Willie Hugh Nelson is an accomplished American musician, singer, and songwriter. Born on April 29, 1933, the American icon is also a poet, actor, and activist. He has released several hit albums including Shotgun Willie, 1973, Red Headed Stranger, 1975 and Stardust in 1978 making him one of the most revered artists in the United States. He created his blend of country music, jazz, pop, rock and folk and a hybrid of jazz by employing techniques from varieties of music styles and with released singing style coupled with a nasal voice made his songs unique and had a broader appeal.
Aside from his music career, Willie Nelson has also chalked successes with his as an author and actor starring in over 20 movies. He found himself on the wrong side of the law when his assets were seized by the Internal Revenue Service for owning a US$32million. He was also arrested at the Bahamas airport in 1977 for the possession of marijuana. He also faced several arrests on the same charges.
Early life
Willie Nelson was born on April 29, 1933, in Abbott, Texas to Doyle Nelson and Ira Myrle Marie. Willie did not have the upbringing of his parent since his mother left soon after he was born and his father also remarried leaving Willie and his sister Bonnie in the care of their grandparents. Nelson was taught music at a tender age and age six; his grandfather bought him a guitar. At this time, he sang at church and age seven wrote his first song. Nelson’s love for music developed by day at a young age of nine, he was a guitarist for a local band Bohemian Polka.
As a young child in the care of his grandparents, Willie Nelson picked cotton to earn some income even though he hated the act. To replace it, he took on music to raise such salaries. Nelson was educated at the Abbott High School, where he was very active in sports. He played on the football, basketball and the baseball teams in the school. The like for games, however, did not affect his first love which is music. Nelson sang in school and played the guitar for The Texans band formed by his sister’s husband. He joined the United States Air Force for nine months after graduating from high school in 1950. Upon his return, he enrolled at the Baylor University in 1954 where he studied agriculture. He, however, dropped out in 1956 to pursue music.
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Career
Dropping out of school, Willie Nelson picked up jobs like a bouncer at a nightclub, saddle maker, a postman in an auto house and a tree trimmer. Nelson with his wife moved to Pleasanton, Texas where he got a job as a disc jockey in KBOP though he had no experience in the field. As a DJ, he made his first two recordings The Storm Has Just Begun and When I’ve Sung My Last Hillbilly Song in 1955 with equipment at the station. These recordings were done on used tapes and sent to SARG Records which they rejected. He also hosted The Western Express working with KDNT, KCUL and KCNC and played at the nightclub. In search of a better work, he moved to Portland, Oregon where his mother was living at the time.
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