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Just two years after the booger incident, seven-year-old Nelson wrote his first song, inspired by the gold star stickers that Grandma Nancy would give him and his sister for a job well done during their music lessons.
Willie was enamored with music and writing ever since these music lessons commenced. But like many creative children, he was prone to fits of nervousness. For his first public performance, at five years old, Nelson was to recite a poem. Young Willie was so nervous before showtime, however, that he picked his nose until it bled. This incident earned him the nickname Booger Red, but thankfully the experience wasn't bad enough to deter him from a career on stage.
Nelson didn't go straight into the music business after school. As a young man, he worked a litany of jobs. Willie did everything from picking cotton with his grandmother to selling Bibles door to door before fully dedicating himself to songwriting.
Nelson's mother and father moved away from their home in Abbott when he was a young boy, leaving him and his sister Bobbie Nelson to be raised by their grandmother, Nancy Nelson. Both Nelson siblings owe their love of music to Grandma Nancy, who gave them regular music lessons throughout their childhood.
Even those who aren't familiar with Willie's countless classic tunes know him through his other claim to fame: being one of the biggest and busiest marijuana advocates alive. Nelson got his first taste outside of a bar in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1954. While Willie doesn't smoke anymore for health reasons, he has been vocal about the positive effect that pot has had on his life, claiming on numerous occasions that heavy drinking and tobacco consumption would have killed him long ago if marijuana hadn't taken their places.
Few musicians in the United States have enjoyed careers as illustrious or as evergreen as Willie Nelson. Since the 1960s, Nelson has driven the evolution of country music and introduced the genre to a wider audience than it had ever known before. Through all of the musical and cultural changes that the United States has gone through over the past six decades, Nelson's songs have remained universally adored. The Red Headed Stranger's songbook is filled with lyrics touching on some of the world's most relatable topics, such as love, freedom, sorrow, human rights, and fraternity. And he's still not done.
In celebration of Willie Nelson, let's take a look back at country's greatest star and the highlights of his tumultuous life and career. Click on for more.
Willie enjoyed moderate success in Texas, especially in the capital city of Austin, which had a thriving alternative music scene in the middle of the 20th century. It wasn't until he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1960, that things started to look up. In 1964, Nelson enjoyed some of the best publicity of his life thus far when he joined Nashville's legendary Grand Ole Opry country music show.
Before he made it to the glorious Opry stage, however, Willie's songs found more success when performed by others. Some of Nelson's greatest early songs were made famous by the likes of Patsy Cline and Billy Walker.
Today, Willie Nelson is just as famous and adored as he was as a young man, and is still touring without any signs of stopping. As one of the most prolific songwriters the world has ever seen, Nelson has released no less than 73 studio albums, with his most recent, 'I Don't Know a Thing About Love,' recently released in March 2023.
Back in Texas, Willie Nelson reinvented himself. The straight-laced country ballad singer that once was transformed into the face of "outlaw country," a rowdy and freethinking response to the more polished and conservative mainstream country music that dominated Nashville.
Over the course of a decade, Nelson made a respectable name for himself in Nashville, but funneled virtually all of his profits straight into touring and recording, with not much left over for emergencies. The emergency in question was a massive house fire that took Nelson's Tennessee ranch in 1970. The songwriter famously charged into the inferno in order to retrieve his guitar, and a sizable amount of marijuana that he didn't want to end up in the hands of the fire department or the police. Nelson took the fire as a sign, and promptly moved back to his home state of Texas.
Outlaw country is characterized today, as it was then, by more liberal worldviews than "mainstream" country. Along with promoting a more inclusive portrait of the American working class and openly criticizing the conservative status quo of 20th-century America, the bigotry and religious fanaticism that permeated so much of pre-outlaw country had no place in this new musical paradigm.
Willie Nelson formed his legendary backing band, known simply as "Family," in 1973. Unlike many touring singer-songwriters, Nelson and Family's lineup stayed close-knit throughout the decades. Willie Nelson's older sister, Bobbie, was an original member of Family and continued playing piano on stage with her brother until her death in 2022.
Two people in particular are known as the progenitors of outlaw country: Willie Nelson, and his lifelong friend Waylon Jennings. The pair of songwriters spearheaded the fight for creative control from corporate record companies and pushed country music in new creative directions with just about every release. The two outlaws remained close friends until Jennings' death in 2002.
One of Willie's many gifts to country music was the introduction of the concept album. Many of Nelson's most iconic records revolve around a single idea, personality, or story. Country concept albums were practically unheard of before the birth of outlaw country.
