Willie Nelson
Born April 29, 1933 in Abbott, Texas, Nelson was raised by his paternal grandparents who encouraged him to play music. He began writing songs in elementary school and played in bands as a teenager.
By the mid 50s, he was working as a country deejay and sold some of his original compositions, including Family Bible which became a hit for Claude Gray in 1960. That success and others convinced Nelson to move to Nashville.
His songwriting talents were quickly embraced and 1961 proved to be his breakthrough year. His Hello Walls became a 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 but struggled for a breakthrough the remainder of the decade.
Disillusioned with Nashville and with his record label he moved back to Texas in 1972.
Nelson’s first album, 1973's Shotgun Willie got the attention of music critics and the 1974 follow-up Phases & Stages helped him build a loyal following. The breakthrough he'd been seeking for the better part of two decades came in 1975. Red Headed Stranger became one of country's most unlikely hits. The acoustic concept album vaulted Nelson to country music's top ranks. Nelson's convention-busting stardom, combined with the concurrent popularity of maverick Waylon Jennings, prompted the term Outlaw Music and a movement was underway.
A compilation album of previously recorded material from Nelson, Jennings, Tompall Glaser and Jessi Colter - Wanted: The Outlaws spawned the Nelson/Jennings duet Good Hearted Woman and quickly became the best selling album country had ever seen. Nelson's star rose even further with in 1978 with Waylon & Willie and Stardust which included Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.
On The Road Again reached the top of the charts in 1981, Always On My Mind was a crossover smash in 1982, and a duet with Latin pop star Julio Iglesias, To All The Girls I've Loved Before, raced up the charts in 1984. Nelson enlisted Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash for the Highwaymen album, released in 1985. That same year he founded Farm Aid, an organization dedicated to championing the cause of family farmers.
The 90s brought more success as well as a $16.7 million bill from the IRS forcing Nelson to sell many of his assets and resulted in the release of The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories. Nelson cleared the debt by 1993, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame that same year. The decade produced further artistic triumphs including Across The Borderline. The album featured Bob Dylan, Sinead O'Connor and Paul Simon among its many guests.
In 1996, Nelson embarked on another fertile period releasing Spirit, the acclaimed Teatro and an instrumental-focused album titled Night and Day as the millennium drew to a close.
Lost Highway in 2003 provided another landmark. In addition to turning 70, Nelson released Run That By Me One More Time, a collaboration with Ray Price featuring new recordings from their combined 50 years of catalog. The Essential Willie Nelson, which span his earliest recordings Willie Live & Kickin hit stores following his top-rated USA Network Memorial Day cable special. The album included guest vocalists ranging from Norah Jones to Toby Keith, with whom Nelson performed his most recent No. 1 single, Beer For My Horses.
All told, Nelson's 2003 endeavors earned him four Grammy nominations to go with a career that has been recognized with eight Grammy wins, a President's Merit Award, a Grammy Legend Award and the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2004, the Academy of Country Music recognized him with the Video of the Year Award for Beer For My Horses, and the prestigious Gene Weed Special Achievement Award honoring Nelson's "unprecedented and genre-defying contributions to popular music over his nearly 50-year career."