Biography

As a songwriter and a performer, Willie Nelson played a vital role in post-rock & roll country music. Although he didn't become a star until the mid-'70s, Nelson spent the '60s writing songs that became hits for stars like Ray Price ([roviLink="MC"]"Night Life"), Patsy Cline ([roviLink="MC"]"Crazy"), Faron Young ([roviLink="MC"]"Hello Walls"), and Billy Walker ([roviLink="MC"]"Funny How Time Slips Away") as well as releasing a series of records on Liberty and RCA that earned him a small, but devoted, cult following. During the early '70s, Willie aligned himself with Waylon Jennings and the burgeoning outlaw country movement that made him into a star in 1975. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Top Tracks

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• A Boy Named Sue

• A Good Hearted Woman

• A Moment Isn't Very Long

• A New Way To Cry

• A Picture Of Me (without You)

• Across The Borderline

• Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away

• Ain't No God In Mexico

• All Of Me

• All The Things You Are

• Always Late (with Your Kisses)

• Always Now

• Always On My Mind

• Am I Blue

• Am I Blue?

• American Tune

• And So Will You My Love

• Angel Eyes

• Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground

• Annie

• Any Old Arms Won't Do

• Are You Washed In The Blood

• As Time Goes By

• Ashamed

• Bandera

• Basin Street Blues

• Be That As It May

• Because Of You

• Beer For My Horses

• Blame It On The Times

• Bloody Mary Morning

• Blue Christmas

• Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain

• Blue Hotel

• Blue Skies

• Both Ends Of The Candle

• Both Sides Now

• Boxcars

• Bring It On Down To My House

• Broken Promises

• Bubbles In My Beer

• Burning Memories

• By The Rivers Of Babylon

• Can I Sleep In Your Arms?

• Cherokee Maiden

• City Of New Orleans

• Columbus Stockade Blues

• Country Willie

• Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other

• Crazy

• Crazy Arms

• Cryin' Time [country Ballad]

• Darkness On The Face Of The Earth

• Darkness On The Face Of The Earth [solo Acoustic]

• December Day

• Deep Water

• Detour

• Devil In A Sleepin' Bag

• Don't Get Around Much Anymore

• Don't Take Your Guns To Town

• Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

• Dream Baby

• El Niño

• End Of Understanding

• Everybody's Talkin'

• Everything Hits At Once

• Everywhere I Go

• Face Of A Fighter

• Faded Love

• Family Bible

• Follow Me Around

• Folsom Prison Blues

• Forgiving You Was Easy

• Freight Train Boogie

• Funny How Time Slips Away

• Georgia On My Mind

• Good Hearted Woman

• Good Times

• Graceland

• Half A Man

• Hands On The Wheel

• Happiness Lives Next Door

• He Stopped Loving Her Today

• Healing Hands Of Time

• Heartaches By The Number

• Heartbreak Hotel

• Hello Walls

• Help Me Make It Through The Night

• Here Comes Santa Claus

• Hesitation Blues

• Highway

• Highwayman

• Hit The Road Jack [gospel 2-beat/4/4 Swing]

• Home Hotel

• Home In San Antone

• Home Is Where You're Happy

• Honeysuckle Rose

• Husbands And Wives

• I Been To Georgia On A Fast Train

• I Gotta Get Drunk

• I Guess I've Come To Live Here In Your Eyes

• I Just Dropped By

• I Love You A Thousand Ways

• I Never Cared For You

• I Never Go Around Mirrors (i've Got A Heartache To Hide)

• I Saw The Light

• I Still Miss Someone

• I Walk The Line

• I Want To Be With You Always

• I'd Have To Be Crazy

• I'd Rather You Didn't Love Me

• I'd Trade All Of My Tomorrows (for Just One Yesterday)

• If I Had Only Known [solo Acoustic]

• If I Had You

• If I Were The Man You Wanted

• If You've Got The Money (i've Got The Time)

• If You've Got The Money I've Got The Time

• If You've Got The Money, I've Got The Time

• I'm A Memory

• I'm A Worried Man

• I'm Falling In Love Again

• I'm Gonna Lose A Lot Of Teardrops

• I'm Gonna Sit Right Down (and Write Myself A Letter)

