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.
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One Hell Of A Ride
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Always On My Mind Maybe I didn't love you Quite as often as I could…
Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground If you had not have fallen Then I would not have…
Any Old Arms Won't Do I'd like to rush into somebody's arms And lose myself inside…
Blackjack County Chain I was sittin' beside the road in blackjack county Not knowin…
Bloody Mary Morning Well, it's a bloody Mary morning Baby left me without warnin…
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain In the twilight glow I see her Blue eyes cryin' in…
Bubbles In My Beer Tonight in a bar alone I'm sitting apart from The laughter a…
City of New Orleans Riding on the city of New Orleans Illinois Central, Monday m…
Country Willie You called me country Willie The night you walked away With …
Crazy I'm crazy, crazy for feeling so lonely I'm crazy crazy for…
Crazy Arms Now blue ain't the word for the way that I…
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…
Georgia on My Mind Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through An' just an old swee…
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…
Graceland The Mississippi Delta Was shining like a National guitar I a…
Half A Man If I'd only had one arm to hold you Better yet…
Heart Of Gold I want to live I want to give I've been a miner…
Heartbreak Hotel Oh since my baby left me I've found new place…
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…
Highwayman I was a highwayman Along the coach roads, I did ride With…
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 Never Go Around Mirrors I never go around mirrors It just tears me up To see…
I Still Can't Believe You're Gone It's the very first day since you left me But I…
I'd Have to Be Crazy I'd have to be crazy To stop all my singing And never…
I'm a Memory I'm a game that you used to play I'm a plan…
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter And…
I'm Movin' On That big eight-wheeler, rollin' down the track Means your tr…
If You Can Touch Her At All Funny a woman can come on so wild and free Yet…
If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time If you've got the money honey I've got the time We'll…
In The Jailhouse Now He's in the jailhouse now, he's in the jailhouse now He's…
It Should Be Easier Now Now that I've made up my mind you're gone it…
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 Things I hope I won't disturb you with this call I'm just…
Living in the Promiseland Give us your tired and weak And we will make them…
Man With The Blues If you need some advice in being lonely If you need…
Me and Paul It's been rough and rocky traveling But I'm finally standing…
Mendocino County Line Counted the stars on the Fourth of July Wishing we were…
Midnight Rider I gotta run to keep from hidin' I'm bound to keep…
Mona Lisa Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, men have named you You're so like…
Mr. Record Man Mr. Record Man, I'm looking for a song I heard…
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys I grew up a-dreamin' of bein' a cowboy And lovin' the…
My Own Peculiar Way It would be a comfort just to know you never…
Night Life When the evenin' sun goes down You will find me hangin'…
No Place for Me Your love is as cold as a north wind blowing And…
Old Friends Old friends pitching pennies in the park Playing croquet til…
On The Road Again On the road again Just can't wait to get on the…
Once More With Feeling Once more with feeling, once more with feeling Won't you hol…
One For My Baby And One For The Road It's a quarter to three There's no one in the place Except…
One In A Row If you can truthfully say that You've been true just one…
Pancho And Lefty Living on the road my friend Was gonna keep you free…
Rainbow Connection Why are there so many Songs about rainbows? And what's on th…
Reasons To Quit Reasons to quit The smoke and booze don't do me like…
Sad Songs and Waltzes I'm writing a song all about you A true song as…
Seven Spanish Angels He looked down into her brown eyes And said "say a…
She's Not for You Pay no mind to her She only wants to play She's not…
Shotgun Willie Shotgun Willie sits around in his underwear Bitin' on a bull…
Stardust Sometimes I wonder, why I spend The lonely nights Dreaming o…
Stay a Little Longer Can't go home if you're goin' by the mill 'Cause the…
Still Is Still Moving to Me Still is still moving to me I swim like a fish…
Summer Of Roses A short time I have to be with you my…
Sweet Memories My world is like a river as dark as it…
Texas In My Soul Amorillo, San Antone Any old place I call my home I got…
The Harder They Come Well, they tell me of a pie up in the…
The Party's Over Turn out the lights The party's over They say that all Good …
The Troublemaker I could tell the moment that I saw Him He was…
The Words Don't Fit the Picture If this is a game, we play And if this is…
Three Days Three days that I hate to see arrive Three days…
Till I Gain Control Again Just like the sun over the mountain top you know…
To All The Girls i've Loved Before To all the girls I've loved before Who traveled in and…
Too Sick To Pray I've been too sick to pray, Lord That's why we ain't…
Touch Me Touch me Touch the hand of a man Who once owned…
Uncloudy Day Oh, they tell me of a home far beyond the…
Valentine Valentine, won't you be my Valentine? And introduce your hea…
What A Wonderful World I see trees of green Red roses, too I see them bloom…
What Can You Do to Me Now What can you do to me now That you haven't done…
What Was It You Wanted What was it you wanted? Tell me again so I'll know What's…
When I've Sang My Last Hillbilly Song I've roamed this whole wide world over Made mistakes when I…
When I've Sung My Last Hillbilly Song I've roamed this whole wide world over Made mistakes when…
Why Do I Have to Choose Why do I have to choose to see everybody lose To…
Write Your Own Songs You call us heathens with zero respect for the law We…
Yesterday's Wine 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…