The Immortals: The Greatest Artists of All Time

The Immortals: The Greatest Artists of All Time

- Willie Nelson -

Birth name: Willie Hugh Nelson
Born: April 30, 1933 (1933-04-30) (age 75)
Location: Abbott, Texas, U.S.
Genre(s): Country, Country rock, Outlaw Country, Alternative country, Folk, Reggae, Blues
Occupation(s): Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist, Producer, Session Musician, Actor, Activist
Nelson was born and raised in Abbott, Texas, the son of Myrtle and Ira D. Nelson, who was a mechanic and pool hall owner. His grandparents William Alfred Nelson and Nancy Elizabeth Smothers gave him mail-order music lessons starting at age six. He wrote his first song when he was seven and was playing in a local band at age nine. Willie played the guitar, while his sister Bobbie played the piano. He met Bud Fletcher, a fiddler, and two siblings joined his band, Bohemian Fiddlers, while Nelson was in high school. While he was in high school he took part in the ‘National FFA Organization’ (formerly known as the ‘Future Farmers of America’).
Beginning in high school Nelson worked as a disc jockey for local radio stations. Nelson had short DJ stints with ‘KHBR’ in Hillsboro, Texas, and later with ‘KBOP’ in Pleasanton, Texas, while singing locally in honky tonk bars.
Nelson graduated from Abbott High School in 1951. He joined the Air Force the same year but was discharged after nine months due to back problems. He then studied agriculture at Baylor University for one year in 1954.
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.
Nelson moved to Nashville in 1960, 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; a version "Night Life" was even recorded by convicted killer and former cult leader Charles Manson), 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).
In 1965, Nelson moved to ‘RCA Victor’ Records and joined the ‘Grand Ole Opry’. He followed this with a series of minor hits and then 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.
In the mid 1970's, Nelson purchased property near Lake Travis in Austin and built ‘Pedernales’ Studio. The studio underwent state of the art renovations in the mid 1990's, and many top recording artists adorn its client list. Its amenities include a 9-hole golf course, tennis courts and an Olympic size swimming pool.
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" (written by Fred Rose in 1945). "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" became Nelson's first number one hit as a singer.
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.
Little is known about Willie's life in Minnesota, however he did live there for quite some time. While living in Minnesota Willie had three children, Brian, Jessica, and Jacob Nelson.
Nelson began acting, appearing in “The Electric Horseman” (1979), “Honeysuckle Rose” (1980), “Thief” (1981), and “Barbarosa” (1982). Also in 1982 he played "Red Loon", in “Coming Out of the Ice” with John Savage. In 1984 he starred in the movie “Songwriter” with Kris Kristoferson guest starring. He then had the lead role in “Red Headed Stranger” (1986, with Morgan Fairchild), “Wag the Dog” (1997), “Gone Fishin” (1997) as Billy 'Catch' Pooler, the 1986 TV movie “Stagecoach” (with Johnny Cash), and “Dukes of Hazard” (2006) with Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson, whom along with Cash would form a band with Nelson called “The Highwaymen”).
He has continued acting since his early successes, but usually in smaller roles and cameos, some of which involve his status as a cannabis activist and icon. One of his more popular recent cameos was a performance in “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 cannabis-smoking contest held in Amsterdam. That same week Willie Nelson recorded, "I'll never Smoke Weed With Willie Again" with Toby Keith.
He 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). He also briefly appeared in “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”.
The Eighties saw a series of hit singles: "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 ‘Internal Revenue Service’ (IRS) handed Nelson a bill for $16.7 million in back taxes and seized 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. He sued accounting firm ‘Price Waterhouse’, contending that they put him into tax shelters that were later disallowed. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount. 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. He also starred in “Baywatch” as an old man in boxer shorts.
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. ‘Willie Nelson: An Epic Life’ by Joe Nick Patoski will be released in April, 2008. Mr. Patoski did over 100 interviews with Willie, his family, his band, the people he grew up with in Abbott, and many others. This is part biography, part memoir, part history, from the depression to Willie as he celebrates his 75th birthday.
Willie Nelson has been married four times and fathered eight children.
1. Martha Matthews from 1952-1962. Children are Lana, Susie, and Billy (who died in 1991).
2. Shirley Collie from 1963-1971.
3. Connie Koepke from 1971-1988. Children are Paula Carlene and Amy Lee.
4. 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.Nelson is a member of ‘Tau Kappa Epsilon’ international fraternity.

by romig007