Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American musician, actor, an… Read Full Bio ↴Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American musician, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978), made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. He was one of the main figures of outlaw country, a subgenre of country music that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound. Nelson has acted in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana.
Born during the Great Depression and raised by his grandparents, Nelson wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten. During high school, he toured locally with the Bohemian Polka as their lead singer and guitar player. After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the U.S. Air Force but was later discharged due to back problems. After his return, Nelson attended Baylor University for two years but dropped out because he was succeeding in music. During this time, he worked as a disc jockey in Texas radio stations and a singer in honky-tonks. Nelson moved to Vancouver, Washington, where he wrote "Family Bible" and recorded the song "Lumberjack" in 1956. He also worked as a disc jockey at various radio stations in Vancouver and nearby Portland, Oregon. In 1958, he moved to Houston, Texas, after signing a contract with D Records. He sang at the Esquire Ballroom weekly and he worked as a disk jockey. During that time, he wrote songs that would become country standards, including "Funny How Time Slips Away", "Hello Walls", "Pretty Paper", and "Crazy". In 1960 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and later signed a publishing contract with Pamper Music which allowed him to join Ray Price's band as a bassist. In 1962, he recorded his first album, ...And Then I Wrote. Due to this success, Nelson signed in 1964 with RCA Victor and joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year. After mid-chart hits in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Nelson retired in 1972 and moved to Austin, Texas. The ongoing music scene of Austin motivated Nelson to return from retirement, performing frequently at the Armadillo World Headquarters.
In 1973, after signing with Atlantic Records, Nelson turned to outlaw country, including albums such as Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages. In 1975, he switched to Columbia Records, where he recorded the critically acclaimed album Red Headed Stranger. The same year, he recorded another outlaw country album, Wanted! The Outlaws, along with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. During the mid-1980s, while creating hit albums like Honeysuckle Rose and recording hit songs like "On the Road Again", "To All the Girls I've Loved Before", and "Pancho and Lefty", he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen, along with fellow singers Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson.
In 1990, Nelson's assets were seized by the Internal Revenue Service, which claimed that he owed $32 million. The difficulty of paying his outstanding debt was aggravated by weak investments he had made during the 1980s. In 1992, Nelson released The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?; the profits of the double album—destined to the IRS—and the auction of Nelson's assets cleared his debt. During the 1990s and 2000s, Nelson continued touring extensively, and released albums every year. Reviews ranged from positive to mixed. He explored genres such as reggae, blues, jazz, and folk.
Nelson made his first movie appearance in the 1979 film The Electric Horseman, followed by other appearances in movies and on television. Nelson is a major liberal activist and the co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which is in favor of marijuana legalization. On the environmental front, Nelson owns the bio-diesel brand Willie Nelson Biodiesel, which is made from vegetable oil. Nelson is also the honorary chairman of the advisory board of the Texas Music Project, the official music charity of the state of Texas.
Nelson uses a variety of music styles to create his own distinctive blend of country music, a hybrid of jazz, pop, blues, rock and folk. His "unique sound", which uses a "relaxed, behind-the-beat singing style and gut-string guitar" and his "nasal voice and jazzy, off-center phrasing", has been responsible for his wide appeal, and has made him a "vital icon in country music", influencing the "new country, new traditionalist, and alternative country movements of the 1980s and 1990s".
In 1969, the Baldwin company gave Nelson an amplifier and guitar with their "Prismatone" pickup. During a show in Helotes, Texas, Nelson left the guitar on the floor of the stage, and it was later stepped on by a drunk man. He sent it to be repaired in Nashville by Shot Jackson, who told Nelson that the damage was too great. Jackson offered him a Martin N-20 Classical guitar, and, at Nelson's request, moved the pickup to the Martin. Nelson purchased the guitar unseen for $750 and named it after Roy Rogers' horse "Trigger". The next year Nelson rescued the guitar from his burning ranch.
