Willie Nelson

About Willie Nelson

The grizzled country crooner Willie Nelson has made a reputation for himself as a legend and an outlaw icon. Born in Texas, Raised by his grandparents, Nelson was always interested in music and took mail order music lessons at age 5. After graduating high school, he tried joining the Air Force but found the physical requirements too strenuous. Instead, he got a job DJing a country radio station based out of Fort Worth while playing solo around the local bars. One of his first songs was "Family Bible," which has since gone on to become a gospel music standard. Initially Nelson found success as a songwriter rather than a performer. The hits he penned for other people included "Pretty Paper," Patsy Cline's "Crazy" and "Night Life," one of the most covered country songs of all time. However, his personal demons got the best of him and he moved to Austin, Texas to try and pull his life together. In Austin, Willie Nelson was heavily influenced by the city's hippie culture-it was here he began growing his trademark ponytail. The city loved his original music-a blend of Western hillbilly swing, rock and traditional country and he scored a solo record deal with Atlantic Records. Nelson's music was revitalized, and it was this period of the 70's that saw him releasing his most ambitious and best work. Albums like Shotgun Willie and the darker breakup record Phases and Changes brought Nelson more attention than his songwriting ever had before. Willie Nelson's first collaboration with Waylon Jennings, Wanted: The Outlaws! was the first country album to go platinum.