Willie Nelson Biography

Fast Facts

• Was honored with an all-star tribute by the Country Music Association at the Country Music Awards in 2012
• Formed the Farm Aid organization with Neil Young and John Mellencamp in 1985
• Played his first professional gig with a local polka band before playing on the club circuit as a member of Bud Fletcher and the Texans
• Was first exposed to music while singing hymns at church and got his first guitar at the age of 6
• Worked as a radio DJ and played local gigs for several years before moving to Nashville in 1960 and working as a songwriter for Pamper Music
• Quote: "Freedom is control in your own life․ I have more control now than in the past, and I'm learning the value of saying no․ That's very important․"
• Quote: "If you start out looking at somebody, wondering whether he's good or bad, I think you're starting out in the wrong direction․ I think we're all good and we're all bad․"
• Has written more than 2,500 songs on nearly 300 albums
• Became popular during the 1960s as a member of the country subgenre "outlaw country," considered to be a reactive movement against Nashville conservatism
• Began acting in 1979, first appearing in "The Electric Horseman" which starred Robert Redford
• Wrote his hit song "One the Road Again" on a sick bag aboard an airplane