Willie Nelson

American singer, songwriter and actor who has done over 200 albums, a dozen movies and numerous TV specials. He is a perennial Grammy award winner, Country Music Hall of Fame inductee and president and co-founder of Farm Aid.

The second of two kids, Willie and his older sister Bobbie were raised by their paternal grandparents on a small farm. His parents left when he was three. Raised in the church with gospel music, granddad bought him a Stella guitar when he was six. He won a singing contest at age nine and joined a polka band the year after.

After service in the Air Force, Willie attended Baylor University. He was a disc jockey in 1956 and cut his first record, selling copies to his listeners in Vancouver, WA. After moving to Nashville in 1960, singing dates were few and in order to pay the rent and buy food, Willie started to sell his songs. His first break as a writer was Patsy Cline's recording of "Crazy" in August 1961. His Grand Ole Opry debut was 28 November 1964. Discouraged, he purchased a pig farm, but gave up when a fire destroyed the house on 23 December 1970.

"Red Headed Stranger" was his first gold album, 1975. He had the first platinum country album and multi-platinum albums during three different years and over 20 No.1 hits including "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" and "On The Road Again." He received Grammy Awards in 1975, 1978, 1980, 1982 and a Grammy Legend Award in 1990. His film debut was in 1979 in "The Electric Horseman." Willie published his autobiography June 1984.

His heart went out to the plight of small farmers and in 1985 he founded Farm Aid with Neil Young and John Mellencamp to help save struggling farmers from foreclosure. He used his concerts to raise more than $14 million dollars for the organization in the following 12 years and he received a Humanitarian Award.

Willy himself had major problems with the IRS. A former business manager did not file taxes from 1975 to 1982, leaving his finances in a state of ruin.