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Willie Nelson is an American country singer, guitarist and songwriter. Willie Nelson rose to fame in the late 1960s and contributed to the “outlaw country” subgenre, which challenged the conservatism of the Nashville music industry at the time.
Early life
Willie Nelson was born in Abbott, Texas, United States, on April 29, 1933. His full name is Willie Hugh Nelson and he has American nationality. According to the astrological chart, he has the birth sign of Taurus and is currently 90 years. He belongs to a mixed ethnicity of English-Scottish ethnicity.
His parents are Ira Doyle Nelson and Myrle Marie. Her father worked as a mechanic while her mother was a housewife. When he was still a child, his mother abandoned the family and, some time later, his father also abandoned them by marrying another woman.
He was raised with his sister Bobbie by his grandparents who lived in Arkansas and made a living teaching music. When he was only six years old, his grandfather gave him his first guitar. He, along with his grandfather and his brother, went to a nearby church where Willie played the guitar and his sister sang the gospel. Meanwhile, he was part of a small-time local country music band, ‘Bohemian Polka,’ and learned a lot from that experience.
Education and joining the US Air Force
Regarding his academic studies, he attended Abbott High School in his hometown. During his school days, he sang and played guitar for a band called ‘The Texans’. Meanwhile, he completed his high school graduation there in 1950.
After completing his high school graduation, Willie Nelson joined the US Air Force, but was honorably discharged within a year due to back pain. He enrolled at Baylor University and studied training, but halfway through the program he decided to leave academia and pursue music seriously.
Career
Initially, Willie Nelson began 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, 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 bassist.
First album
He released his debut album called “…And Then I Wrote” in the year 1962 through Liberty Records. Meanwhile, the album accelerated and achieved cult success. In 1964 she signed with RCA Victor and joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year.
After several mid-chart singles in the late ’60s and early ’70s, Nelson became dissatisfied with Nashville’s corporate music scene and moved to Austin, Texas, in 1972. Austin’s continuing music scene inspired Nelson returned to acting, and appeared often at Armadillo World Headquarters.
He continued creating new singles and albums.
After signing with Atlantic Records in 1973, he focused on outlaw country, releasing albums such as Shotgun Willie and Phases & Stages. In 1975, he moved to Columbia Records and recorded the acclaimed album Red Headed Stranger.
That same year, he recorded another outlaw country album, Querido! The Outlaws, with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser. In 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 at the concert (Source: The Columbus Dispatch)
In 1985, he helped organize the first Farm Aid concert to support American farmers; Performances have been held annually since then and Nelson has been a regular participant.
Problems with the Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service seized Nelson’s assets in 1990, claiming he owed $32 million. Difficulties in repaying his outstanding debt were exacerbated by poor investments he made in the 1980s.
He published “The IRS Tapes: Who Will Buy My Souvenirs?” in 1992; The proceeds from the double album, which went to the IRS, plus the sale of Nelson’s assets settled his debt.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, he continued to tour extensively and release records year after year. Reviews ranged 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 honorary chairman of the advisory board of the Texas Music Project, the state’s official music charity.
Awards
He is considered one of the most recognized country music artists in the music industry. Furthermore, he has obtained several awards and recognitions in his career. He has won 12 Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Legend Award in 1990 and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
Additionally, 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 to be around $25 million, which he has earned through a long music career. Mainly, he earned from record sales, albums, contractual agreements, concerts, brand endorsements and commercial projects.
civil status
Until now, Willie Nelson has been married four times. First, he was married to Martha Matthews from 1952 to 1962. Through 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 that he had a daughter, Paula Carlene Nelson, with Connie Koepke. Nelson married Koepke in 1971 and they had another daughter, Amy Lee Nelson. They divorced in 1988. He married Annie D’Angelo in 1991 and they have two sons, Lukas Autry Nelson and Jacob Micah Nelson.
Collapsed lung
In 1981, Nelson’s lung collapsed while swimming in Hawaii. He was taken to Maui Memorial Hospital. In 2015, he underwent stem cell treatment to improve his lung condition. In 2004 he underwent surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, as he had injured 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 (167.5 cm) tall and weighs around 161 pounds (73 kg). Likewise, he has a pair of dark brown eyes with salt-pepper hair.
Social media
On his Instagram page ‘@willienelsonofficial’ he has more than 1 million followers. Likewise, there are more than 698.6 thousand followers on his Twitter page ‘@WillieNelson’ and more than 6.1 million followers on his Facebook page. He also runs a self-titled YouTube channel where he uploads his lyrics and music videos.
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Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn