Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, Nile came from a musical family—his grandfather was a vaudeville pianist who played with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Eddie Cantor; his uncles played boogie-woogie. His listened to the music of Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Fats Domino, brought home by his older brothers. Nile himself began playing piano at age eight and took classical music lessons until he was a teenager, when he taught himself his first rock & roll song. He soon began to compose short songs and continued the habit into his college years, when during the summers he made trips into New York City to frequent hootenanny clubs like Folk City and the Gaslight.
Nile studied philosophy at the University at Buffalo where he received a BA in 1971, before heading for Greenwich Village. After graduation, Nile took an apartment in the heart of Greenwich Village; however, during his first winter in New York, he contracted pneumonia, which put him out of commission for about a year. He continued writing songs while recuperating, determined to make a name for himself as a latter-day troubadour. That he did throughout the ’70s, becoming a fixture in the Village folk and rock scenes and getting tabbed as the next big thing to come out of that long-thriving artistic community.
He began hanging out at clubs like CBGB's, where he would see bands like Patti Smith, Television, the Ramones and Talking Heads.
EARLY CAREER
Establishing residency at the Village club Kenny's Castaways on Bleecker St., Nile began drawing ever-growing crowds, which in turn led to his first record deal. In a glowing review in The New York Times, rock critic Robert Palmer wrote of Nile; "Every once in awhile the times seems to produce an artist who is at once an iconoclast and near-perfect expression of contemporary currents. He is one of the best singer-songwriters to emerge from the New York scene in a long time."
Following a flurry of critical acclaim, he found himself courted by representatives from close to a dozen record companies; he chose Arista Records, and went into the studio with a band that included Jay Dee Daugherty from the Patti Smith Group. More rave reviews compared the singer to Bob Dylan and Buddy Holly, and called him "a one-man Clash." The excitement surrounding his self-titled debut album, Willie Nile, prompted Pete Townshend to request Willie's presence on the Who 's summer tour. Nile and his band were soon on the road with The Who, only a few months after Willie's first experience playing with a band. After two acclaimed albums, the self-titled 1980 debut and 1981's Golden Down, Nile fell prey to protracted legal problems which derailed his career for a number of years.
RE-EMERGENCE
Although he continued to write, Nile did not perform live or record again until a 1987 performance in Oslo, Norway, with Eric Andersen. A videotape of Nile’s performance in Norway prompted a Columbia talent scout to sign him to the label in 1988, but production on his album didn't start for two more years. Issued in 1991, His Columbia Records CD Places I Have Never Been contained the songs "Everybody Needs A Hammer" and "Heaven Help The Lonely." Places I Have Never Been featured appearances by backing musicians including Richard Thompson, Loudon Wainwright III, Roger McGuinn, and members of the Hooters and the Roches. His 1992 EP release, Hard Times in America, became a favorite among some listeners in Europe.
Nile has recorded and performed with many musicians, including Ringo Starr, Tori Amos, Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, Ian Hunter, and Barenaked Ladies. A live Central Park concert album, Willie Nile-Archive Alive, was released on Archive Recordings, and Nile was one of the vocalists on the ensemble album Largo, along with Joan Osborne, Cyndi Lauper, Levon Helm, The Chieftains, Taj Mahal and Carole King. Another project found Nile writing and performing most of the songs for the soundtrack to the Kevin McLaughlin film Pinch Me!
In the fall of 2003, Nile was invited to share the stage at three concerts with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, including the two final Giants Stadium shows.
“Nile’s defining quality is his charismatic spirit. It’s a passion and enthusiasm that is infectious and earned Nile the admiration of fans and peers alike.” From Shea to the clubs and concert halls of Europe, "his live performances are legendary.
Studio albums
* 1980 - Willie Nile
* 1981 - Golden Down
* 1991 - Places I Have Never Been
* 1999 - Beautiful Wreck of the World
* 2006 - Streets of New York
* 2009 - House Of A Thousand Guitars
* 2010 - The Innocent Ones
Live albums
* 1997 - Live in Central Park - Archive Alive!
