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Willie – a word that needs no
translation or explanation. In fact, it would be hard
to explain who and what Willie is – songwriter, singer,
guitar player, entrepreneur, rebel with a cause or two,
actor, parent, friend, and, well, who knows what
tomorrow might bring. At 75, Willie Nelson
doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon. To say he
has led a full life would be life’s greatest
understatement. It hasn’t always been pretty, but it
has always been real.
 It
didn’t take Willie long to go from unknown songwriter in
Nashville in the 60’s to outlaw in the 70’s, to
household name in the 80’s, and then on to genuine
legend. Patsy Cline gave Willie his first #1 single with
“Crazy.” Ray Price recorded “Night Life”
and Billy Walker recorded “Funny How Time Slips Away.”
But for a man who always knew he wanted to do it his own
way, Nashville was too confining. Texas got its native
son back.
Even though he is probably still
considered by many to be a country writer, Willie’s
style defies definition. The voice you will recognize,
but the song can come from any direction. His songs
have combined traditional pop, Western swing, jazz,
traditional country, cowboy songs, honky tonk, rock &
roll, folk, tejano, conjunto, gospel, and the blues into
a distinctive sound that belongs only to Willie.
He is a prolific
songwriter. Go to the Broadcast Music, Inc. website (www.bmi.com)
and you will find 341 songs written or co-written by
Willie. Fifteen songs have earned BMI’s highest awards,
such as “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground, “
“Funny,” and “On the Road Again.”
Additional awards have come from other sources, such as
County Music Association, National Academy of Popular
Music, and NARAS/Grammy.
Other singers have become so closely
associated with some of his songs, you might forget
Willie wrote them: co-writer Waylon Jennings singing “Good
Hearted Woman;” George Jones singing “Yesterday’s
Wine,” Faron Young singing “Hello Walls,”
and, of course, Patsy Cline on “Crazy.” But
Willie the singer has returned the favor by putting his
stamp so firmly on other’s songs, it seems as though he
wrote them: “Whiskey River” (Johnny Bush), “Mamas
Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys” (Ed and
Patsy Bruce), “You Were Always on My Mind” (John
L. Christopher, Jr., James Mark, and Wayne Carson
Thompson), and “I’d Have to be Crazy” (Steven
Fromholz).
The Texas Heritage Songwriters
Association proudly honors Abbott native Willie Nelson
for his contributions as a leader in Texas songwriting.
Awards
1975 Grammy/Best
Male Country Vocal Performance
1979 CMA/ACM/Entertainer
of the Year
1982 ACM\Album
of the Year
1986 & 87 American Music Awards/Favorite
Male Artist
1990 Grammy/Legend
Awards
1999 Grammy/Lifetime
Achievement Award
2003, 2003 & 2008 Grammy/
Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
Catalog
Highlights
1975 Red Headed Stranger
1978 Waylon and Willie
With Waylon Jennings
1978 Stardust
1980 Honeysuckle Rose
1982 Always on My Mind
1985 The Highway Man
With Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris
Kristofferson
2003The Essential Willie Nelson 2004 Outlaw and Angels
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