Willie Nelson Information

Willie Nelson was born on April 30, 1933 in Abbot, Texas and was given his first guitar at age six. Growing up, music had been a central part of Willie's life. He was fascinated by big band, country, and especially by the music of Frank Sinatra. Willie Nelson's first gig was playing at a dance at age 10. During his teenage years, Willie played dances and honkey-tonks with Bud Fletcher and Floyd Tillman, among others. Later, in high school, Willie Nelson worked for a local radio station, and by his graduating year he had his own radio show. After briefly serving in the Air Force, Willie Nelson singe handedly recorded, financed, and sold his first song, entitled "No Place For Me".

By 1959, Willie Nelson had been married and divorced, was the father of two children and was working as a full time disk-jockey. He managed to write songs in his spare time. Willie Nelson finally made a decent amount of money from selling songs, particularly "Night Life," which he sold for an undisclosed amount to three Texas businessmen. Willie bought a Buick convertible and set off, bound for Nashville. After only two years he had established himself as a writer and had already sold two No. 1 hits to Faron Young and Patsy Cline.

Willie Nelson continued writing and selling music until December of 1970 when his house burnt down. He then packed up his things and headed back to Texas. After living in Nashville for 10 years, Willie Nelson had forgotten about the lack of musicians in Texas. With very few candidates in the market for buying Willie's music he soon became hard-pressed to sell anything. Since he couldn't write and sell music, Willie Nelson did the next best thing; he began performing his own work. Within the first year back in Texas, he had recorded two albums, Shotgun Willie and Phases And Stages. Willie Nelson continued writing and performing in Texas over the next few years. In 1973, as his popularity grew, he started an Independence Day picnic that has grown and is still around today.

One of his almost nameless albums, Red Headed Stranger, was introduced to the charts. It was a smash success, placing the name Willie Nelson in the spotlight. This prompted a collection of older Willie Nelson music, released on one album, Wanted: The Outlaws. This Willie Nelson album, with over 1 million copies sold, became the first platinum-selling country music album in history. Around 1978, Willie Nelson launched his acting career. Willie Nelson played roles in several films, including Red Headed Stranger, Thief, Honeysuckle Rose, Barbarosa, Pair of Aces, Songwriter, Electric Horseman, Stagecoach, and many more. Willie Nelson has also done television acting and cameo appearances.

In the '80s, Willie Nelson had a number of hit singles and albums. Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash formed The Highwaymen. Even though that band found success in the likes of platinum records and worldwide touring, Willie Nelson's personal popularity was beginning to decline. He would establish the Farm Aid concerts in 1985. Eventually, his financial excesses would catch up with him and Willie Nelson found himself slapped with a bill for $16.7 million in back taxes from the IRS in 1990. All the profits from The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy Memories went to the IRS.

During the '90s and 2000s, Willie Nelson has continued to release albums and tour. His most recent release is 2006's You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker. (All the songs on that record were written by the late Cindy Walker.)

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