Constant strumming with a guitar pick over the decades has worn a large sweeping hole into the guitar's body near the sound hole—the N-20 has no pick-guard since classical guitars are meant to be played fingerstyle instead of with picks. Its soundboard has been signed by over a hundred of Nelson's friends and associates, ranging from fellow musicians to lawyers and football coaches. The first signature on the guitar was Leon Russell's, who asked Nelson initially to sign his guitar. When Nelson was about to sign it with a marker, Russell requested him to scratch it instead, explaining that the guitar would be more valuable in the future. Interested in the concept, Nelson requested Russell to also sign his guitar. In 1991, during his process with the IRS, Nelson was worried that Trigger could be auctioned off, stating: "When Trigger goes, I'll quit". He asked his daughter, Lana, to take the guitar from the studio before any IRS agent arrived there, and then deliver it to him in Maui. Nelson then concealed the guitar in his manager's house until his debt was paid off in 1993.
Nelson is widely recognized as an American icon. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993, and he received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998. In 2011, Nelson was inducted to the National Agricultural Hall of Fame, for his labor in Farm Aid and other fund raisers to benefit farmers. In 2015 Nelson won the Gershwin Prize, the lifetime award of the Library of Congress. In 2018 The Texas Institute of Letters inducted him among its members for his songwriting. He was included by Rolling Stone on its 100 Greatest Singers and 100 Greatest Guitarists lists.
Born during the Great Depression and raised by his grandparents, Nelson wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten. During high school, he toured locally with the Bohemian Polka as their lead singer and guitar player. After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the U.S. Air Force but was later discharged due to back problems. After his return, Nelson attended Baylor University for two years but dropped out because he was succeeding in music. During this time, he worked as a disc jockey in Texas radio stations and a singer in honky-tonks. Nelson moved to Vancouver, Washington, where he wrote "Family Bible" and recorded the song "Lumberjack" in 1956. He also worked as a disc jockey at various radio stations in Vancouver and nearby Portland, Oregon. In 1958, he moved to Houston, Texas, after signing a contract with D Records. He sang at the Esquire Ballroom weekly and he worked as a disk jockey. During that time, he wrote songs that would become country standards, including "Funny How Time Slips Away", "Hello Walls", "Pretty Paper", and "Crazy". In 1960 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and later signed a publishing contract with Pamper Music which allowed him to join Ray Price's band as a bassist. In 1962, he recorded his first album, ...And Then I Wrote. Due to this success, Nelson signed in 1964 with RCA Victor and joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year. After mid-chart hits in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Nelson retired in 1972 and moved to Austin, Texas. The ongoing music scene of Austin motivated Nelson to return from retirement, performing frequently at the Armadillo World Headquarters.
In 1973, after signing with Atlantic Records, Nelson turned to outlaw country, including albums such as Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages. In 1975, he switched to Columbia Records, where he recorded the critically acclaimed album Red Headed Stranger. The same year, he recorded another outlaw country album, Wanted! The Outlaws, along with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. During the mid-1980s, while creating hit albums like Honeysuckle Rose and recording hit songs like "On the Road Again", "To All the Girls I've Loved Before", and "Pancho and Lefty", he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen, along with fellow singers Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson.
In 1990, Nelson's assets were seized by the Internal Revenue Service, which claimed that he owed $32 million. The difficulty of paying his outstanding debt was aggravated by weak investments he had made during the 1980s. In 1992, Nelson released The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?; the profits of the double album—destined to the IRS—and the auction of Nelson's assets cleared his debt. During the 1990s and 2000s, Nelson continued touring extensively, and released albums every year. Reviews ranged from positive to mixed. He explored genres such as reggae, blues, jazz, and folk.
Nelson made his first movie appearance in the 1979 film The Electric Horseman, followed by other appearances in movies and on television. Nelson is a major liberal activist and the co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which is in favor of marijuana legalization. On the environmental front, Nelson owns the bio-diesel brand Willie Nelson Biodiesel, which is made from vegetable oil. Nelson is also the honorary chairman of the advisory board of the Texas Music Project, the official music charity of the state of Texas.
Nelson uses a variety of music styles to create his own distinctive blend of country music, a hybrid of jazz, pop, blues, rock and folk. His "unique sound", which uses a "relaxed, behind-the-beat singing style and gut-string guitar" and his "nasal voice and jazzy, off-center phrasing", has been responsible for his wide appeal, and has made him a "vital icon in country music", influencing the "new country, new traditionalist, and alternative country movements of the 1980s and 1990s".
