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Willie Nelson (born William
Hugh Nelson, April 1933) is an
American entertainer and
songwriter. He reached his
greatest fame during the
so-called "outlaw country"
movement of the 1970s.
 Early
life and
career
Willie Nelson and his sister,
Bobbie Nelson were raised by
their grandparents after their
parents, Ira Doyle Nelson and
Myrle Marie Greenhaw divorced.
His grandparents William Alfred
Nelson and Nancy Elizabeth
Smothers gave him mail-order
music lessons starting at age
six. Willie played the guitar,
while Bobbie played the piano.
He met Bud Fletcher, a fiddler,
and both siblings joined his
band, Bohemian Fiddlers, while
Nelson was in high school.
After graduation, Nelson joined
the Air Force, but left due to
back problems. He also attended
Baylor University for one year.
Eventually, he became a DJ at a
country music radio station in
Fort Worth, while singing
locally in honky tonk bars. In
1956, Nelson moved to
Vancouver, Washington, to begin
a musical career, recording
"Lumberjack," which was written
by Leon Payne. The single sold
fairly well, but did not
establish a career. Nelson
continued to work as a radio
announcer in Vancouver and sing
in clubs. He sold a song called
"Family Bible" for $50; the
song was a hit for Claude Gray
in 1960, has been covered
widely and is often considered
a gospel music classic.
Willie Nelson recently has
drawn attention of many Youth,
similar to that of Johnny
Cash.
Popular
songwriter
Nelson moved to Tennessee, but
was unable to land a record
label contract. He did,
however, receive a publishing
contract at Pamper Music. After
Ray Price recorded Nelson's
"Night Life" (reputedly the
most covered country song of
all time), Nelson joined
Price's touring band as a bass
player. While playing with Ray
Price and the Cherokee Cowboys,
many of Nelson's songs became
hits for some of country and
pop music's biggest stars of
the time. These songs include
"Funny How Time Slips Away"
(Billy Walker), "Hello Walls"
(Faron Young), "Pretty Paper"
(Roy Orbison) and most
famously, "Crazy" (Patsy
Cline). Nelson signed with
Liberty Records in 1961 and
released several singles,
including "Willingly" (sung
with his wife, Shirley Collie)
and "Touch Me."
He was unable to keep his
momentum going, however, and
Nelson's career ground to a
halt. Demo recordings from his
years as a songwriter for
Pamper Music were later
discovered and released as
Crazy: The Demo Sessions
(2003). His personal life
during this period was
colorful. His alcoholism,
failed day jobs and a penchant
for carrying guns got him in
trouble with the law, not to
mention with his wife, numerous
times.
In 1965, Nelson moved to RCA
Victor Records and joined the
Grand Ole Opry. He followed
this with a series of minor
hits. Frustrated with the music
business, which tried to force
him into a mold, Nelson retired
and moved to Austin, Texas.
While in Austin, with its
burgeoning "hippie" music scene
(see Armadillo World
Headquarters), Nelson decided
to return to music. His
popularity in Austin soared, as
he played his own brand of
country music marked by rock
and roll, jazz, western swing,
and folk influences. A lifelong
passion for running and a new
commitment to his own health
also began during this
period.
Outlaw
country
Nelson signed with Atlantic
Records and released Shotgun
Willie (1973), which won
excellent reviews but did not
sell well. Phases and Stages
(1974), a concept album
inspired by his divorce,
included the hit single "Bloody
Mary Morning." Nelson then
moved to Columbia Records,
where he was given complete
creative control over his work.
The result was the critically
acclaimed, massively popular
concept album, Red Headed
Stranger (1975). Although
Columbia was reluctant to
release an album with primarily
a guitar and piano for
accompaniment, Nelson insisted
(with the assistance of Waylon
Jennings) and the album was a
huge hit, partially because it
included a popular cover of
"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain"
(which was written by Fred Rose
in 1945).
