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Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 30, 1933) is an American country singer-songwriter, author, poet, actor and activist. He reached his greatest fame during the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, and remains iconic, especially in American popular culture.
Now in his 70s, Willie Nelson continues to tour and has performed in concerts and fundraisers with other major musicians, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews. He also continues to record albums prolifically in new genres that embrace reggae, blues, jazz, folk, and popular music.

Early life

Nelson was born and raised in Abbott, Texas, the son of Myrle Marie (née Greenhaw) and Ira Doyle Nelson, a mechanic and pool hall owner. His grandparents William Alfred Nelson and Nancy Elizabeth Smothers gave him mail-order music lessons starting at age six. He wrote his first song when he was seven and was playing in a local band at age nine. Willie played the guitar, while his sister Bobbie played the piano. He met Bud Fletcher, a fiddler, and two siblings joined his band, Bohemian Fiddlers, while Nelson was in high school. While he was in high school he took part in the Future Farmers of America organization.

Beginning in high school Nelson worked as a disc jockey (DJ) for local radio stations. He had short DJ stints with KHBR in Hillsboro, Texas, and later with KBOP in Pleasanton, Texas, while singing locally in honky tonk bars.

Nelson graduated from Abbott High School in 1951. He joined the Air Force the same year but was discharged after nine months due to back problems.[5] He then studied agriculture at Baylor University for one year in 1954.

In 1956, Nelson moved to Vancouver, Washington, to begin a musical career, recording "Lumberjack," which was written by Leon Payne. The single sold fairly well, but did not establish a career. Nelson continued to work as a radio announcer in Vancouver and sing in clubs. He sold a song called "Family Bible" for $50; the song was a hit for Claude Gray in 1960, has been covered widely and is often considered a gospel music classic.

Popular songwriter

Nelson moved to Nashville in 1960, but was unable to land a record label contract. He did, however, receive a publishing contract at Pamper Music. After Ray Price recorded Nelson's "Night Life" (reputedly the most covered country song of all time), Nelson joined Price's touring band as a bass player. While playing with Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys, many of Nelson's songs became hits for some of country and pop music's biggest stars of the time. These songs include "Funny How Time Slips Away" (Billy Walker), "Hello Walls" (Faron Young), "Pretty Paper" (Roy Orbison) and most famously, "Crazy" (Patsy Cline). Willie later did an album with Ray Price in 1980 called San Antonio Rose. Nelson signed with Liberty Records in 1961 and released several singles, including "Willingly" (sung with his soon-to-be second wife, Shirley Collie) and "Touch Me".

He was unable to impress Nashville producers with his singing voice, and Nelson's singing career in Nashville did not take off. Demo recordings from his years as a songwriter for Pamper Music were later discovered and released as Crazy: The Demo Sessions (2003

Acting career

Nelson began acting, appearing in The Electric Horseman (1979), Honeysuckle Rose (1980), Thief (1981), and Barbarosa (1982). Also in 1982 he played "Red Loon" in Coming Out of the Ice with John Savage. In 1984 he starred in the movie Songwriter with Kris Kristofferson guest starring. He then had the lead role in the film version of his concept album Red Headed Stranger (1986), Wag the Dog (1997), Gone Fishin' (1997) as Billy 'Catch' Pooler, the 1986 TV movie Stagecoach (with Johnny Cash), The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) and Surfer, Dude (2008)
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He has continued acting since his early successes, but usually in smaller roles and cameos, some of which involve his status as a cannabis activist and icon. One of his more popular recent cameos was a performance in Half Baked as an elderly "Historian Smoker" who, while smoking marijuana, would reminisce about how things used to be in his younger years. Nelson also appeared as himself in the 2006 movie Beerfest, looking for teammates to join him in a mythical world-championship cannabis-smoking contest held in Amsterdam. That same week Willie Nelson recorded, "Weed with Willie" with Toby Keith.

He has made guest appearances on Miami Vice (1986's "El Viejo" episode), Delta, Nash Bridges, The Simpsons, Monk, Adventures in Wonderland, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, King of the Hill, Bones, The Colbert Report and Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

He played country singer-songwriter Johnny Dean in the 1997 film Wag the Dog. He played Uncle Jesse in The Dukes of Hazzard, the 2005 cinematic treatment of the television series, and was the only member of the big screen cast to reprise the role in the TV/DVD movie prequel The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (2007). He also briefly appeared in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

In 2008, Willie appeared in the movie Swing Vote where he played himself, an idol of the character played by Kevin Costner.