• I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter

• I'm Just An Old Chunk Of Coal

• I'm Not Trying To Forget You

• I'm Sittin' On Top Of The World

• I'm Still Not Over You

• In Just A Million Years [solo Acoustic]

• Invitation To The Blues

• Is There Something On Your Mind

• It Always Will Be

• It's Not Supposed To Be That Way

• Just A Little Walk With Jesus

• Just As I Am

• Just Dropped In (to See What Condition My Condition Was In)

• Just One Love

• Just To Satisfy You

• Keep Me From Blowing Away

• Kneel At The Feet Of Jesus

• Last Stand In Open Country

• Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning

• Let It Be Me

• Let's Pretend We're Strangers

• Little Old Fashioned Karma

• Living In The Promiseland

• Lonely Street

• Look What Thoughts Will Do

• Lost Highway

• Loving Her Was Easier (than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)

• Luckenbach, Texas (back To The Basics Of Love)

• Lumberjack

• Making Believe

• Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys

• Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys

• Man In Black

• Man With The Blues

• Maria (shut Up And Kiss Me)

• Me And Paul

• Mendocino Country Line

• Mendocino County Line

• Midnight Rider

• Mom And Dad's Waltz

• Mona Lisa

• Moon River

• Moonlight In Vermont

• Mountain Dew

• Move It On Over

• Mr. Record Man

• My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys

• My Love For The Rose

• My Own Peculiar Way

• My Window Faces The South

• Natural To Be Gone

• Night Life

• Nite Life

• Nobody Slides, My Friend

• Nothing I Can Do About It Now

• Nuages

• Old Fords And A Natural Stone

• Old Friends

• On The Road Again

• On The Street Where You Live

• On The Sunny Side Of The Street

• One Day At A Time

• One Step Beyond

• Over The Rainbow

• Pancho And Lefty

• Phases And Stages (theme)/walkin'

• Pick Me Up On Your Way Down

• Pretend I Never Happened

• Pretty Paper

• Railroad Lady

• Rainbow Connection

• Rainy Day Blues

• Ramblin' Fever

• Reasons To Quit

• Red Headed Stranger

• Reuben James

• Ring Of Fire

• Run That By Me One More Time

• Sad Songs And Waltzes

• San Antonio

• San Antonio Rose

• Satisfied Mind

• September In The Rain

• September Song

• Seven Spanish Angels

• Shall We Gather

• She Is Gone

• Shelter Of My Arms

• She's Gone, Gone, Gone

• She's Not For You

• Shotgun Willie

• Sister's Coming Home/down At The Corner Beer Joint

• Sittin' On Top Of The World

• Sitting In Limbo

• Sixteen Tons

• Slow Down Old World

• Some Other Time

• Songbird

• Sorry, Willie

• Spanish Eyes

• Stardust

• Stay A Little Longer

• Stay All Night (stay A Little Longer)

• Still Is Still Moving To Me

• Stormy Weather

• Suffering In Silence

• Summer Of Roses

• Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down

• Sunday Morning Coming Down

• Sweet Bye And Bye

• Sweet Memories

• Take Me As I Am (or Let Me Go)

• Take Me In Your Arms And Hold Me

• Tenderly

• Texas

• That Lucky Old Sun (just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)

• That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine

• The Bed

• The Bottle Let Me Down

• The Ghost

• The Grand Tour

• The Great Divide

• The Harder They Come

• The Healing Hands Of Time

• The Last Letter

• The Man Who Owes Everyone

• The Party's Over

• The Red Headed Stranger

• The Troublemaker

• The Wild Side Of Life

• There's A Little Bit Of Everything In Texas

• Three Days

• Time Of The Preacher

• To All The Girls I've Loved Before

• To Make A Long Story Short (she's Gone)

• Too Sick To Pray

• Touch Me

• Tumbling Tumbleweeds

• Uncloudy Day

• Undo The Right

• Until It's Time For You To Go

• Waiting Time [solo Acoustic]

• Wake Me When It's Over

• Walkin'

• Waltz Across Texas

• Wasted Days And Wasted Nights

• We Don't Run

• We Had It All

• What A Wonderful World

• What Can You Do To Me Now

• What'd I Say [boogaloo]

• When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder

• Whiskey River

• White Christmas

• Who Put All My Ex's In Texas

• Who'll Buy My Memories?