Along with Nelson, Waylon
Jennings was also achieving
success in country music in the
early 1970s, and the pair were
soon combined into a genre
called outlaw country ("outlaw"
because it did not conform to
Nashville standards). Nelson's
outlaw image was cemented with
the release of the album
Wanted: The Outlaws! (1976,
with Waylon Jennings, Jessi
Colter and Tompall Glaser),
country music's first platinum
album. Nelson continued to top
the charts with hit songs
during the late 1970s,
including "Good Hearted Woman"
(a duet with Jennings),
"Remember Me", "If You've Got
the Money I've Got the Time",
"Uncloudy Day", "I Love You a
Thousand Ways", and "Something
to Brag About" (a duet with
Mary Kay Place).
In 1978, Nelson released two
more platinum albums, Waylon
and Willie (a collaboration
with Jennings that included
"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies
Grow Up to Be Cowboys," which
was written and originally
recorded as a hit single by Ed
Bruce a couple of years
earlier), and Stardust, an
unusual, string-based album of
popular standards. It was
produced by Booker T. Jones.
Though most observers predicted
that Stardust would ruin his
career, it ended up being one
of his most successful
recordings.
Acting
career
Nelson began acting, appearing
in The Electric Horseman
(1979), starring in Honeysuckle
Rose (1980), Barbarosa (1982),
Red-Headed Stranger. Also in
1982 he played "Red Loon," a
gulag prisoner in Out of the
Ice with John Savage, (1986,
with Morgan Fairchild), Wag the
Dog (1997), Gone Fishin (1997)
as Billy 'Catch' Pooler, and
the 1986 TV movie Stagecoach
(with Johnny Cash, Waylon
Jennings and Kris
Kristofferson, all of whom
would form a band with Nelson
called The Highwaymen). He has
continued acting since his
early successes, but usually in
smaller roles and cameos, such
as Half Baked as an elderly
"Historian Smoker" who, while
smoking marijuana, would
reminisce about how things used
to be in his younger years;
Nelson also appeared as himself
in the 2006 movie Beerfest,
looking for teammates to join
him in a mythical
world-championship
marijuana-smoking contest held
in Amsterdam. Nelson has made
guest appearances on Miami
Vice, Delta, Nash Bridges, The
Simpsons, Monk, Dr. Quinn,
Medicine Woman, King of the
Hill, and The Colbert Report.
He played Uncle Jesse in The
Dukes of Hazzard, the 2005
cinematic treatment of the
television series, and was the
only member of the big screen
cast to reprise the role in the
TV/DVD movie prequel The Dukes
of Hazzard: The Beginning
(2007) (V).
Hits,
excesses, and Farm
Aid
The Eighties saw a series of
hit singles: "Always on My
Mind" (originally made popular
by Elvis Presley), "On the Road
Again" from the movie
Honeysuckle Rose and "To All
the Girls I've Loved Before" (a
rather incongruous duet with
Julio Iglesias). There were
also more popular albums,
including Pancho & Lefty
(1982, with Merle Haggard),
WWII (1982, with Waylon
Jennings) and Take it to the
Limit (1983, with Waylon
Jennings).
In the mid-1980s, Nelson,
Waylon Jennings, Kris
Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash
formed a group called The
Highwaymen. They achieved
unexpectedly massive success,
including platinum record sales
and worldwide touring.
Meanwhile, he became more and
more involved in charity work,
such as establishing the Farm
Aid concerts in 1985.
In 1990, the IRS handed Nelson
a bill for $16.7 million in
back taxes and took away most
of his assets to help pay the
charges. He released The IRS
Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?
as a double album, with all
profits going straight to the
IRS. Many of his assets were
auctioned and purchased by
friends, who gave his
possessions back to him or
rented them at a nominal fee.
His debts were paid by
1993.
In 1996, Willie Nelson was
featured on the Beach Boys' now
out-of-print album Stars and
Stripes Vol. 1 singing a cover
of their 1964 song "The Warmth
of the Sun" with the Beach Boys
themselves providing the
harmonies and backing
vocals.
Hard-Drivin'
American
troubadour
He released Across the
Borderline in 1993, with guests
Bob Dylan, Sinéad O'Connor,
David Crosby, Bonnie Raitt,
Kris Kristofferson and Paul
Simon.
During the 1990s and 2000s,
Nelson has toured continuously
and released albums that
generally received mixed
reviews, with the exception of
1998's critically acclaimed
Teatro (which was produced by
Daniel Lanois—more commonly
known for his work with U2—and
featured supporting vocals by
Emmylou Harris). Later that
year, he joined rock band Phish
onstage for several songs as
part of the annual Farm Aid
festival. He also performed a
duet concert with fellow
Highwayman Johnny Cash,
recorded for the VH1
Storytellers series.
