Willie Nelson






































































































































Willie Nelson
No Video Available
Abbott, TX
April 30, 1933

If ever the words "living legend" were more than just public relations bluster, the application would be to Willie Hugh Nelson. The iconic Texan is the creative genius behind historic recordings like "Crazy," "Hello Walls," Red Headed Stranger, and Stardust. His career has spanned six decades. His catalog boasts more than 200 albums. He's earned every conceivable award and honor that can be bestowed to a person in his profession. And he has also amassed reputable credentials as an author, actor and activist. In many ways, however, the weighty distinction "living legend" does Willie a disservice, for it discounts the extent to which he is a thriving, relevant and progressive musical force in the year 2005. He has two new albums that were released in the fall of 2004, recently embarked on an imaginative tour with another musical icon, again headlined Farm Aid, has established himself as a top television ratings draw, and has a recent No. 1 single and Super Bowl performance under his belt. And on January 9th, 2005 Willie gathered many of Austin’s country music stars together for a night of legendary compassion to benefit the survivors of the devastation in South Asia. Willie was joined on stage by Joe Ely, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, Patty Griffin, Alejandro Escovedo, Jon Dee Graham, Natalie Maines and many others. Willie hopes to turn the tide beyond this concert by releasing a CD and DVD on April 12th of this historic event. Willie's music is as adventurous as ever--mixing sounds and styles, bending genre boundaries and engendering the talents of today's most vibrant artists. The September 2004 release of Outlaws & Angels perfectly expresses Willie's expansiveness. Recorded during the USA Network cable special by the same name, the album features performances with Toby Keith, Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, Kid Rock, Carole King, Jerry Lee Lewis and Keith Richards among others. The prolific Nelson followed that album with the October 2004 release of It Always Will Be, his first full studio album since 2002's The Great Divide. The disc features duets with Paula Nelson, Norah Jones and Lucinda Williams, as well as a cover of Toby Keith's "Tired" that Rolling Stone calls "heartbreaking." Willie again proves his propensity for taking chances and, as always, meeting those challenges in a manner that appears deceptively effortless. Earlier in 2004, Willie embarked on a warmly received tour of minor league baseball parks with Bob Dylan. He recently played Farm Aid in Seattle, and event he continues to support after co-founding it in 1985. Last year found him enjoying yet another No. 1 single, this time a duet with Keith titled "Beer For My Horses," and another USA Network special became the highest-rated live musical event in the history of cable television. As ever, he tours tirelessly, climbing aboard Honeysuckle Rose III (he rode his first two buses into the ground) and takes his music and his fans on a seemingly endless journey to places that were well worth the ride. Born April 30, 1933 in Abbott, Texas, Willie Nelson and his sister were raised by their paternal grandparents who encouraged both children to play music. He began writing songs in elementary school, and played in bands as a teenager. After high school he served a short stint in the Air Force, but music was a constant pull. By the mid Fifties he was working as a country deejay in Ft. Worth, while continuing to pursue a musical career, recording independently and playing nightclubs. He sold some of his original compositions, including "Family Bible," which became a hit for Claude Gray in 1960. That success and others convinced Willie to move to Nashville, where record labels were initially resistant. His songwriting talents were quickly embraced, however, and 1961 proved to be his breakthrough year. His "Hello Walls" became a nine-week No. 1 for Faron Young, and Patsy Cline's version of "Crazy" became an instant classic. In 1962, Nelson scored his first two top 10 hits as a recording artist for Liberty, but struggled for a breakthrough for the remainder of the decade. Disillusioned with Nashville and with his label RCA's insistence on lush, string-laden arrangements, he moved back to Texas in 1972. Emboldened by the rock and folk music becoming popular in Austin, Willie and his music began to change. His first Atlantic album, 1973's Shotgun Willie got the attention of music critics if not the masses, and the 1974 follow-up Phases & Stages helped him build a loyal following. The breakthrough he'd