Willie Nelson Tickets

About Willie Nelson

When Willie Nelson was six years old, his grandparents bought him music lessons by ordering them through the mail. He wrote his first song at age seven and was playing in his first band by age nine where he played guitar and his sister played piano. In high school he formed The Bohemian Fiddlers, was a DJ for small radio stations, and sang in honky tonk bars. In 1951 he joined the Air Force but because of back problems he was let go. He went on to Baylor University in 1954 and studied agriculture for one year. In 1956 he started his career in Vancouver, Washington. He sang in clubs and worked at the Vancouver radio station. “Family Bible”, a song he wrote and sold for fifty dollars turned out to be great for singer Claude Gray’s career in 1960. Nelson moved to Nashville where his dream of a recording contract was replaced with a publishing contract with Pamper Music. Ray Prince, who recorded the song “Night Life” (written by Nelson) asked Nelson to join his band and he did as the bass player. While touring with Ray Prince and the Cherokee Cowboys, Nelson wrote some of the greatest country hits such as: “Funny How Time Slips Away” (Billy Walker), “Hello Walls” (Faron Young”, “Pretty Paper” (Roy Orbison), and “Crazy” (Patsy Cline). In 1961 Nelson signed with Liberty Records. He released the singles “Touch Me”, “Willingly” and the album And Then I Wrote in 1962. Willie Nelson recorded a total of 77 studio albums, 11 of which have gone gold, platinum or multi-platinum. He has released 93 solo singles, five live albums, 12 compilation albums, and 20 collaboration albums with artists such as Brenda Lee, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, and Johnny Cash.