Nelson received Kennedy Center
Honors in 1998. A star-studded
television special celebrating
his 70th birthday aired in
2003. In 2004, he released
Outlaws & Angels, featuring
guests Toby Keith, Joe Walsh,
Merle Haggard, Kid Rock, Al
Green, Shelby Lynne, Carole
King, Toots Hibbert, Ben
Harper, Lee Ann Womack, The
Holmes Brothers, Los Lonely
Boys, Lucinda Williams, Keith
Richards, Jerry Lee Lewis and
Rickie Lee Jones.
Environmental
and social
endeavors
In 2004, Nelson and his wife
Annie became partners with Bob
and Kelly King in the building
of two Pacific Biodiesel
Plants, one in Salem, Oregon,
and the other at Carl's Corner,
Texas (the latter founded by
Carl Cornelius, a long time
friend). In 2005, Nelson and
several other business partners
formed Willie Nelson Biodiesel
(also known as BioWillie), a
company that is marketing
Biodiesel biofuel to truck
stops. The fuel is made from
vegetable oils, mainly
soybeans, and can be burned
without modification in diesel
engines.
Nelson also sits as co-chair on
the NORML (National
Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws) advisory board,
which includes such names as
Bill Maher, Mark Stepnoski,
Daniel Stern, Dr Lester
Grinspoon of Harvard Medical
School, and Sheriff Bill
Masters of Telluride, Colorado.
He has been working with the
organization for many years in
an attempt to 'normalize' the
use of cannabis, including
producing "public service"
commercials for NORML that have
appeared on Pot TV programs. In
2005, Willie and his family
hosted the first annual Willie
Nelson & NORML Benefit Golf
Tournament, which appeared on
the cover of High Times
Magazine. Nelson once said on
the David Letterman Show that
he smoked marijuana on the
White House roof while visiting
President Jimmy Carter.
On January 9, 2005, Nelson
headlined an all-star concert
at Austin Music Hall, to
benefit the victims of the 2004
Indian Ocean Earthquake.
Tsunami Relief Austin to Asia
raised an estimated $120,000
for UNICEF and two other
organizations.
Nelson was a supporter of Kinky
Friedman's unsuccessful
gubernatorial campaign in Texas
in 2006. In 2004, he supported
Congressman Dennis Kucinich for
President, raising money,
appearing at events, composing
a song ("Whatever Happened to
Peace on Earth?") for the
campaign, and contributing an
enthusiastic quote to the front
cover of Kucinich's book. In
2005, he recorded a radio
advertisement asking for
support to put Friedman on the
ballot as an independent
candidate. Friedman has
promised Willie a job in Austin
as the head of the new "Texas
Energy Commission," due to
Nelson's support of
biofuels.
Nelson is an honorary trustee
of the Dayton International
Peace Museum
Nelson is an advocate for
horses and their treatment. He
has been campaigning for
passage of the American Horse
Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R.
503/S. 1915) with the Society
for Animal Protective
Legislation. He has also
adopted a number of horses from
Habitat for Horses.
In March 2007, Ben &
Jerry's released a new flavor,
Willie Nelson’s Country Peach
Cobbler Ice Cream. Nelson's
proceeds will be donated to
Farm Aid. The flavor has been
re-released and is now
available, after Ben &
Jerry's voluntary recall of
250,000 pints of the new flavor
on March 19, 2007, as wheat was
incorrectly excluded from the
list of ingredients.
Personal
life
Nelson has been married four
times and fathered seven
children.
Martha Matthews from 1952-1962.
Children are Lana, Susie, and
Billy (who died in 1991).
Shirley Collie from
1963-1971.
Connie Koepke from 1971-1988.
Children are Paula Carlene and
Amy.
Annie D'Angelo from
1991-present. Children are
Lukas Autry and Jacob
Micah.
Nelson can trace his genealogy
back to the American
Revolutionary War, in which his
ancestor John Nelson served as
a major.
On September 18, 2006, Willie
Nelson was issued misdemeanor
citations for drug possession.