been seeking for the better part of two decades came in 1975 when he parted ways with Atlantic and signed with Columbia. Red Headed Stranger became one of country's most unlikely hits. The acoustic concept album vaulted Nelson to country music's top ranks, much to the surprise of Music Row. Willie's convention-busting stardom, combined with the concurrent popularity of maverick Waylon Jennings, prompted journalist Hazel Smith to dub the trend "Outlaw Music" and a movement was underway. RCA seized on the phenomenon, compiling an album of previously recorded material from Willie, Waylon, Tompall Glaser and Jessi Colter. Wanted: The Outlaws spawned the Nelson/Jennings duet "Good Hearted Woman" and quickly became the best selling album country had ever seen. A fixture on the singles charts over the next several years, Willie's star rose even further with the 1978 releases Waylon & Willie and Stardust. The former included "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys." The latter, a collection of pop standards, further exhibited Nelson's ability to defy expectations on the way to tremendous success. Nelson's stardom soon translated to another medium with roles in feature films including The Electric Horseman, Honeysuckle Rose, Stagecoach and many more. And the hits kept coming. "On The Road Again" reached the top of the charts in 1981, "Always On My Mind" was a crossover smash in 1982, and a duet with Latin pop star Julio Iglesias, "To All The Girls I've Loved Before," raced up the charts in 1984. Willie enlisted Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash for the Highwaymen album, released in 1985. That same year he founded Farm Aid, an organization dedicated to championing the cause of family farmers. Farm Aid's annual televised concert special raises funds and, along with the Willie's annual Fourth of July picnic, has become a cornerstone of his live touring schedule. The Nineties brought more success, and one notable challenge. A $16.7 million dollar bill from the IRS forced Nelson to sell many of his assets, including homes, and resulted in the release of The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories. Willie cleared the debt by 1993, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame that same year. But enshrinement didn't slow his creative energy, and the decade produced artistic triumphs including Across The Borderline. The album featured Bob Dylan, Sinead O'Connor and Paul Simon among its many guests. Signing with Island/Def Jam in 1996, Willie embarked on another fertile period, releasing Spirit, the acclaimed Teatro and an instrumental-focused album called Night and Day as the millennium drew to a close. His association with Universal continues now at Lost Highway, with 2003 proving to be another landmark. In addition to turning 70, Willie released Run That By Me One More Time, a collaboration with Ray Price featuring new recordings from their combined 50 years of catalog. Columbia/Legacy released The Essential Willie Nelson, which spans his earliest recordings as well as the celebrated Island/Def Jam material. Willie Live & Kickin' also hit stores following his top-rated USA Network Memorial Day cable special. The album includes guest vocalists ranging from Norah Jones to Toby Keith, with whom Willie performed his most recent No. 1 single, "Beer For My Horses." All told, Nelson's 2003 endeavors earned him four Grammy nominations to go with a career that has been recognized with eight Grammy wins, a President's Merit Award, a Grammy Legend Award and the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2004, the Academy of Country Music recognized him with the Video of the Year Award for "Beer For My Horses," and the prestigious Gene Weed Special Achievement Award, honoring Nelson's "unprecedented and genre-defying contributions to popular music over his nearly 50-year career." Willie also will return to the silver screen in 2005 starring as Uncle Jesse in a film remake of the popular 70’s tv show, “Dukes Of Hazzard”.
Date Venue City State Note
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04/01/2011 - Willie, Weed and the Texas Country Scene  - Read More
03/26/2011 - Willie Nelson offered to sing his way to freedom from drug charges - Read More
03/07/2011 - Willie Nelson and Jackass Guys to Star in Movie - Read More
01/28/2011 - Willie's Place Closing - Read More
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Average Rating : 0              Total Reviews: 125


Willie Nelson  08/22/2006            
Morrie bridges, former broadcaster
willie is at his best when doing a soft swinging ballad, and this album is loaded with great stuff. Very well could be his best ever. Willie not only does a great job on the songs, after he does them, HE OWNS THEM.
