If ever the words "living legend" were more than just public relations bluster, the application would be to Willie Hugh Nelson.
The iconic Texan is the creative genius behind historic recordings like "Crazy," "Hello Walls," Red Headed Stranger, and Stardust. His career has spanned six decades. His catalog boasts more than 200 albums. He's earned every conceivable award and honor that can be bestowed to a person in his profession. And he has also amassed reputable credentials as an author, actor and activist.
In many ways, however, the weighty distinction "living legend" does Willie a disservice, for it discounts the extent to which he is a thriving, relevant and progressive musical force in the year 2004. He has two new albums coming out, recently embarked on an imaginative tour with another musical icon, again headlined Farm Aid, has established himself as a top television ratings draw, and has a recent No. 1 single and Super Bowl performance under his belt.
Most importantly, Willie's music is as adventurous as ever--mixing sounds and styles, bending genre boundaries and engendering the talents of today's most vibrant artists. The September release of Outlaws & Angels perfectly expresses Willie's expansiveness. Recorded during the USA Network cable special by the same name, the album features performances with Toby Keith, Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, Kid Rock, Carole King, Jerry Lee Lewis and Keith Richards among others.
The prolific Nelson follows that album with the October release of It Always Will Be, his first full studio album since 2002's The Great Divide. The disc features duets with Paula Nelson, Norah Jones and Lucinda Williams, as well as a cover of Toby Keith's "Tired" that Rolling Stone calls "heartbreaking." Willie again proves his propensity for taking chances and, as always, meeting those challenges in a manner that appears deceptively effortless.
Earlier this year, Willie embarked on a warmly received tour of minor league baseball parks with Dylan. He recently played Farm Aid in Seattle, and event he continues to support after co-founding it in 1985. Last year found him enjoying yet another No. 1 single, this time a duet with Keith titled "Beer For My Horses," and another USA Network special became the highest-rated live musical event in the history of cable television.
As ever, he tours tirelessly, climbing aboard Honeysuckle Rose III (he rode his first two buses into the ground) and takes his music and his fans on a seemingly endless journey to places that were well worth the ride.
Born April 30, 1933 in Abbott, Texas, Willie Nelson and his sister were raised by their paternal grandparents who encouraged both children to play music. He began writing songs in elementary school, and played in bands as a teenager. After high school he served a short stint in the Air Force, but music was a constant pull.
By the mid Fifties he was working as a country deejay in Ft. Worth, while continuing to pursue a musical career, recording independently and playing nightclubs. He sold some of his original compositions, including "Family Bible," which became a hit for Claude Gray in 1960.
That success and others convinced Willie to move to Nashville, where record labels were initially resistant. His songwriting talents were quickly embraced, however, and 1961 proved to be his breakthrough year. His "Hello Walls" became a nine-week No. 1 for Faron Young, and Patsy Cline's version of "Crazy" became an instant classic.
In 1962, Nelson scored his first two top 10 hits as a recording artist for Liberty, but struggled for a breakthrough for the remainder of the decade. Disillusioned with Nashville and with his label RCA's insistence on lush, string-laden arrangements, he moved back to Texas in 1972. Emboldened by the rock and folk music becoming popular in Austin, Willie and his music began to change.