Willie's first record since his return to Texas was 1973's 'Shotgun Willie.' 'Shotgun Willie' might not have been a commercial success, but proved to be one of Nelson's most critically acclaimed albums to date. The title, 'Shotgun Willie,' of course refers to Nelson himself. The nickname was given to the songwriter after he confronted the abuser of his daughter, Lana Nelson. Lana's abusive boyfriend, Warren, drove to Willie's house with his brothers and shot at the songwriter and his bandmember, Paul English. Nelson and English retaliated with returning shotgun fire, and successfully drove the attackers away.
The 1975 release of 'Red Headed Stranger' was a watershed moment in Nelson's career, and marked the beginning of a string of major commercial success. Recorded in five days, the album is a shining example of Nelson's storytelling expertise. The record chronicles the life of a heartbroken outlaw living on the lam after killing his partner and the man she was having an affair with.
Since 1973, Willie Nelson has thrown the quintessential country music jamboree: the Willie Nelson Picnic. The first few festivals were fraught with controversy, as were so many other massive music gatherings in the 1970s, including reported stabbings and widespread arrests. Despite these initial setbacks, there have been just short of 50 Willie Nelson Picnics since its inception, and it continues to be one of the largest country music events in the United States.
Willie, along with the other titans of outlaw country, including Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser, made music history in 1976. That was the year that their compilation album, 'Wanted! The Outlaws,' was introduced to the world.
Wille Nelson's family tree is expansive, to say the least. Over the course of four marriages, Nelson has fathered seven children, all of whom he remains close to. Further proving the importance of family to the singer, he has also maintained close relationships with many members of his extended family.
The album spent six weeks at the top of Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, and became the first country album to be certified platinum in a matter of months.
Nelson's brand of country wasn't called "outlaw" for no reason. Willie Nelson rebelled against the law of the land on a regular basis, through his affinity with marijuana and a wider belief that what was legal and what was moral weren't always perfectly in line.
Nelson's most famous brush with the law was the mindboggling US$32 million dollars in back taxes that Nelson owed to the Internal Revenue Service, which came to light after a 1990 audit. In typical Nelson fashion, he devised a creative plan to pay off the government: in 1992, Nelson released 'The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?' and sent all of the albums earnings to the IRS.
In 1985, Willie Nelson established the annual Farm Aid benefit concert, the proceeds of which are put towards bettering the lives of family farmers around America. Nelson has also fought for the legalization of marijuana, animal rights, and the protection of Native American land.
Almost as famous as the guitarist himself is his trusty guitar, Trigger. Named after the horse of legendary country personality Roy Rogers, Nelson has gone on stage with Trigger and only Trigger since 1969. Trigger has accompanied him on stage for over 10,000 performances.
Nothing if not industrious, Nelson has also dabbled in entrepreneurship. In 2015, the songwriter announced Willie's Reserve, his own nationwide chain of marijuana stores that not only sell his own personalized strains, but also sell the products of local farmers.
Ever since he was a young outlaw, Willie Nelson has been an active and vocal political personality. Nelson has donated his time, money, and music to a variety of causes, including environmental sustainability, LGBTQ+ rights, and better representation for the independent farmers of America.
Willie Nelson is still going strong and is as active as ever. The prolific king of outlaw country continues to tour throughout the United States, releasing new music on a regular basis and speaking up for the issues he cares about. There truly is no stopping Willie Nelson!
Sources: (Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum) (Mental Floss) (The Boot)
See also: The Grand Ole' Opry—America's favorite and longest-running music show
One of country music's greatest stars, Willie Hugh Nelson was born on April 29, 1933, in the tiny town of Abbott, Texas. The Nelsons were a working class family of modest means; his father worked as a mechanic, and his grandfather was a blacksmith. Surely no one knew at the time that the latest addition to the Nelson family would grow up to change the tide of American country music.
Perhaps Nelson's most enduring classic album, 'Stardust,' was released in 1978. It was Nelson's 22nd studio record, and was adored by critics and consumers alike; in 1979, the record earned Nelson his second and third Grammy awards.
Celebrating nine decades of Willie Nelson, country's rebel with a cause
Get to know the world's favorite long-haired country star
CELEBRITY Music
Few musicians in the United States have enjoyed careers as illustrious or as evergreen as Willie Nelson. Since the 1960s, Nelson has driven the evolution of country music and introduced the genre to a wider audience than it had ever known before. Through all of the musical and cultural changes that the United States has gone through over the past six decades, Nelson's songs have remained universally adored. The Red Headed Stranger's songbook is filled with lyrics touching on some of the world's most relatable topics, such as love, freedom, sorrow, human rights, and fraternity. And he's still not done.
In celebration of Willie Nelson, let's take a look back at country's greatest star and the highlights of his tumultuous life and career. Click on for more.