Singer, Recording Artist
Previously Aired On: May 8, 2007 - Listen to this Show!
Born in 1933 in the tiny Central Texas farming community of Abbott, Willie Nelson grew up in a world permeated with music: The gospel songs of the grandparents who raised him; the blues and Mexican corridas that eased the labor of the cotton fields; the country and Western Swing hits filling the airwaves from Nashville and Fort Worth…and the inner music was inside of him.
Since releasing his first single in 1957, he has given birth to concept albums (his first, Yesterday¹s Wine, was recorded in 1971), gospel albums, jazz albums, movie soundtracks, myriad duet projects, Christmas albums, live albums, and an album of standards (1978’s Stardust), which has become a standard in itself.
His around-the-beat blues-flavored vocals set the Nashville musical establishment on his ear. His spare-sounding breakthrough album, 1975’s Red-Headed Stranger, went so against the Music City grain of the day that his record company president first thought Nelson had presented him with a demo. His early-70s merger of the traditional country and long-haired hippie audiences was called suicidal at the time, and has since come to be regarded as visionary.
Outside the recording studio, Nelson established himself as a champion for the family farmer with his annual Farm Aid concerts. His Fourth of July Picnics have for the past quarter-century served as a rite of musical passage in Texas. His films include The Electric Horseman (with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda), Songwriter (with Kris Kristofferson), Wag the Dog (with Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman), and many others.
Willie and wife Annie are very much aware of the problems facing the world today and remain actively involved as humanitarians.
June 8th, 2007
--Previous Guests--, Willie Nelson |
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