Over the last 40 years, Willie Nelson has been a major presence in country music. While his soothing vocal twang may have made him famous, he deserves as much recognition as one of country music’s most talented and influential songwriters.
Born April 30, 1933, Nelson was raised by his grand-parents in Abbott, Texas. He began writing songs (mostly of the broken-hearted variety) at the tender age of seven. At 21, Nelson was living in Fort Worth, working as a DJ and playing honky-tonk bars. After selling two songs for $200, Nelson moved to Nashville to begin a career as a professional songwriter. Hanging out at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, Nelson pitched songs to anyone who would listen. He sold three hits in 1961, “Hello Walls” (Faron Young), “Funny How Time Slips Away” (Billy Walker), and “Crazy” (Patsy CLINE). In the era of the overly slick “country-politan” sound, Nelson’s quirky, distinctive music and intelligent lyrics made a welcome change.
That same year, Ray Price employed Nelson as a bassist, not realising that Nelson had never played the instrument. Undeterred by his lack of experience, Nelson bought a bass and practised all night, showing up the next day as a bass player. Nelson’s association with Price continued until 1965, when Price refused to record any more of Nelson’s songs after he had accidentally shot Price’s fighting rooster.
Liberty Records signed Nelson in 1961, and despite his unorthodox, spare, behind-the-beat singing style, he scored a Top 10 country hit with “Touch Me.” After Liberty folded their country division, Nelson moved to the RCA label. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he was a Nashville fixture, but never scored a hit single.
Feeling that Nashville’s sterile studios and hired-gun musicians represented his music poorly, Nelson moved to Austin, Texas, in 1972. Austin’s freewheeling music scene blended rock, folk, and country, and Nelson grew his hair long to fit in with his new fans. His 1975 album Red Headed Stranger, a song cycle about a man and his unfaithful lover, was so sparse that his new label (Columbia) couldn’t believe it was the finished article. Despite the label’s misgivings, the record was released and went platinum, spawning a No. 1 single in the U.S., “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” Nelson also became a primary figure in “outlaw” country—a back-to-the-roots movement that forced a reluctant Nashville to re-assess the state of country music.
With Waylon JENNINGS, Nelson recorded the platinum-selling Wanted: The Outlaws in 1976, which marked the movement’s apex. Two years later, Willie applied his voice to a collection of old standards and the resulting album, Stardust, sold millions of copies. During the 1980s, Nelson recorded successful duets with, among others, Jennings, Dolly PARTON, Ray CHARLES, Julio Iglesias, Merle HAGGARD, and, with the aid of modern technology, Hank WILLIAMS. He also had several big hits on his own, including “Always on My Mind” and “On the Road Again,” and his Fourth of July “picnics” evolved into FarmAid, an annual benefit to help struggling farm families.
After meeting actor and director Robert Redford at a party, Nelson was invited to join the cast of the film The Electric Horseman. Since then, Nelson has appeared in many movies, in starring roles (Red Headed Stranger and Honeysuckle Rose) and cameos (Wag the Dog).
In November 1990, the IRS sent Nelson a tax bill for a staggering $16.7 million. After losing nearly all of his assets, he began paying off his debts, releasing at least ten discs worth of consistently solid material. Despite (or perhaps because of) his financial woes, Nelson shows no signs of slowing down.
Greg Bower
SEE ALSO:
COUNTRY; NASHVILLE SOUND/NEW COUNTRY.
FURTHER READING
Nelson, Willie, and Bud Shrake. I Didn’t Come Here and I Ain’t Leavin’: The Autobiography of Willie Nelson (London: Macmillan, 1989).
SUGGESTED LISTENING
Always on My Mind; Nite Life—Greatest Hits and Rare Tracks; Red Headed Stranger; Revolutions in Time: the Journey, Stardust.