In 1969, the Baldwin company gave Nelson an amplifier and guitar with their "Prismatone" pickup. During a show in Helotes, Texas, Nelson left the guitar on the floor of the stage, and it was later stepped on by a drunk man. He sent it to be repaired in Nashville by Shot Jackson, who told Nelson that the damage was too great. Jackson offered him a Martin N-20 Classical guitar, and, at Nelson's request, moved the pickup to the Martin. Nelson purchased the guitar unseen for $750 and named it after Roy Rogers' horse "Trigger". The next year Nelson rescued the guitar from his burning ranch.
Constant strumming with a guitar pick over the decades has worn a large sweeping hole into the guitar's body near the sound hole—the N-20 has no pick-guard since classical guitars are meant to be played fingerstyle instead of with picks. Its soundboard has been signed by over a hundred of Nelson's friends and associates, ranging from fellow musicians to lawyers and football coaches. The first signature on the guitar was Leon Russell's, who asked Nelson initially to sign his guitar. When Nelson was about to sign it with a marker, Russell requested him to scratch it instead, explaining that the guitar would be more valuable in the future. Interested in the concept, Nelson requested Russell to also sign his guitar. In 1991, during his process with the IRS, Nelson was worried that Trigger could be auctioned off, stating: "When Trigger goes, I'll quit". He asked his daughter, Lana, to take the guitar from the studio before any IRS agent arrived there, and then deliver it to him in Maui. Nelson then concealed the guitar in his manager's house until his debt was paid off in 1993.
Nelson is widely recognized as an American icon. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993, and he received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998. In 2011, Nelson was inducted to the National Agricultural Hall of Fame, for his labor in Farm Aid and other fund raisers to benefit farmers. In 2015 Nelson won the Gershwin Prize, the lifetime award of the Library of Congress. In 2018 The Texas Institute of Letters inducted him among its members for his songwriting. He was included by Rolling Stone on its 100 Greatest Singers and 100 Greatest Guitarists lists.
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Nashville Was the Roughest...
Willie Nelson Lyrics
A Mansion on the Hill Tonight down here in the valley I'm lonesome and oh…
A Moment Isn't Very Long Yesterday, as I talked with a friend in town, I forgot…
A Wonderful Yesterday Today's gonna make a wonderful yesterday One on which I know…
And so Will You My Love The music's stopped, the crowd is thinnin' now. One phase o…
Any Old Arms Won't Do I'd like to rush into somebody's arms And lose myself inside…
Are You Sure Oh, look around you Look down the bar from you The lonely…
Ashamed I'm so ashamed of my eyes cause they still cry…
Blackjack County Chain I was sittin' beside the road in blackjack county Not knowin…
Bloody Merry Morning Well, it's a bloody Mary morning Baby left me without warnin…
Born To Lose I'm born to lose I've lived my life in vain…
Both Sides Now Bows and flows of angel hair Ice cream castles in…
Bring Me Sunshine Bring me sunshine in your smile Bring me laughter all the…
Buddy Laugh with me, buddy Jest with me, buddy Don't let…
Columbus Stockade Blues Way down in Columbus Georgia wanna be back in Tennessee Way…
Country Willie You called me country Willie The night you walked away With …
Crazy Arms Now blue ain't the word for the way that I…
Dallas Who do I know in Dallas who can I call…
Darkness on the Face of the Earth The morning that you left me was just another day How…
December Day This looks like a December day This looks like a "time…
Did I Ever Love You Did I ever ever love you? Did I ever really care? All…
Down At The Corner Beer Joint Down at the corner beer joint, dancin' on the Rock…
Down To Our Last Goodbye This was my last mistake That's all her heart could…
Everybody's Talkin' Everybody's talkin' 'bout me But I don't hear a word they're…
Family Bible There's a family Bible on the table Each page is torn…
Fire And Rain Just yesterday mornin', they let me know you were gone Suzan…
Following Me Around She always follows me from town to town at least…
Fraulein Far across the blue waters Lives an old German's daughter By…
Funny How Time Slips Away Well, hello there My it's been a long, long time How am…
Go Away Go away; can't you see I'm cryin'? Go back to the…
Go on Home Your watching your watch and I know what's on your…