Nelson was driving through
Breaux Bridge, Louisiana after
having performed at the Austin
City Limits Music Festival two
nights before. A search of his
tour bus produced 1.5 pounds of
marijuana and 0.2 pounds of
psychoactive mushrooms,
according to state police.
Popular
image
Willie Nelson is widely
recognized as an American icon.
His distinctive music and other
social and political activities
(which include, among other
things, being Advisory Board
co-chair of NORML, the National
Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws) sometimes take
a backseat to his pop-culture
public image (firmly grounded
in the acknowledged reality of
his life) - that of an elderly,
lifelong marijuana-smoking
old-school cowboy-hippie
troubadour. His image is marked
by his red hair, often divided
into two long braids partially
concealed under a bandana. He
has been featured in recent
advertisements for a variety of
products and companies,
including The Gap.
During the controversial 2003
Texas congressional
redistricting, Nelson made the
news by sending a case of
whiskey to the Democrats of the
Texas Legislature in
self-imposed exile in Ardmore,
Oklahoma. An attached note read
"Stand your ground." In 2005 a
Democratic representative in
Texas' legislature attempted to
name part of a highway after
Nelson, but after opposition
from Willie, who did not want
his name associated with the
controversial toll road, and
from some Republican lawmakers
(who claimed Nelson did not
warrant mention since he had
nothing to do with the creation
of the highway), the
representative dropped his
plan.
Nelson also volunteered to
narrate "The Austin Disaster,
1911", a little-known
documentary about a flood in
Potter County, Pennsylvania
(see Floods in the United
States). Before the tragedy, an
unrelated William "Willie"
Nelson repeatedly warned
residents of possible dam
failure.
Willie Nelson performed a duet
on "Beer for my Horses" with
Toby Keith on Keith's Unleashed
album released in 2002. This
song was released as a single
in 2003 and Nelson shot a video
with Keith in 2003. It won an
award for "Best Video" at the
Academy of Country Music Awards
held on May 26, 2004.
In 2002, Nelson signed a deal
to become the official
spokesperson to the Texas
Roadhouse, a fast-growing chain
of steakhouses in the U.S.
Since then, Nelson has heavily
promoted the chain (including
on a special on Food Network).
Meanwhile the Texas Roadhouse
itself installed "Willie's
Corner" at several locations,
which is a section dedicated to
Nelson and decked out with
memorabilia of Nelson.
No stranger to controversy, he
released the Tex-Mex style
"Cowboys Are Frequently,
Secretly Fond of Each Other," a
song about gay cowboys, as a
digital single through the
iTunes Music Store on
Valentine's Day 2006, shortly
after the release of the film
Brokeback Mountain (which also
featured Nelson on the
soundtrack). He deadpans his
way through the song, with such
phrases as "What did you think
all them saddles and boots was
about?" and "Inside every
cowboy there's a lady who'd
love to slip out." The song was
written and first recorded more
than twenty years previously by
musicologist/songwriter Ned
Sublette and had also been
covered, prior to Nelson's
version, by queercore band
Pansy Division.
In 2004, "Crazy" and "Mammas
Don't let Your Babies Grow up
to be Cowboys" appeared in
popular videogame Grand Theft
Auto: San Andreas, playing on
fictional country music station
K-ROSE.
In 2006, Julio Iglesias
recorded Willie's hit "Always
on My Mind" for Iglesias'
upcoming Romantic Classics
album, due out September 19,
2006. This song was recorded 20
years after Julio and Willie
teamed up for "To All the Girls
I've Loved Before."
In the April 2007 issue of
Stuff Magazine Nelson was
interviewed about his long
locks. "I started braiding my
hair when it started getting
too long, and that was, I don't
know, probably in the
70's."
In October of 2007, Willie
Nelson will play at the "Big
State Festival" at the Texas
World Speedway in College
Station, TX, which benefits The
Texas Parks and Wildlife
Foundation.
Willie Nelson has just
announced that he is almost
finished with the recording of
his new album and that he plans
a world tour in early 2008.
The album, entitled I Traded My
Stetson For An Ugly Plaid Hat,
reportedly will be in a dual
disc format and will contain
twenty-two songs. While most of
the tunes are originals,
written by Nelson himself, the
album will also feature a cover
of Ricky Martin's hit single
Livin' La Vida Loco. Nelson
also covers the Beatles classic
Taxman, which is particularly
poignant, considering his own
experiences with the Internal
Revenue Service.