• Why Are You Picking On Me

• Why Me Lord

• Will The Circle Be Unbroken

• Will You Remember Mine

• Willie The Wandering Gypsy And Me

• Without A Song

• Won't You Ride In My Little Red Wagon

• Workin' Man's Blues

• Worry B Gone

• Write Your Own Songs

• Yesterday's Wine

• You Don't Know Me

• You Don't Think I'm Funny Anymore

• You Left Me A Long, Long Time Ago

• You Wouldn't Cross The Street (to Say Goodbye)

• You Wouldn't Cross The Street To Say Goodbye

• You'll Always Have Someone

Discography

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• Remember Me, Vol. 1

  R&J

  2011

• Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles

  Blue Note / EMI

  2011

• Country Music

  Rounder

  2010

• American Classic

  Blue Note

  2009

• Willie and the Wheel

  Bismeaux Productions

  2009

• Two Men with the Blues

  Blue Note / Angel Records

  2008

• Moment of Forever

  Lost Highway

  2008

• Last of the Breed

  Lost Highway

  2007

• Songbird

  Lost Highway

  2006

• You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker

  Lost Highway

  2006

• Countryman

  Lost Highway

  2005

• It Always Will Be

  Lost Highway

  2004

• Outlaws and Angels

  Lost Highway

  2004

• Live at Billy Bob's Texas

  Smith Entertainment

  2004

• Artist's Choice: Willie Nelson

  Hear Music/UMG

  2004

• Run That By Me One More Time

  Lost Highway

  2003

• Stars & Guitars

  Lost Highway / Universal Distribution

  2002

• The Great Divide

  Lost Highway / Universal Distribution

  2002

• Joy

  Free Falls Entertainment

  2001

• Rainbow Connection

  Island

  2001

• Good Hearted Woman

  Columbia River Entertainment Group

  2001

• Best of Cash and Nelson

  Columbia River Entertainment Group

  2001

• Tales Out of Luck

  Corazong Records

  2001

• Willie Nelson & Eddie Rabbitt

  Madacy Distribution / Madacy

  2000

• Milk Cow Blues

  Island

  2000

• Me and the Drummer

  Lockdown

  2000

• Night and Day

  Free Falls Entertainment

  1999

• Teatro

  Island

  1998

• VH1 Storytellers

  Sony Music Distribution

  1998

• How Great Thou Art

  Finer Arts / Fine Arts Records

  1996

• Spirit

  Island

  1996

• Six Hours at Pedernales

  Step One Records

  1995

• Healing Hands of Time

  Liberty / Capitol

  1994

• Across the Borderline

  Columbia

  1993

• The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?

  Columbia

  1992

• Clean Shirt

  Epic

  1991

• Born for Trouble

  Columbia

  1990

• Live from Austin TX

  New West

  1990

• A Horse Called Music

  Columbia

  1989

• What a Wonderful World

  Columbia

  1988

• Island in the Sea

  Columbia

  1987

• Partners

  Columbia

  1986

• The Promiseland

  Columbia

  1986

• Funny How Time Slips Away

  CBS Records

  1985

• Me and Paul

  S & P Records

  1985

• Brand on My Heart

  CBS Records

  1985

• Angel Eyes

  Columbia

  1984

• City of New Orleans

  Columbia

  1984

• Without a Song

  Columbia

  1983

• Take It to the Limit

  Columbia

  1983

• Pancho & Lefty

  Epic

  1983

• Old Friends

  CBS Records

  1982

• Somewhere over the Rainbow

  Columbia

  1981

• One for the Road

  Columbia

  1979

• The Sound in Your Mind

  Columbia

  1976

• Phases and Stages

  Atlantic

  1974

• Shotgun Willie

  Rhino Flashback

  1973

• The Willie Way

  1972

• The Words Don't Fit the Picture

  1972

• Willie Nelson & Family

  1971

• Both Sides Now

  1970

• Laying My Burdens Down

  1970

• My Own Peculiar Way

  1969

• Texas in My Soul

  American Beat Records

  1968

• Good Times

  1968

• The Party's Over and Other Great Willie Nelson Songs

  1967

• Make Way for Willie Nelson

  1967

• Country Favorites, Willie Nelson Style

  Buddha Records

  1966

• Live Country Music Concert

  1966

• Here's Willie Nelson

  1963

• And Then I Wrote

  Liberty / Capitol

  1962