Goin' Home The closer I get to my home Lord, the more…
Good Hearted Woman A long time forgotten are dreams that just fell by the…
Good Times When I ran to the store with a penny And when…
Happiness Lives Next Door I'm sorry but you come to the wrong house But…
Have I Stayed Away Too Long Have I stayed away too long Have I stayed away…
Have I Told You Lately that I Love You Have I told you lately that I love you Could…
Heartaches by the Number Heartache number one was when you left me I never…
Hello Walls Hello walls, (hello) (hello) How'd things go for you today? …
Help Me Make It Through The Night Take the ribbon from your hair Shake it loose and let…
Hold Me Tighter I thought if I could be with you Maybe I'd…
Home in San Antone Haven't got a worry Haven't got a care Haven't got…
Home Is Where You're Happy Home is where you're happy and I'm happy here with…
How Long Have You Been There I've been walking in the shadows for so long that…
How Long Is Forever I fell too hard and much too deep in love…
I Can Cry Again It's good to see that I can cry again Now…
I Don't Feel Anything I don't feel anything what was I worried for I don't…
I Gotta Get Drunk Well I gotta get drunk And I sure do dread it 'Cause…
I Just Can't Let You Say Goodbye I had not planned on seeing you I was afraid of…
I Just Don't Understand I'd be the last one to tell you that you…
I Just Dropped By I just dropped by to see the house I used…
I Let My Mind Wander I let my mind wander And what did it do I…
I Love You Because I love you because you understand, dear, every single thing…
I Never Cared for You The sun is filled with ice and gives no warmth…
I Want A Girl To all the girls I've loved before Who traveled in and…
I'd Rather You Didn't Love Me You told me you'd love me forever But the one…
I'd Trade All of My Tomorrows (For Just One Yesterday) I'd trade all of my tomorrows for just one yesterday But…
I'll Stay Around I'll stay around 'til it's over. And hope that it never…
I'll Walk Alone I'll walk alone Where once we wandered It seems so…
I'm a Memory I'm a game that you used to play I'm a plan…
I'm Falling In Love Again I'm falling in love again Never thought I would again Never …
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry Hear that lonesome whippoorwill He sounds too blue to fly T…
I'm Still Not Over You No matter what's still not over you Today I made a…
I've Seen That Look On Me (A Thousand Times) Well it's four a.m. and you're just gettin' in Your first…
If It's Wrong to Love You If it's wrong to love you Wrong I'll always be And…
If You Could See What's Going Through My Mind If you could only see what's going through my mind And…
If You Really Loved Me If you really loved me You wouldn't treat me this…
In God's Eyes Never think evil thoughts of anyone It's just as wrong to…
It Could Be Said That Way When we look into each others eyes Our hearts aren't beatin…
It Should Be Easier Now Now that I've made up my mind you're gone it…
It Will Come To Pass The turning earth will raise its wand And bring the seasons…
It's Not For Me To Understand I passed a home the other day The yard was filled…
Jimmy's Road This is Jimmy's road where Jimmy liked to play This is…
Johnny One Time So he told you that you're the dream That he's been…
Kneel at the Feet of Jesus Well I guess I been hanging around too long It's just…
Laying My Burdens Down Well I used to walk stooped From the weight of my…
Little Darling Stay away form lonely places Follow the crowd Stay around fa…
Little Things I hope I won't disturb you with this call I'm just…
London The streets are dark and quiet at London, after midnight. Li…
Love Has A Mind Of It's Own Your memory has a mind of its own It knows where…
Lovin' Lies I'll never understand, dear As long as I live I…
Make Way For A Better Man Give me talkin' now You tried to make her happy…
Making Believe I'm making believe that you still love me and it's…
Me and Paul It's been rough and rocky traveling But I'm finally standing…
Minstrel Man Oh, wondring minstrel man singing songs of strife How many t…
Mountain Dew Now there far from me there's an old holler tree Where…
Mr. Record Man Mr. Record Man, I'm looking for a song I heard…
My Kind of Girl My heart takes walks with her on cold and rainy…
My Own Peculiar Way It would be a comfort just to know you never…
My Window Faces the South My window faces the South I'm almost halfway to heaven Snow …
Natural To Be Gone Well you seem a little colder When I say I…
Night Life When the evenin' sun goes down You will find me hangin'…
