and play because you're fans of these people. It's just a real honor."
Although Raphael considers himself a "versatile" harmonica player in that he pursues all music opportunities no matter the genre, his touring experiences with country supergroup The Highwaymen have made country his primary genre.
Raphael was drawn to playing harmonica in his high school years after witnessing the instrument's potential at a local folk bar.
"I went to a club when I was about 15 or 16 in Dallas, and there was a guy named Don Brooks playing the harmonica, and he really inspired me," Raphael said. "Hearing him play was a big influence. That was back in the '60s when I first heard that. That really got me interested in the harmonica."
Perhaps the most memorable of Raphael's recording encounters came with '80s rock group Motley Crue.
"I played the solo on ‘Smokin' In the Boys Room' with Motley Crue," Raphael said. "You know that's a long way from country, but I'm not really a country player. I wouldn't put a style on it. I don't play any classical gigs, but I'm pretty open to all styles."
Raphael said Nelson recently pursued a collaboration opportunity as well. Embarking on a rendezvous invitation to Amsterdam, Raphael and Nelson met up with Snoop Dogg, where Nelson and Snoop Dogg collaborated on a few songs.
"Willie, of course, likes Amsterdam," Raphael said. "The last time we were there, we were with Snoop Dogg, and they hung out the whole time. We actually went in the studio with him, Willie and myself, and recorded a song. He was a fan of Willie's and he wanted to meet Willie, and they got together and played dominos all afternoon one day. He wanted Willie to sing on this song that he had written and then Willie had him sing on one of his songs."
Although the band is not touring in support of any specific album, they have still been well received wherever they've gone.
"Willie's fan base is great," Raphael said. "His fans are just the best fans in the world. It's pretty amazing how loyal they are. Everywhere they go, they make us feel at home."
According to Robert Myers, director of Emens Auditorium and Pruis Hall, Nelson played to more than 3,000 fans at Emens in 2003.
"Willie Nelson has been an icon of country music for decades," Myers said. "He is an actor, singer songwriter and activist. I remember back in 1985 when Willie was integral to the start of Farm Aid, a concert to help bolster struggling family farms."
As for Nelson's future, Raphael expects for "more of the same."
"Just lots of good music, and we'll still hit the road as long as everybody's healthy, which they are," Raphael said. "We're still doing over 100 dates a year."
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