BY \u00a0RENN LOREN<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no mistaking Willie Nelson\u2019s signature life-chiseled, leathery, blue-Texas-sky twang. One weathered note is all it takes to know instantly that Willie\u2019s at the mic, weaving heartache with hope, and laughter with tears, spinning tales that prove he is a master of the art of living life and writing songs about it.<\/p>\n
Listening to Willie Nelson\u2019s music is a lot like spending time in one\u2019s favorite flannel shirt or jeans, in the company of a good ol\u2019 reliable friend.<\/p>\n
To tell his inconceivably eventful life story would take a couple of novels (and, indeed, there are a few out there). So I\u2019ll just try to touch on some of the most important events.<\/p>\n
Born in Abbott, Texas, on April 29, 1933, Nelson and his older sister, Bobbie, were raised by their grandparents, and picked cotton during the summers. Nelson\u2019s grandfather bought him a guitar at age 6. Nelson wrote his first song at age 7.<\/p>\n
After leaving high school, Nelson went into the Air Force for nine months. Honorably discharged due to back problems, he then attended two years at Baylor University in Waco, but the honky tonks called him back.<\/p>\n
Nelson spent the 1950s traveling the country, looking for work. In Eugene, Ore., he worked as a plumber\u2019s assistant; in Fort Worth, Texas, he sold vacuum cleaners and encyclopedias door to door.<\/p>\n
In San Antonio, Nelson talked his way into a radio disc-jockey job, which led to other disc-jockey positions at other Texas stations. During a two-year run on Houston\u2019s nightclub circuit, Nelson managed to sell his song \u201cFamily Bible\u201d to honky tonk singer Claude Gray for $100. The song became a Top 10 country hit. Encouraged by that success, Nelson moved to Nashville.<\/p>\n
Nelson found himself at odds with the heavily produced sound and slick image of Nashville in the 1960s, and became very frustrated, knowing his music could go further if he were allowed to do it his way.<\/p>\n
Everyone else was getting big hits with Nelson\u2019s songs (which were sold outright for one-time sums of between $50-150), while Nelson himself only achieved a string of minor hits during the decade he worked in Nashville. His house in Ridgetop burned down, and he took that as a sign, leaving Nashville to retire from the music biz in 1972.<\/p>\n
He ended up moving to Austin, and the rest, as they say, is history.<\/p>\n
Nelson found the burgeoning, diverse musical and social landscapes of Austin inspirational. Soon he was back to playing at venues such as the infamously central Armadillo World Headquarters, where hippies, cowboys and businesspeople bonded over lunches, beers and music.<\/p>\n
In the free, unbridled, openly creative atmosphere of Austin, Nelson was able to play his music his way \u2014 developing his now trademark \u201coutlaw\u201d sound and style \u2014 a style that has influenced multiple generations and whole musical movements such as No Depression, Alt-Country and its latest incarnation, Americana.<\/p>\n
Nelson soon ended up on Atlantic for two records: the pivotal Shotgun Willie, and Phases and Stages. These albums yielded the concert staples Whiskey River, Sad Songs and Waltzes, Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer) and Bloody Mary Morning.<\/p>\n
Leaving Atlantic for Columbia put Nelson in complete creative control over his records. Even so, Columbia was reluctant to release what they considered the raw, unfinished demo-sounding recordings of 1975\u2019s Red Headed Stranger. Spare and sparse, with the sound of a cowboy plucking his guitar by a campfire or joined by a saloon pianist (played by his sister Bobbie), the album would give Nelson his first number-one hit in the form of his high plains drifter incantation of Roy Acuff\u2019s Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain. At 42 years of age, Nelson had finally \u201cmade it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Association with fellow Outlaw Waylon Jennings (Outlaw was a term used to denote progressive artists such as Waylon Jennings and Nelson, who didn\u2019t fit the clean-cut, slick Nashville mold) on Wanted, the first platinum album in country music history, and the 1978 double platinum Waylon & Willie, would propel Nelson\u2019s career ever higher.<\/p>\n
Not one to follow trends (least of all his own), Nelson wielded his artistic control to maximum effect with the highly unlikely Stardust album, released later that year. Observers predicted that this collection of pop standards would thoroughly derail Nelson\u2019s career. Quite contrarily, Stardust rode the country charts for 10 years, and sold well over 6 million units. Films, more iconic songs such as On the Road Again (which was, ironically, written on a plane), and a continuous steady stream of albums (sometimes two per year) would follow.<\/p>\n
Nelson continues to amaze and dominate in a field populated by kids who could be his grandchildren\u2019s grandchildren. This year, Nelson holds the unique record of 50 country music Top Ten albums. He achieved the longest span between No. 1 albums for any living artist when his recent Band of Brothers topped the chart in 2014. His last No. 1 was The Promiseland in May of 1986. With 2015\u2019s Django and Jimmie, Nelson is, amazingly enough, at the top of the charts once again, with his Pancho & Lefty pal Merle Haggard \u2014 40 years after achieving his first number one.<\/p>\n
During his extensive career, singer, songwriter, author, poet, actor, activist Nelson has written more than 2,500 songs. The prolific Nelson has released 69 studio albums, and at least 10 live albums. Additionally, there have been hundreds of compilations of his work. He has won multiple awards, including countless Grammys, American Music Awards and Country Music Awards. In addition to his records having sold well globally, Willie has sold over 40 million albums in the USA alone.<\/p>\n
With the piercing, life-tempered gaze and braids of a tribal leader, boundless energy and an indomitable Texas cowboy heart, Willie Nelson is the very embodiment of the relentlessly rugged, doggedly determined and enduring American spirit. His richly storied, hard-lived life is an ongoing testament to that. Beyond iconic, Willie Nelson is America.<\/p>\n
Nelson will be in concert Friday, Nov. 18, 8:30 pm, at Golden Nugget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BY \u00a0RENN LOREN There\u2019s no mistaking Willie Nelson\u2019s signature life-chiseled, leathery, blue-Texas-sky twang. One weathered note is all it takes to know instantly that Willie\u2019s at the mic, weaving heartache with hope, and laughter with tears, spinning tales that prove he is a master of the art of living life and writing songs about it. [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":5680,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4,1155,1312],"yoast_head":"\n