Hey Willie Nelson, happy 80th birthday.
Willie Nelson
Country superstar Willie Nelson has clocked up another milestone today as he heads into his 80th year.
Willie Hugh Nelson was born in Texas, raised in Texas and still lives in Texas.
Willie started his career as a radio announcer working for KBOP, Pleasanton, Texas. He also worked for KDNT, Denton and KCUL and KCNC Fort Worth. He was 23 when he cut his first record ‘No Place For Me’ in 1956. He was also given his own television show on KVAN, Vancouver that same year.
In 1960, Willie moved to Nashville but couldn’t get a record deal. Instead he signed a publishing deal and soon after Faron Young recorded his song ‘Hello Walls’. Ray Price then recorded Willie’s ‘Night Life’ and then hired Willie to be his bass player.
Willie quickly became the songwriter of choice. Roy Orbison recorded ‘Pretty Paper’, Billy Walker recorded ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’ and Patsy Cline recorded ‘Crazy’. ‘Crazy’ went on to become the biggest juke-box hit of all-time.
In 1961 Willie signed with Liberty Records and had his first two hits with ‘Willingly’ and ‘Touch Me’.
In 1975 Willie moved to Columbia Records and was given complete creative control. The first result with his new label was the now classic country record ‘Red Headed Stranger’. It featured a cover of the 1945 Fred Rose song ‘Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain’. The song became Willie’s first number one.
In 1978, Willie released another classic cover. He recorded Ed Bruce’s ‘Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys’ with Waylon Jennings. He then recorded what was predicted to be his career suicide album ‘Stardust’, an album of covers. Instead of ‘Stardust’ destroying his career, it made him a country superstar.
In the 80s, Willie, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings formed the country supergroup The Highwaymen.
Willie has worked in movies. He made his acting debut in the 1979 movie ‘The Electric Horsemen’ and then appeared in ‘Honeysuckle Rose’, ‘Thief’ and ‘Barbarosa’.
Now at age 80 Willie Nelson has just released his new album ‘Lets Face The Music And Dance’. The album was produced by Buddy Cannon and recorded at his Pedernales studio in Austin.
‘Let’s Face The Music And Dance’ is available now through iTunes.