Willie Nelson  08/17/2006            
Tom Fenn
Dear Wise Willie, Am I washed up at 40? From readin' yer new biography (it's awesome by the way) and listening to your latest discs (them too)I believe there's still hope. I've got these songs in my head hauntin me, exceptin they ain't what's playing on the radio and I just don't know what to do with em (how do you murder a song? wish I knew; I'd drown every last syllable, shoot each lousy verse and refrain.) Part of me says, "sing em as you can,they'll find a home somwhere," another part says, "a bastard song is a bastard song- a sweet child o mine, but always gonna be the black sheep and good for nothin.." How do you get a song out of yer head, make it leave you alone, and learn to love em as they come? I guess I love to hate writing. In the mean-time, while I'm waiting on yer answer- I'm gonna go sit under a tree, close my eyes and talk to Buddha for a spell. All my best (which ain't much)- Tom Fenn in South Carolina PS: I'm too far gone to turn back now, not far enough gone to get there.
Willie Nelson  07/07/2006            
Lieutenant Columbo
Willie, I'm Lieutenant Columbo. With the local police. Me and the missus... Mrs. Columbo, that is... well, we were wondering... see, I've got this problem and I haven't been able to sleep. Well, me and the missus (Mrs. Columbo), well, we're having a get-together at my aunt Pearl's house in a few weeks and, well... we were wondering, me and the missus... you see, my nephew Leon, he plays guitar and sings... and he'll be there... at this get-together at my Aunt Pearl's house. Now Leon's no slouch - he won the local talent competition three years running, and this is the second year he's played for our get-together. Well, what we were wondering, me and the missus (Mrs. Columbo, that is)... is... well, could you make it by to sit in on a couple of songs? The missus already has big plans to make you a lasagna... aw, she makes a mean lasagna, Willie... a mean lasagna. Well, actually, if you're in a hurry, you could even take the lasagna with you (well, you could just drop the lasagna dish in a mailbox back to the missus at your convenience, of course). Willie, I shouldn't really be aksing you this, you being a big star and all, but you see, the whole family is kind of, well... hoping you might pop in, if you know what I mean. Especially the missus. Now, the missus, she especially likes the duet you did with Boxcar Gilley. Do you think you might be able to pop in and do that one for us? Now, mind you, if were just me, I would never aks. But it's the missus, you see (Mrs. Columbo, that is). So Willie, if it's not aksing too much... Oh, SAY! Do you think you might throw down a few autographs while you're over? Say, yeah... maybe sign some napkins... you know, the missus has three of your cassettes... The Red-Headed Stranger, Sticky Fingers, and... I'm not sure what else... but you could throw your John Hancock on the whole shootin' match, heh? Anyway, whaddya say, Willie? We'll see ya there then! Lt. Columbo Local Police
Willie Nelson  06/03/2006            
CAROL BUSBY
I LIVE IN THE CARIBBEAN, AND WILLIE'S CD COUNTRYMAN IS A VERY BIG HIT, HE DOES THE OLD JAMACIAN SONGS HONOR IS HE SINGING WITH JIMMY CLIFF??? WILLIE'S WELCOMED ON CAYMAN BRAC ANYTIME HE WANTS TO COME.
