Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson


Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978), made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. He was one of the main figures of outlaw country, a subgenre of country music that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound. Nelson has acted in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana.

Born during the Great Depression and raised by his grandparents, Nelson wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten. During high school, he toured locally with the Bohemian Polka as their lead singer and guitar player. After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the U.S. Air Force but was later discharged due to back problems. After his return, Nelson attended Baylor University for two years but dropped out because he was succeeding in music. He worked as a disc jockey at radio stations in his native Texas, and in several radio stations in the Pacific Northwest, all the while working as a singer and songwriter throughout the late 1950s. During that time, he wrote songs that would become country standards, including "Funny How Time Slips Away", "Hello Walls", "Pretty Paper", and "Crazy". In 1960 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and later signed a publishing contract with Pamper Music which allowed him to join Ray Price's band as a bassist. In 1962, he recorded his first album, ...And Then I Wrote. Due to this success, Nelson signed in 1964 with RCA Victor and joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year. After mid-chart hits in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Nelson grew weary of the corporate Nashville music scene, and in 1972 he moved to Austin, Texas. The ongoing music scene of Austin motivated Nelson to return to performing, appearing frequently at the Armadillo World Headquarters.

In 1973, after signing with Atlantic Records, Nelson turned to outlaw country, including albums such as Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages. In 1975, he switched to Columbia Records, where he recorded the critically acclaimed album Red Headed Stranger. The same year, he recorded another outlaw country album, Wanted! The Outlaws, along with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. During the mid-1980s, while creating hit albums like Honeysuckle Rose and recording hit songs like "On the Road Again", "To All the Girls I've Loved Before", and "Pancho and Lefty", he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen, along with fellow singers Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. In 1985, he helped organize the first Farm Aid concert to benefit American farmers; the concerts have been held annually ever since and Nelson has been a fixture, appearing at every one.

In 1990, Nelson's assets were seized by the Internal Revenue Service, which claimed that he owed $32 million. The difficulty of paying his outstanding debt was aggravated by weak investments he had made during the 1980s. In 1992, Nelson released The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?; the profits of the double album—destined to the IRS—and the auction of Nelson's assets cleared his debt. During the 1990s and 2000s, Nelson continued touring extensively, and released albums every year. Reviews ranged from positive to mixed. He explored genres such as reggae, blues, jazz, and folk.

Nelson made his first movie appearance in the 1979 film The Electric Horseman, followed by other appearances in movies and on television. Nelson is a major liberal activist and the co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which is in favor of marijuana legalization. On the environmental front, Nelson owns the biodiesel brand Willie Nelson Biodiesel, whose product is made from vegetable oil. Nelson is also the honorary chairman of the advisory board of the Texas Music Project, the official music charity of the state of Texas.

Official Fan Site: Willie Nelson



Woodstock Video Library

July 22, 1999 (Thursday) (pre-show)

West Stage
  • Frostbit Blue
  • K.J. James
  • Little Big Jam
  • Gridley Paige
  • Djoliba
  • Red Herring
  • Rattlebasket
  • In Bloom
  • Flipp
  • 3rd Bass
  • Vertical Horizon
  • West Stage
  • Strangefolk
  • G. Love & Special Sauce
  • The String Cheese Incident
  • Bernie Worrell and the Woo Warriors
  • George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars
  • AMP.com Emerging Artists Stage
  • Immoral Fibres
  • Simmi
  • Chris Glenn
  • Gary Durdin & The Clay Pinps
  • Johnny Rushmore


  • July 23, 1999 (Friday)

    East Stage
  • James Brown
  • G. Love & Special Sauce
  • Jamiroquai
  • Live
  • Sheryl Crow
  • DMX
  • The Off Spring
  • Korn
  • Bush


  • West Stage
  • Spitfire
  • Oleander
  • The Umbilical Brothers
  • moe.
  • Lit
  • Buckcherry
  • West Stage
  • The Roots
  • Insane Clown Posse
  • George Clinton

    Emerging Artists Stage
  • F.o.N.
  • Linda Rutherford & Celtic Fire
  • Animal Planet
  • Sugar Daddy
  • Sticky Pistil
  • Bijou Phillips
  • Mike Errico
  • King Konga
  • Ben Lee
  • Beth Hart Band
  • Liars Inc.
  • Chris McDermott
  • Moby


  • July 24, 1999 (Saturday)

    East Stage
  • The Tragically Hip
  • Kid Rock
  • Wyclef Jean
  • Counting Crows
  • Dave Matthews
  • Alanis Morissette
  • Limp Bizkit
  • Rage Against The Machine
  • Metallica


  • West Stage
  • Spitfire
  • Guster
  • Bruce Hornsby
  • Everclear
  • Ice Cube
  • Los Lobos
  • Mickey Hart/Planet Drum
  • The Chemical Brothers
  • Emerging Artists Stage
  • Young & Fabulous!
  • Gargantua Soul
  • Serial Joe
  • American Pearl
  • Full Devil Jacket
  • Old Pike
  • Strangefolk
  • DDT
  • Skinnee J's
  • Gigolo Aunts
  • Fatboy Slim


  • July 25, 1999 (Sunday)

    East Stage
  • Willie Nelson
  • The Brian Setzer Orchestra
  • Everlast
  • Elvis Costello
  • Jewel
  • Creed
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers


  • West Stage
  • Spitfire
  • Mike Ness
  • Our Lady Peace
  • Rusted Root
  • Sevendust
  • Collective Soul
  • Godsmack
  • Megadeth
  • Emerging Artists Stage
  • Kirsti Gholson
  • Moe Loughran
  • The Scoldees
  • The Supersuckers
  • Stormy Mondays
  • Big Sugar
  • Muse
  • John Oszajca
  • Pound
  • Pushmonkey
  • Cyclefly
  • Indigenous
  • John Entwistle
  • Reveille

  • Get your Merch!


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