As the clock turned from 11:59 pm to 12am. On the night of April 29th, 1933, Willie Nelson was born. The
county clerk didn’t know if this meant he was born on
the 29th or the 30th, so Wille has two official birthdays.

Wille and his sister Bobby were abandoned by both parents. While their paternal grandparents stepped in to raise the two children in Abbott
Texas, they had little more than love and music.

Willie started writing and performing poetry as young as 5 years old. He wrote his first song at 7.

“What are you looking at me for I ain’t got nothing to say. If you don’t like the looks of me, you can look some other way.” – Willie Nelson, age 5.

Nelson’s favorite singer is Frank Sinatra.

Nelson spent a decade in Nashville trying to “make it” in the country music industry. He wrote songs that became hits when sung by other artists.

In 1969 a drunk person stepped on Willie’s guitar. He then bought the guitar now known as “Trigger” for $150. He named it after Roy Rogers’ trusty steed.

“All the girls I have loved before” A duet Willie Nelson, recorded with Julio Iglesias in 1984.

Willie has been married 4 times, fathered 8 children with 5 mothers.

“I’ve always said there’s no such thing as a former wife. Once in your life a wife never leaves. I regret
the pain I caused Connie, and Martha and Shirley before her. I have no excuses. I’d be hard pressed to define love. I know God’s love is pure, but worldly love is flawed love, and lots of times confused love. “

Willie’s son Billy died at 33 in 1991.

“Death is not the ending of anything. I believe all of us are only energy that becomes matter. When the matter goes away, the energy still exists. You can’t destroy it. It never dies. It manifests itself somewhere else. We are never alone. Even by ourselves, we are not alone. Death is just a door opening to somewhere else. Someday we’ll know what that door opens to.”

Many indigenous males of North America grow their hair long and style them in braids. Hair is an important extension of one’s identity and heritage.

While Willie is part Cherokee, when asked about his iconic braids, he answers “It pissed a few people off, so I figured it was worth doing.”

Willie’s long-haired, pot-smoking persona wasn’t fitting the mold of the Nashville country music industry in 1970 so Willie moved to
the weirdest place on earth, Austin Texas.

Willie once had a shot gun shoot out with his son-in-law because the asshole was beating his daughter.
This event inspired Nelson’s song “Shotgun Willie.”

Willie and his friends became the founding fathers of a whole new genre of music: “Outlaw Country”.
These artists were out of the box, not packaged by an agent, or groomed by a label. They had a grassroots following of hippies, cowboys, and outlaws.

When Willie Nelson was invited to perform at the White House by President Carter, Willie and the president's son, Chip Carter, “lit one up” on the roof of the White House.

“The biggest killer on the planet is stress and I still think the best medicine is and always has been cannabis.”

In 1969 Willie came home to find his house burning down. With his family safely out, Willie went back in for his guitar Trigger and a two pounds of weed.

Willie’s sister Bobbie joined his band “The Family” in 1973. He says she is the most talented musician he has ever played with. She passed on in 2022 at 91, still an active member of the Family band.

For two decades Willie Nelson saw incredible commercial success. *But* had a really bad accountant. In November 1990, the IRS claimed
Nelson owed 34 million in taxes and took aggressive action, seizing all of Nelson’s assets across six states.

Nelson refused to file bankruptcy and paid back all of his debts. Friends, fans and family helped him
buy back all of his most precious property and items.

Willie Nelson was once a bible salesman.

Willie Nelson commenting on his ranch, Lucky Ranch; “When you’re here, you’re in Luck, and when you’re not, you’re out of Luck.”