The
Willie Nelson
family
Nelson's touring and recording
group is a collection of a
number of longstanding members,
including his sister Bobbie
Nelson, longtime drummer Paul
English, harmonicist Mickey
Raphael, Bee Spears, Billy
English (Paul's younger
brother), and Jody Payne.
Willie tours North America in
his biodiesel (aka "BioWillie"
- Willie Nelson Biodiesel) bus,
the "Honeysuckle Rose IV."
Nelson's principal guitar is a
Martin N-20 nylon-string
acoustic, which he has named
"Trigger", after Roy Rogers'
horse. Constant strumming over
the decades has worn a large
sweeping hole into the guitar's
body near the sound hole. Its
soundboard has been signed over
the years by over a hundred of
Nelson's friends and
associates, from fellow
musicians to lawyers and
football coaches. It is rumored
that when the guitar finally
wears out beyond playability,
he will permanently retire from
the music business.
Discography
Nelson has released dozens of
albums under a number of
different labels; these are
some of his most notable
accomplishments.
Albums Year Sing with
Yesterday's Wine 1971
Shotgun Willie 1973
Troublemaker 1973
Phases and Stages 1974
Red Headed Stranger 1975
Sound in Your Mind 1976
Wanted: The Outlaws! 1976 Jessi
Colter, Tompall Glaser, and
Waylon Jennings
To Lefty From Willie 1977
Stardust 1978
Six Pak Volume 1 1978 Ray Wylie
Hubbard, Cooder Browne, Don
Bowman, Steve Fromholz, and
Geezinslaws
Face Of A Fighter 1978
Willie and Family Live 1978
Sings Kristofferson 1979 Kris
Kristofferson
Honeysuckle Rose 1980
Somewhere Over the Rainbow 1981
Freddie Powers
Greatest Hits (& Some That
Will Be) 1981
The Winning Hand 1982 Dolly
Parton, Kris Kristofferson, and
Brenda Lee
Always on My Mind 1982 In
addition to topping the country
chart, Always on My Mind also
reached #2 on the Billboard's
Top Pop Album chart, a rare
accomplishment for a country
album in the early 1980s.
Pancho & Lefty 1982 Merle
Haggard
City of New Orleans 1984
Half Nelson (album) 1984
Includes Ray Charles, Bonnie
Raitt and more
Music from Songwriter 1984 Kris
Kristofferson
Promised Land 1986
Horse called Music 1989
The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My
Memories? 1992
Across The Borderline 1992
Moonlight Becomes You 1994
Healing Hands of Time 1995
Revolutions of Time 1975-1993
1995
Spirit 1996
Teatro 1998
Milk Cow Blues 2000
Rainbow Connection 2001
The Great Divide 2002
Willie Nelson & Friends -
Stars & Guitars 2002
Crazy: The Demo Sessions
2003
Angels & Outlaws 2004
It Always Will Be 2004
Nacogdoches 2004
Songs for Tsunami Relief:
Austin to South Asia 2005
Countryman 2005
Brokeback Mountain ("He Was a
Friend of Mine") 2005
You Don't Know Me: The Songs of
Cindy Walker 2006
The Great American Songbook
2006
Songbird 2006 feat. Ryan Adams
and The Cardinals
Last of the Breed 2007 with
Merle Haggard and Ray
Price.
