92 Years of Rebel Spirit and Timeless Tunes: A Visual Journey Through Willie Nelson’s Legendary Life. ML
Willie Nelson lives and breathes music.
The country legend has remained a mainstay in the industry for nearly 70 years. In the late ’50s, he worked as a songwriter while DJing at radio stations in Texas and the Pacific Northwest. He later moved to Nashville to pursue a music career, releasing his first of 102 studio albums in 1962.
Over the years, the 15-time Grammy winner has used his platform to advocate for causes close to his heart. He founded the annual Farm Aid music festival in 1985 to support family-owned farms, and he has campaigned for numerous Democratic presidential candidates.
As he celebrates his 92nd birthday, look back on the prolific singer-songwriter’s life and career in photos.
Willie Nelson’s Early Days
Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
Willie Nelson was born on April 29, 1933, in Abbott, Texas, and was raised, with his older sister Bobbie, by grandparents. The siblings grew up playing music together, though in high school, Nelson picked up another hobby and played football.
Here, Nelson is seen suited up during his sophomore year at Abbott High School in 1948.
Willie Nelson and His Sister Bobbie Nelson
Courtesy Willie and Bobbie Nelson
Willie and his sister were dear friends and would play music together for decades to come. Here, the siblings pose together in 1946 as teenagers.
In 2020, they released a book together: Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band.
Willie Nelson Leaves Texas
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After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Nelson became a disc jockey and started making his own music. By the early 1960s, Nelson had relocated to Nashville.
He released his first two records while signed to Liberty Records: 1962’s …And Then I Wrote and 1963’s Here’s Willie Nelson.
Here, a young Nelson is seen performing on KPHO TV in Phoenix in December 1962.
Willie Nelson Marries Shirley Collie
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Nelson first married high school sweetheart Martha Matthews in 1952, and they divorced 10 years later. Nelson married his second wife, singer Shirley Collie (pictured here), in 1963 and the two remained together until 1971.
Willie Nelson Signs to RCA
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Nelson began playing bass for Ray Price’s band. Price was just one of the artists who would record songs written by Nelson that turned into hits, including “Night Life” sung by Price and “Crazy” for Patsy Cline.
In 1964, Nelson signed a record deal with RCA Records (pictured here).
Willing Nelson in the Recording Studio
Willie and Bobbie Nelson in 1973. DAVID GAHR/GETTY
In the early 1970s, Nelson decided it was time to move back to Texas and considered pursuing pig farming, The New York Times noted. In 1972, though, he met the Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler at a party back in Nashville and was offered a contract, the paper said.
From there he recorded albums like 1973’s Shotgun Willie, 1974’s Phases and Stages and 1975’s Red Headed Stranger.
Along with country star Waylon Jennings, Nelson would lead a subgenre of music known as “outlaw country.”
Here, Nelson is joined by his sister Bobbie, longtime friend and drummer Paul English and producer Arif Mardin in the Atlantic Records studios in New York City in February 1973.
Nelson established his band, The Family, in 1972, the Times explained, which consisted of Bobbie, English, Mickey Raphael, Bee Spears and Jody Payne.
Willie Nelson on ‘Saturday Night Live’
NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
Nelson performed as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live during the show’s third season in 1977.
Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings
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Nelson and Jennings together in New York in April 1978.
Willie Nelson as an Actor
Courtesy Everett Collection
In addition to his expansive career as a musician and songwriter, Nelson brought his talents to the silver screen. His first film role came in 1979’s The Electric Horseman (pictured here).
Since then, he has landed numerous screen roles including Stagecoach, Half Baked and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
Willie Nelson at the CMA Awards
CSU Archives/Everett Collection
Nelson has won numerous Country Music Association Awards including this one, in 1979, for Entertainer of the Year.
Willie Nelson at the White House
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In 1979, Nelson visited the White House with singer Charley Pride to present President Jimmy Carter with a special award for his support of country music — as voted on by the Country Music Association Board.
Willie Nelson and Connie Kopeke
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Nelson welcomed daughter Paula with Connie Koepke in 1969 (while he was still married to Shirley Collie, prior to their 1971 divorce). Nelson and Kopeke had another daughter, Amy, in 1973.
He met and became involved with his fourth wife, Annie D’Angelo, while still married to Kopeke, and the pair went their separate ways in 1988.
“I messed up another marriage. My wandering ways were too much for any woman to put up with,” he wrote inhis memoir. “I’ll always love Connie.”
Willie Nelson as a Dad
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By the time Paula arrived in 1961, Nelson was already a father of four (though he didn’t learn about his eldest daughter Renée until decades after her birth).
Renee Butts (née Lynda Renee Barley) was born on Jan. 22, 1953, to Nelson’s friend Mary Haney, but it wasn’t until much later on — more than 50 years — that he learned of their lineage.
He shares daughters Lana Nelson Fowler, Susie Nelson and son William “Billy” Hugh Nelson Jr. with his first wife, Martha Matthews. Billy died by suicide in 1991.
Paula and and Amy (pictured here with their dad in 1980) were his daughters by Koepke, and he and D’Angelo welcomed two sons, Lukas Autry Nelson in 1988, followed by Jacob “Micah” Nelson in 1990.
Willie Nelson and Farm Aid
Bettmann Archive
In 1985, Nelson founded Farm Aid alongside fellow singer-songwriters Neil Young and John Mellencamp. The annual benefit concert raises money for farmers across the U.S. The organization’s mission, per its website, “is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America.”
The first Farm Aid (pictured here) took place in Champaign, Illinois, and featured performances by artists including Billy Joel, B.B. King, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan.
Willie Nelson’s Friendship with President Jimmy Carter
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In 1985, Nelson joined President Carter in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Nelson and Carter have a friendship spanning decades, Nelson noted once in an interview with Anderson Cooper.
When talking about his visits to the White House, Nelson said: “Jimmy and I would jog together and hang out, and his son and I would hang out together in the White House — we had a lot of fun.”
Cooper then asked Nelson about smoking marijuana on the roof of the White House, which he discusses in his autobiography — and Carter himself confirmed was with his son, James Earl “Chip” Carter.
“I don’t remember,” Nelson demurred.
Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton
CBS via Getty Images
Willie Nelson posed with Dolly Parton during the Grand Ole Opry 60th Anniversary TV special, which aired in 1986.
Nelson had become a member of the legendary Opry in 1964.
Willie Nelson and Ray Charles
CBS via Getty Images
In 1988, Nelson took the stage with his friend, Ray Charles, for a CBS TV special broadcast in 1988.
The two men collaborated on the song “Seven Spanish Angels” together.
Willie Nelson and the IRS
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In 1990, Nelson was forced to file bankruptcy after it was revealed that he owed $16.7 million in taxes to the IRS. The government seized some of his belongings, including furniture from his cabin (pictured here).
He released an album called The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories? in an effort to help pay back the debt, and did so successfully.