Willie Nelson  06/02/2006            
[email protected]
Used to see you now and then on tv but be assured I love you on Logoonline. Imagine you writing a song as great as that and not getting it published until Logo came out. Great for you ,Great for Logo and Thrilling for me. Have you been to Boston or Worcester yet. Will you send me your booking agent or you yourself answer me. I was born in '25, so am a bit older than you but still active in eveything musical and political booking. We haven't much money as he is only running for State Rep. and I am trying to get you and maybe k.d.lang to come for " practically nothing to an exquisite resturant in Shirley Ma. that only holds 300 people in its show room for trhe campaign party that will be held in Nov. If I could get you it would be a surprise to all, cause I am 80 and still plugging along with my musical idols Ask k.d.about me.She bought me "out" when she came on the scene. Now I am a full fledged lesbian. I am beginning to think my Rep is in the closet as he borrowed BroakbackMountain from me and a k.d.Lang.CD. After seeing you on Logo I suspect you are gay too. I hope so. Love your misic and have admired you for a long time. [email protected]
Willie Nelson  04/25/2006            
Shana Kersh
I saw Willie Nelson in concert along with Toby Keith, Blake Shelton and many others! I heard that of how great the man was but now I can say for myself that he is truely an act to see before he stops touring!! He is a living legend!!
Willie Nelson  04/03/2006            
Garland G. Foltz
I have to thank Willey more than he can ever understand for his CD "HEALING HANDS OF TIME". It was given to me by a neighbor. My beloved wife, Margy, was dying of breast cancer. I moved the CD player into the bedroom. I would turn the volume down to "soft". In silence, holding each other, we would listen to "Funny How Time Slips away", "Healing Hands of Time", I"m Falling In Love Again" and the rest of the songs. Each with precious memories of our 43 years of time together. Thank you Willey. I had no idea your CD even existed. Isn't interesting how unknowingly your selections and orchestrations would brush a person's life precisely at the perfect time? It's in my CD player in my car right now and I play it constantly alone or with my understanding present wife at my side. I hope the CD never wears out because I haven't been able to find another. Thanks.
Willie Nelson  03/18/2006            
Garza
What a wonderful way to introduce one of the best songwriter's in "our" generation to the "next" generation. Willie is not only a great American but a true ambassador to country music. At this point in his career he could be laying back on the beach but instead he is still being aggessive with his music and leading us into the future with introuductions to our past. Willie a Legendary Icon and a Texas Hero!!!!!!!!!!
Willie Nelson  03/15/2006            
Vickie
THANK YOU, Mr. Willie Nelson!!! Now, this CD is a REAL tribute!!! Excellent selection of the Words and Music of Cindy Walker (just selecting the 13 songs must have been a real tug-o-war). The musical arrangements are GREAT and with the Jordanaires...it just don't get no better than that. In TX Bob Wills is still the King and Miss Cindy Walker is still the Queen..the good Lord outdid himself again when he made Ray Price's vocal cords and a place in Price's Cherokee Cowboy band for Willie Nelson. Willie Nelson appears in Price's 1961 "Tribute To The GREAT Bob Wills: San Antonio Rose" record. This record is by far without a doubt the best Wills tribute ever...Willie Nelson learned from the BEST. Willie Nelson does Miss Cindy proud...she has such a beautiful way of capturing a feeling in a moment in time and Willie Nelson honors that. Greatful for the highlights, "Dusty Skies" and "It's All Your Fault" (I like this version as much or more than the old Wade Ray recording). GREAT job!!!
Willie Nelson  03/15/2006            
Vickie
THANK YOU, Mr. Willie Nelson!!! Now, this CD is a REAL tribute!!! Excellent selection of the Words and Music of Cindy Walker (just selecting the 13 songs must have been a real tug-o-war). The musical arrangements are GREAT and with the Jordanaires...it just don't get no better than that. In TX Bob Wills is still the King and Miss Cindy Walker is still the Queen..the good Lord outdid himself again when he made Ray Price's vocal cords and a place in Price's Cherokee Cowboy band for Willie Nelson. Willie Nelson appears in Price's 1961 "Tribute To The GREAT Bob Wills: San Antonio Rose" record. This record is by far without a doubt the best Wills tribute ever...Willie Nelson learned from the BEST. Willie Nelson does Miss Cindy proud...she has such a beautiful way of capturing a feeling in a moment in time and Willie Nelson honors that. Greatful for the highlights, "Dusty Skies" and "It's All Your Fault" (I like this version as much or more than the old Wade Ray recording). GREAT Job!!!
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