* 2007 - Live at Turning Point
* 2008 - Live From the Streets of New York
Gathering together his resources over time, he put out his first self-released album, Beautiful Wreck of the World, in 1999. It was chosen as one of the Top Ten Albums of the Year by critics at Billboard Magazine, The Village Voice and Stereo Review. Lucinda Williams called "On the Road to Calvary," Nile's song for Jeff Buckley, "One of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard." The album reached the finals of the Independent Music Awards for Best Rock Album of the Year.
In 2006, Nile released Streets of New York, which some consider to be his best work to date, due to quality production and clever songwriting. Former Time magazine music critic and Academy Award winning screenwriter Jay Cocks writes of Streets of New York, "The tunes he writes and plays with such blowtorch vibrancy get the myth and magic and danger and sadness and love in this town--of this town--truer, and righter, than anything I've heard since Dion. This record is a head-twister and heart-wrencher. It's rock and roll at its best. It's New York at its best. And there's nothing better than that."[citation needed]
House Of A Thousand Guitars was released on April 14, 2009.
On September 30, 2009, at his show at Giants Stadium in E. Rutherford, NJ, Bruce Springsteen invited Nile on stage to play with the E Street Band.
In addition, on November 22, 2009 Bruce Springsteen again invited him onstage to play the second last song of Springsteen's final concert of his tour, which was in Willie's hometown of Buffalo at HSBC Arena. Nile joined Springsteen and the E Street Band for the cover of Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher".
Welcome to My Head
Willie Nile Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a three-ring circus happening in my mind
I've got Busby Berkeley I've got Frankenstein
There's a Russian army dressed in pastel shades
Though it sounds alarming there's a pig parade
Welcome to my head, welcome to my head
There's a Dalai Lama in an easy chair
There's a shaking mama it's okay to stare
There's a disco party it's a happening scene
You'll see Jean Paul Satre and he's painting green
Welcome to my head, welcome to my head
Make yourself at home
On the upper level there's a better crowd
You can tempt the devil you can dream out loud
Welcome to my head, welcome to my head
Make yourself at home
Welcome to my head, welcome to my head
Make yourself at home
Make yourself at home
In Willie Nile's song "Welcome to My Head," the singer invites the listener to take a tour inside his mind. The song starts with the line "Make yourself at home," signifying that the listener is welcome in the singer's thoughts. The title of the song suggests that the lyrics are about the writer's complex and layered thought process. The first verse describes a "three-ring circus" happening inside the singer's mind. The images presented range from Busby Berkley (a famous choreographer) to Frankenstein, indicating a wide range of thoughts in the singer's head. The next line about the Russian army dressed in pastel shades and a pig parade sound absurd but adds to the theme of the complexity of thoughts inside his head.
The next verse presents different characters such as the Dalai Lama, shaking mother, Jean Paul Satre, and a disco party scene. These characters represent the different aspects of life, philosophy, and culture that the singer thinks about. The line "it's okay to stare" shows the singer is comfortable with unveiling his thoughts to the listener. The final verse talks about the "upper level," suggesting that there are different levels to the singer's mind. The singer invites the listener to "tempt the devil" and "dream out loud" in his head, indicating that there is room for exploration and creativity. Overall, the song portrays the idea that the singer's mind is like a never-ending journey, with different thoughts and characters always popping up to create a unique experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Make yourself at home
Feel free to get comfortable
There's a three-ring circus happening in my mind
My mind is chaotic and unpredictable
I've got Busby Berkeley I've got Frankenstein
I have a variety of wild and seemingly unrelated thoughts and images.
There's a Russian army dressed in pastel shades
There are bizarre and unexpected things happening
Though it sounds alarming there's a pig parade
Despite the chaos, there is humor and lightheartedness present
There's a Dalai Lama in an easy chair
Even spiritual figures can be found in my thoughts
There's a shaking mama it's okay to stare
There are also less dignified and serious things in my mind
There's a disco party it's a happening scene
There are also fun and exciting things going on in my thoughts
You'll see Jean Paul Satre and he's painting green
Even famous intellectuals can appear in my thoughts in unexpected ways
On the upper level there's a better crowd
My more positive and optimistic thoughts are in a separate area
You can tempt the devil you can dream out loud
I am not afraid to explore both dark and hopeful thoughts and ideas
Welcome to my head, welcome to my head
Come explore the inner workings of my mind with me
Make yourself at home
Stay awhile and take it all in
Contributed by Alyssa J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.