Virtual
albums
iTunes Originals - Willie
Nelson
With The
Highwaymen
Year Album Record Label
Notes
1985 Highwayman Columbia
Records
1990 Highwayman 2 Columbia
Records
1995 The Road Goes on Forever
Liberty Records
2005 The Road Goes on Forever
Capitol Records/EMI Re-Released
for 10th Anniversary with bonus
tracks
With
Waylon
Jennings
Year Album Record Label
1978 Waylon and Willie RCA
Nashville
1982 WWII RCA Nashville
1983 Take It to the Limit
Columbia Records
1991 Clean Shirt Epic
Records
1999 Waylon and Willie Super
Hits RCA Nashville
With
Johnny Cash
Year Album Record Label
1998 VH1 Storytellers: Johnny
Cash & Willie Nelson
American Recordings
Songs
"I Gotta Get Drunk"
"Night Life"
"Highwayman", written by Jimmy
Webb
"American Remains"
"Hello Walls"
"Half a Man"
"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies
Grow Up To Be Cowboys"
"Me and Paul"
"My Heroes Have Always Been
Cowboys"
"Pretty Paper"
"Last Thing I Needed First
Thing This Morning"
"Funny How Time Slips Away"
"Bloody Mary Morning"
(1974)
"On the Road Again" (1980)
"Write Your Own Songs"
(1982)
"Always on My Mind" (1982)
"City of New Orleans" (1984),
written by Steve Goodman
"To All the Girls I've Loved
Before" (1984), (duet With
Julio Iglesias)
"Loving Her Was Easier (Than
Anything I'll Ever Do
Again)"
"Beer for My Horses" (duet with
Toby Keith)
"Blue Eyes Crying in the
Rain"
"Good Hearted Woman",
co-written by Waylon
Jennings
"Still Is Still Moving to
Me"
"Crazy" (1961)
"We Had It All"
"I'am My Own Grandpa"
"Who'll Buy My Memories"
"Whiskey River", written by
Johnny Bush
"Cowboys Are Frequently,
Secretly Fond of Each
Other"
Gospel
songs
"Amazing Grace"
"Tell It to Jesus"
"Family Bible" (1960)
"Uncloudy Day"
"I'll Fly Away"
"I Saw The Light", written by
Hank Williams
"Shall We Gather at the
River"
Filmography
Year Movie
1979 The Electric Horseman
1980 Honeysuckle Rose
1981 Thief
1982 Barbarosa
1984 Songwriter
1986 Red-Headed Stranger
1986 Stagecoach
1988 Once Upon a Texas
Train
1996 Starlight
1997 Wag the Dog
1998 Half Baked
2005 The Dukes of Hazzard
2006 Beerfest
2006 Broken Bridges
2007 The Dukes of Hazzard: The
Beginning
2007 Blonde Ambition
Books
Book Year Co-Author Notes
Willie: Autobiography 1988 Bud
Shrake ISBN 0-8154-1080-8
The Facts of Life and Other
Dirty Jokes 2002 ISBN
0-375-50731-0
The Tao of Willie 2006 Turk
Pipkin ISBN 1-59240-197-X
Awards
Year Org. Award
1975 Grammy Best Male Country
Vocal Performance
1976 CMA Vocal Duo of the
Year
1976 CMA Single of the Year
1976 CMA Album of the Year
1977 American Music Awards
Favorite Single
1978 Grammy Best Male Country
Vocal Performance
1978 Grammy Best Country
Performance by Duo/Group
W/Vocals
1979 CMA Entertainer of the
Year
1979 ACM Entertainer of the
Year
1980 Grammy Best Country
Song
1982 Grammy Best Male Country
Vocal Performance
1982 CMA Single of the Year
1982 CMA Album of the Year
1982 American Music Awards
Favorite Male Artist
1982 ACM Single of the Year
1982 ACM Album of the Year
1983 CMA Vocal Duo of the
Year
1983 American Music Awards
Favorite Album
1984 CMA Vocal Duo of the
Year
1984 American Music Awards
Favorite Male Artist
1984 ACM Single of the Year
1985 ACM Single of the Year
1986 American Music Awards
Favorite Single
1986 American Music Awards
Favorite Male Artist
1987 American Music Awards
Favorite Male Artist
1990 Grammy Legend Awards
1995 TNN/Music City News Minnie
Pearl Award
1995 TNN/Music City News Living
Legend
1999 Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award
2002 Grammy Best Country
Collaboration With Vocals
2002 CMT Flameworthy Video
Music Awards Video
Collaboration of the Year
2002 CMA Vocal Event of the
Year
2003 CMT's 40 Greatest Men in
Country Music #4 ranking
2003 Grammy Best Country
Collaboration With Vocals
2004 CMT Flameworthy Video
Music Awards Video
Collaboration of the Year
Source : Some
of the information on this page
came from a Wikipedia
article and is
licensed under the GNU
Documentation License.
©2008
www.geneticmatrix.com.
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Willie
Nelson - Generator
- Biography