American singer, songwriter and actor who has done over 200 albums, a dozen movies and numerous TV specials. He is a perennial Grammy award winner, Country Music Hall of Fame inductee and president and co-founder of Farm Aid.
The second of two kids, Willie and his older sister Bobbie were raised by their paternal grandparents on a small farm. His parents left when he was three. Raised in the church with gospel music, granddad bought him a Stella guitar when he was six. He won a singing contest at age nine and joined a polka band the year after.
After service in the Air Force, Willie attended Baylor University. He was a disc jockey in 1956 and cut his first record, selling copies to his listeners in Vancouver, WA. After moving to Nashville in 1960, singing dates were few and in order to pay the rent and buy food, Willie started to sell his songs. His first break as a writer was Patsy Cline’s recording of “Crazy” in August 1961. His Grand Ole Opry debut was 28 November 1964. Discouraged, he purchased a pig farm, but gave up when a fire destroyed the house on 23 December 1970.
“Red Headed Stranger” was his first gold album, 1975. He had the first platinum country album and multi-platinum albums during three different years and over 20 No.1 hits including “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” and “On The Road Again.” He received Grammy Awards in 1975, 1978, 1980, 1982 and a Grammy Legend Award in 1990. His film debut was in 1979 in “The Electric Horseman.” Willie published his autobiography June 1984.
His heart went out to the plight of small farmers and in 1985 he founded Farm Aid with Neil Young and John Mellencamp to help save struggling farmers from foreclosure. He used his concerts to raise more than $14 million dollars for the organization in the following 12 years and he received a Humanitarian Award.
Willy himself had major problems with the IRS. A former business manager did not file taxes from 1975 to 1982, leaving his finances in a state of ruin. The IRS seized 22 of his properties for back taxes owed of $16 million. When agents raided and locked down his properties on 9 November 1990, he had known they were coming after him but did not hide any assets. He had already negotiated with the government to whittle his $32 million bill down to $16.7 million. Many of his personal items were purchased to go into a museum and some were returned to him by friends. Farmers gave donations to purchase his Texas property and he was allowed to keep his home in Hawaii. With some wrangling from his attorney the IRS became Willie’s partner in the music business. He recorded an album that was advertised on TV with the phone number 1-800-IRS-TAPE. Willie’s attorney convinced the IRS to back him in suing Price Waterhouse, Willie’s accountants, for giving him illegal financial advice leading to the original unpaid IRS debt of $2 million in 1975-1978. The suit was settled and the IRS was paid in 1993.
Wearing old corduroys, boots, tee shirt, red bandanna and braids, his 5’9″ frame may not be much to look at, but his eyes are mesmerizing. Known as a “hot singin’, hard drinkin’ performer,” Willie plays about 200 dates per year. With other artists he has recorded an album, “Hempilation” to raise awareness for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Nelson has been married four times. He met first wife Martha Matthews in 1952. They were married in their teens and had three children, Lana on 11 November 1953, Susie on 20 January 1957 and Billy on 21 May 1958 (who committed suicide 25 December 1991, almost two years to the day after his mother died). With his second wife, Shirley Collie, he had no kids and divorced after ten years. His third marriage to Connie, whom he met in 1968, lasted 19 years and they had two kids, Paula Carlene on 17 October 1969 and Amy on 6 July 1973, but Connie divorced him when she opened the maternity bill for a child of his by another woman. He cheated on all three wives. His fourth wife, makeup artist Ann D’Angelo (born 1960), is the woman that sent the maternity bill for their son Lucas, born on 25 December 1988. They had another son, Jacob on 25 April 1990. They were married on 16 September 1991.
Link to Wikipedia biography