No Love Around I come home last Saturday morning I come home and…
No Tomorrow in Sight The children are sleeping, our talk can begin We've waited…
Once Alone I'm so tired of all this trouble now aren't you We've…
Once More With Feeling Once more with feeling, once more with feeling Won't you hol…
One Day at a Time I live one day at a time I dream one dream…
One In A Row If you can truthfully say that You've been true just one…
One Step Beyond I'm just one step before losing you. And I'm just one…
Pages Last evening, I turned by the pages of time. And tore…
Permanently Lonely Don't be concerned it's time I learned That those who…
Pretend I Never Happened Pretend I never happened Erase me from your mind You will…
Pretty Paper Pretty paper, pretty ribbons of blue Pretty paper, pretty r…
Rainy Day Blues Well it's cloudy in the morning gonna be raining in…
San Antonio Deep within my heart lies a melody A song of old…
Seasons Of My Heart The seasons come, the seasons go We get a little sunshine,…
Senses The sense to see and I saw you walk away…
She's Not for You Pay no mind to her She only wants to play She's not…
She's Still Gone She said if I ever deceived her She'd be gone before…
Sister's Coming Home Sister's coming home Mama's gonna let her sleep the whole da…
So Much to Do My oat meal tastes just like confetti The coffee's too stron…
Some Other World Some other world has all the sunshine Cause there's no…
Something to Think About You're wondering just what I'll do now that it's over…
Stay Away from Lonely Places Stay away from lonely places Just follow the crowd And sta…
Streets Of Laredo As I walked out in the streets of Laredo As I…
Suffering in Silence I think I should speak to you, stranger. Your problem is…
Summer Of Roses A short time I have to be with you my…
Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down Well, I woke up Sunday morning With no way to hold…
Sweet Memories My world is like a river as dark as it…
Talk to Me Tonight, down here in the valley I'm lonesome and oh, how…
Teach Me To Forget You taught me how to love With all my heart…
Texas In My Soul Amorillo, San Antone Any old place I call my home I got…
That's All Some people go to school tryin' to learn how to…
That's Why I Love Her So The quiet way she sits there with her hand in…
The End Of Understanding Each time you hurt me, you say you're sorry. I try…
The Ghost An old cowpoke went riding out one dark and windy…
The Hill Country Theme The hill country The hill country of Texas The hill countr…
The Local Memory The lights go out each evening at eleven And up and…
The Message I'm writing you this note to say I'm sorry That spells…
The Party's Over Turn out the lights The party's over They say that all Good …
The Words Don't Fit the Picture If this is a game, we play And if this is…
There Goes A Man There goes a man Who gave his heart to someone…
There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight I'll pretend I'm free from sorrow and I make believe…
Today I Started Loving You Again Today I started lovin' you again And I'm right back to…
Touch Me Touch me Touch the hand of a man Who once owned…
Undo the Right If you can't say you love me say you hate…
Wabash Cannon Ball From the great Atlantic ocean To the wide Pacific shore T…
Wake Me up When It's Over Gettin' tired now gotta get some sleep now Guess I've…
Waltz Across Texas When we dance together my world's in disguise it's a…
What a Merry Christmas This Could Be What a merry Christmas this could be If you would just…
What Can You Do to Me Now What can you do to me now That you haven't done…
What Do You Want Me To Do Well I can't read your mind When you changed all…
What Now My Love What now, my love Now that you've left me How…
When We Live Again When we live again When we live again Let's relive again…
Where do You Stand I'm somewhere behind you You've come with your suitcase in…
Whisky Walzer Einen Whisky auf Suzy, einen Whisky auf Lou Einen Whisky au…
Who Do I Know in Dallas Deep within my heart lies a melody A song of old…
Who'll Buy Me Memories A past that's sprinkled with the blues a few old…
Will You Remember Mine Sweet is the song when the song is love love…
Within Your Crowd Do you remember how they warned you once before They made…
Wonderful Future Today as I walk through my garden of dreams I'm alone…
Yesterday Miracles appear in the strangest of places Fancy meeting you…
You Ought to Hear Me Cry If you think I laugh louder than anyone here If you think Th…
Yours Love May the Lord's shining grace be yours, love May the…