LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Willie Nelson
built 236 days ago
Willie Nelson was one of the original outlaws of country music, and one of its most influential songwriters. He began playing in the 1960s, writing "Crazy" for Patsy Cline and "Hello Walls" for Faron Young. Nelson's career as a performer flourished in the mid-1970s when he joined up with Waylon Jennings and released the crossover, chart-topping Red Headed Stranger. It was the hit "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" that perpetuated the then-popular image of the longhaired country boy. Willie Nelson had arrived as a country superstar. His folky, nasal inflections carried his voice through many different genres of music, including Western Swing, traditional pop, jazz, Traditional Country, Cowboy country songs, Honky-Tonk, rock 'n' roll, folk music and of course, the blues.
Source:
The commercial success of Willie Nelson is one of 20th century music’s strangest stories. He made it clear in the 50s and 60s that he could write a hit song. “Crazy”, “Night Life”, “Funny How Time Slips Away” and “Hello Walls”, all penned by Willie, are country classics to this day, but his own work sounds a lot different then the lush Billy Sherrill-produced country-pop he wrote in those decades. When his house burned down in 1970, Willie left Nashville, taking only the guitar case containing his pot stash, for the Happy Valley Dude Ranch in Austin. His first few post-Nashville albums went unnoticed, but in 1973, Jerry Wexler signed him to Atlantic Records’ new country division and he recorded Shotgun Willie.
Source:
PopEater Music Blog: Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, the Eagles, Willie Nelson and Brad Paisley have all won Grammy awards before the show has even started. With 109 total awards in tonight's ceremony, the majority of the awards are given out during a pre-telecast.... Read more
Source:
Willie Nelson began as a songwriter and grew into a durable country troubadour of the late 20th century. Nelson wrote "Crazy" (the signature tune of Patsy Cline), "Funny How Time Slips Away" and "Rainy Day Blues" among many other 1960s hits. His breakthrough 1975 album Red-Headed Stranger included the hit "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain" and cemented his reputation as a honky-tonk outlaw with a touch of sentimental hippie in him. (Blue jeans, bandannas, long red braids and the Texas flag all became part of his motif.) His other hits included "On the Road Again" and "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." Nelson ... acted, appearing in movies like Honeysuckle Rose (1980), Thief (1981) and Barbarossa (1982). In the 1980s Nelson performed with The Highwaymen, a supergroup including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.
Source:
When Willie Nelson entered the world, these stories made the front page of the nation's newspapers: The United States suffers a major beer shortage. Over one million barrels of beer are consumed legally for the first time in 14 years with the repeal of Prohibition. President Franklin Roosevelt meets with British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald in Washington. D.C., to discuss the possibility of a worldwide economic recovery. Astronomers in the United States find that the Milky Way's stars are receding. The International Court at The Hague sharply criticizes Norway's occupation of eastern Greenland.
Source:
Willie Nelson was born on April 30, 1933 in Abbot, Texas to parents Ira and Myrle Nelson. As a child, Willie and his sister Bobbie Lee Nelson were raised by their paternal grandparents. The young Nelsons' first musical experiences came from mail-order courses their grandparents taught to them. Willie Nelson was given his first guitar at age six. Growing up, music had been a central part of Willie's life. He wasfascinated by by big band, country (Texas-Style), and especially by the music of Frank Sinatra.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Willie Nelson