Table of Biography
Willie Nelson is a country singer, guitarist, and songwriter from the United States. Willie Nelson rose to fame at the end of the 1960s and contributed to the “outlaw country” subgenre, which challenged the music industry conservatism of Nashville at the time.
Early Life
Willie Nelson was born in Abbott, Texas, the United States, on April 29, 1933. His full name is Willie Hugh Nelson and holds US nationality. According to the astrological chart, he has a birth sign of Taurus and is currently 90 years old. He belongs to a mixed ethnicity of English-Scottish ethnicity.
He was born to Ira Doyle Nelson and Myrle Marie. His father worked as a mechanic while his mother was a homemaker. When he was still a child, his mother left the family, and sometime later, his father, too, abandoned them after marrying another woman.
He was raised with his sister Bobbie by their grandparents who lived in Arkansas and taught music for a living. When he was just six years old, his grandfather gifted him the first guitar. He along with his grandfather and sibling, went to a nearby church where Willie would play the guitar and his sister would sing the Gospel. Meanwhile, he was part of a local, small-time country music band, ‘Bohemian Polka,’ and learned a lot from that experience.
Education and joining the American Air Force
In terms of his academics, he attended Abbott High School in his hometown. During his school days, he sang and played the guitar for a band named ‘The Texans.’ Meanwhile, he completed his high school graduation from there in 1950.
After completing his high school graduation, Willie Nelson joined the American Air Force but was honorably discharged within a year due to back pain. He enrolled at Baylor University and studied forming but midway through the program, he decided to quit academics and pursue music seriously.
Professional Career
Initially, Willie Nelson started looking for full-time work. During the 1950s, he also worked as a disc jockey at radio stations in his native Texas, and at several radio stations in the Pacific Northwest, all the while working as a singer and songwriter
He wrote songs that would become country standards, including “Funny How Time Slips Away”, “Hello Walls”, “Pretty Paper”, and “Crazy” during that time. Later, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee in the year 1960 and signed a publishing contract with Pamper Music. He joined Ray Price’s band as a bassist.
Debut Album
He released his debut album named “…And Then I Wrote” in the year 1962 by Liberty Records. Meanwhile, the album picked up pace and attained cult success. In the year 1964, he signed with RCA Victor and joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year.
After several mid-chart singles in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Nelson became dissatisfied with the corporate Nashville music environment and relocated to Austin, Texas, in 1972. The continuous Austin music scene inspired Nelson to return to performance, and he appeared often at the Armadillo World Headquarters.
Continued creating new singles and albums
After signing with Atlantic Records in 1973, she focused on outlaw country, releasing albums like Shotgun Willie and Phases & Stages. In 1975, he transferred to Columbia Records and recorded the highly acclaimed album Red Headed Stranger.
In the same year, he recorded another outlaw country album, Wanted! The Outlaws, with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. During the mid-1980s, while working on 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 formed the country supergroup The Highwaymen with fellow singers Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson.
Caption: Willie Nelson performing in the concert (Source: The Columbus Dispatch)
In 1985, he helped arrange the first Farm Aid concert to support American farmers; the performances have been conducted annually since then, and Nelson has been a regular participant.
Issues with the Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service seized Nelson’s assets in 1990, claiming he owed $32 million. The difficulties of repaying his outstanding debt were exacerbated by poor investments he made in the 1980s.
He released “The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories?” in 1992; the profits from the double album, which were earmarked for the IRS, plus the sale of Nelson’s assets paid off his debt.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, he continued to travel heavily and release records year after year. The reviews varied from good to mediocre. He experimented with genres such as reggae, blues, jazz, and folk.
Other Works
He made his film debut in 1979 with “The Electric Horseman,” and has since appeared in other films and television shows. Nelson is a prominent liberal activist and co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which supports marijuana legalization.
On the environmental front, he owns the biodiesel brand Willie Nelson Biodiesel, which uses vegetable oil. He also serves as the honorary chairman of the advisory board for the Texas Music Project, the state’s official music charity.
Awards
He is considered one of the most recognized artists in country music in the musical industry. Moreover, he has earned several awards and recognition in his career. He has won 12 Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Legend Award in 1990 and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
Similarly, he has won 11 Country Music Association Awards, 12 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 12 American Music Awards. In 2001, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He earned the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting at the Americana Music Honors & Awards in 2007. Similarly, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
Net Worth 2024
According to online media reports, Nelson’s net worth is estimated at around $25 million which he has earned through a long musical career. Primarily, he earned through his records sales, albums, contract deals, concerts, brand endorsement, and business ventures.
Relationship Status
Till now, Willie Nelson has been married four times. Firstly, he was married to Martha Matthews from 1952 to 1962. With the relationship, the couple had three children, Lana, Susie, and Wilie “Billy” Hugh, Jr. Later, he married Shirley Collie from 1963 to 1971.
Caption: Willie Nelson with his wife (Source: People)
Shirley divorced Willie after discovering he had a daughter, Paula Carlene Nelson, with Connie Koepke. Nelson married Koepke in 1971, and they had another daughter, Amy Lee Nelson. They were divorced in 1988. He married Annie D’Angelo in 1991, and they have two boys, Lukas Autry Nelson and Jacob Micah Nelson.
Lung Collapsed
In 1981, Nelson’s lung collapsed while swimming in Hawaii. He was brought to the Maui Memorial Hospital. In 2015, he had stem-cell treatment to enhance the condition of his lungs. In 2004, he underwent surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, since he had harmed his wrists by constantly playing the guitar.
Willie Nelson – Body Measurements
Caption: Willie Nelson posing for a photo (Source: Daily Mai)
This country singer is 5 feet 6 inches tall (167.5 cm) and weighs around 73kg (161 lbs). Similarly, he has a pair of dark brown eyes with salt-pepper hair colour.
Social Media
On his Instagram page ‘@willienelsonofficial’ there are over 1 million followers. Likewise, there are over 698.6k followers on his Twitter ‘page ‘@WillieNelson’ and over 6.1 million followers on his Facebook page. He also runs a self-titled YouTube channel where he has uploaded his lyrical songs and music videos.