Willie Nelson

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Biography

Willie Nelson's career, spanning well over half a century, has secured himself a place as one of the all-time greats in country music. His success came first in the form of songwriting, including some of the signature standards of country music. Later he was a central figure in the "Outlaw" country music movement with Waylon Jennings & others. In addition, he's had success as an actor.

The Country Music Association named its recently inaugurated Lifetime Achievement Award after Willie Nelson. He was also the first recipient of that award.

Willie Nelson is also an activist and philanthropist. His causes include legalization of marijuana, serving on the board of NORML. He is co-founder of Farm Aid in 1985 with John Mellenkamp and Neil Young. Their annual benefit concerts have raised over $48 million to aid family farmers. Combining those two long-term interests, he's now on record of supporting small-scale "family" pot growers over large corporate interests.

After 9/11, there was a telethon to raise funds for the United Way 9/11 Fund for the families of victims. It aired on all the networks and raised over $200 million for the fund. Willie Nelson was tapped as the iconic figure to lead the all-star finale in singing America the Beautiful

Awards & Honors (partial list):

• Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973
• Academy of Country Music, Pioneer Award in 1991
• Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993
• Kennedy Center Honors in 1998
• Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001
• Country Music Association, Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 (inaugural recipient)
• Inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2014. In addition to being an inaugural recipient of the award, Nelson also appeared on the show's 1974 pilot episode.
• Inducted into the National Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2011 for his Farm Aid work.
• Awarded the Gershwin Prize from the Library of Congress in 2015
• Ranked #3 on Billboard Magazines list of the [www.billboard.com/photos/6721954/best-country-artists-of-all-time Top 30 Country Artists] of the modern era (based on weeks on the charts)
• Ranked #50 on Rolling Stone's list of Top 100 Songwriters of all Time
• Ranked #77 on Rolling Stone's list of Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
• Ranked #88 on Rolling Stone's list of Top 100 Singers of All Time

Sample performances and recordings:

• Patsy Cline: Crazy
• Ray Price: Night Life
• Faron Young: Hello Walls
• Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys (The Highwaymen, "supergroup" composed of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson)
• Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (written by Fred Rose)

Personal:

• Father: Ira Doyle Nelson; mother: Myrle Marie Greenhaw
• Willie's mother abandoned him shortly after he was born. His father remarried and was gone not long thereafter. Willie and his sister Bobbie were raised by their paternal grandparents.
• Wife #1: Martha, div 1958 in NC
• Wife #3: Constance Jean Koepke m. 30 Apr 1972, Las Vegas, NV

Sources

• Wikipedia
• imdb.com
• allmusic.com
• Billboard Magazine bio

From behind the ancestry.com subscription wall:

• Texas Birth Index, 1933
• US Census, 1940
• North Carolina, Divorce Index, 1958
• Nevada, Marriage Index, 1972
• Texas, Marriage Collection, 1991

Acknowledgements

• Thank you to Gwen Edwards for creating this profile, as well as assisting in researching family and sourcing profile.