Willie Nelson

† — In addition to topping the country chart, Always On My Mind also reached #2 on the Billboard's Top Pop Album chart, which is quite an accomplishment for a country album. He was playing on the following tour through Europe ("Spirit of the Streets" - with Pistol Grip and the Beltones) as well, which was to be the last one so far. Nelson has released dozens of albums under a number of different labels; these are some of his most notable accomplishments. Bolded albums reached #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Davey, actually the driver, offered to do the job and saved the day. Its soundboard has been signed over the years by over a hundred of Nelson's friends and associates, from fellow musicians to lawyers and football coaches. But the guitarist who was finally found there left again while the "Chaos across the Nation" US-Tour was going on, leaving the band stranded overseas.. Constant strumming over the decades has worn a large sweeping hole into the guitar's body near the sound hole. In the meantime the headquarters had been moved to Berlin, where everybody lived now.

Nelson's principal guitar is a Martin acoustic, which he has named "Trigger", after Roy Rogers' horse. Unfortunately Martin, an original member, had left the band having offspring, and so Chrissy once again stepped in temporarily. They tour North America in their bus, the "Honeysuckle Rose II". Europe- and especially Germany - was recently toured as well, with a different line-up though. Nelson's touring and recording group is a collection of a number of long-standing members, including his sister Bobbie Nelson, longtime drummer Paul English, Bee Spears, and Jody Payne. Six weeks on the road from coast to coast, this "Pure Punk" tour was played side by side with Dead Empty, The Boils and The Forgotten. It won an award for "Best Video" at the Academy of Country Music Awards held on May 26, 2004. So they withdrew for a couple of months in order to work on it, and recorded what was going to be called "Feed the breed" in the summer of 2001 (which is available in Europe since november already and will be out on GMM Records in the USA this april), just before returning to the States again.

This song was released as a single in 2003 and Nelson shot a video with Keith in 2003. But the time was also right for the OXY's to put out a "real" new album as well. Willie Nelson performed a duet on "Beer for my Horses" with Toby Keith on Keith's Unleashed album released in 2002. In the fall of 2000 the compilation "Best before 2000" was released by Knock Out Records (and Cyclone Records in the States) because of the demand for the sold out 7"es and rare material - including all the singles and stuff from various comps. An attached note read "Stand your ground.". Chrissy left the band after the tour to have more time for his own project and fortunately Morpheus showed up. During the 2003 Texas Congressional Redistricting Controversy, Nelson made the news by sending a case of whiskey to the Democrats of the Texas Legislature in self-imposed exile in Ardmore, Oklahoma. This seven weeks coast-to-coast affair in the company of the Dropkick Murphys (with whom another split-single had been done) and the Ducky Boys turned out to be a great success and should become one of the best things they had done so far.

He has been featured in recent advertisements for a variety of products and companies, including The Gap. As a four-piece again the Oxy's set out in '99 on a full scale attack on various countries of Europe, playing more gigs than ever before as well as touring the whole USA. His image is marked by his red hair, often braided into two ponytails and partially concealed under a bandana. So without further ado Chrissy stepped in, who temporarily had been a second guitarist and used to play bass on the first US tour already. His distinctive music sometimes takes a backseat to his public image, that of a marijuana smoking old hippie troubadour. And last but not least Arne left the band just weeks before the recording sessions for the "Westworld" mini-album were supposed to be. Willie Nelson is widely recognized as an American icon. Besides Sucker had to go to hospital for a while due to a nervous damage and everything slowed down.

The fuel is made from vegetable oils, mainly soybeans, and can be burned without modification to diesel engines [1] (http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,66288,00.html). 1998 didn't mean it good with the Oxy's and they had to take few blows, because some tours planned for a long time were cancelled just weeks before or had be called off for some reasons. Nelson and three business partners recently (2005) formed a company called Willie Nelson's Biodiesel that is marketing biofuel to truck stops. The most exciting tour however was to come in summer of '97, when they had the chance to play in Japan for almost three weeks (along with the Discocks), and certainly went for it. In 2004, he released Outlaws & Angels, featuring guests Toby Keith, Joe Walsh, Merle Haggard, Kid Rock, Al Green, Shelby Lynne, Carole King, Toots Hibbert, Ben Harper, Lee Ann Womack, The Holmes Brothers, Los Lonely Boys, Lucinda Williams, Keith Richards and Rickie Lee Jones. Roughly one year later their second long-player "The Pack is back" was consequently released by Knock Out, and it smoothed the way for the band when they hit the road in various countries of Europe again. A star-studded television special celebrating his 70th birthday aired in 2003. Mosch from Knock Out Records had become an ever-present companion of the band, who was running his label for some years already and had done much good for the streetpunk scene with his publications, so they decided to sign to him.

Nelson received Kennedy Center Honors in 1998. This was a chaotic two odd weeks affair along the East Coast together with Braindance and the Casualties, which went down very well for them after all. During the 1990s and 2000s, Nelson has toured continuously and released albums that generally received mixed reviews, with the exception of 1998's critically acclaimed Teatro. In the spring of 1996 the "Crisis Identity" single was released on Arne's and his wife's short-lived label Rough Beat Records, followed by the band's first trip to the USA. He released Across the Borderline in 1993, with guests Bob Dylan, Sinéad O'Connor, David Crosby, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson and Paul Simon. Thus they played a lot at the Oi! festivals that were taking place again more and more often in the meantime, with the likes of Cock Sparrer, Angelic Upstarts, Major Accident, Test Tube Babies etc. His debts were paid by 1993. Since OXYMORON always were a mixed band and stood for unity between the tribes both punks and skins attended their shows from the very beginning.

Many of his assets were auctioned and purchased by friends, who gave his possessions back to him or rented them at a nominal fee. With their pal Arne joining in a few weeks later and taking over the bass, they seized the opportunity and started gigging abroad, too, as well as in Germany, where they had been touring twice in the company of Braindance (with whom a split-single was released at the same time, named "Mohican Melodies"). He released The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories? as a double album, with all profits going straight to the IRS. The response and reviews Oxymoron received for this album were more than anyone ever had expected and lots of fanzines and indie music mags became attentive all over the place. In 1990, the IRS gave Nelson a bill for $16.7 million in back taxes and took away most of his assets to help pay the charges. The band paid the studio from their own money that they somehow managed to raise, but it was well worth it. He also became known for his financial excesses, including a private jet, his own small town, a palatial estate, and a private golf course. "Fuck the Nineties - Here's our Noize", as it was eventually called, had to be recorded as a three-piece because Filzlaus left after one tour and couldn't be replaced immediately.

He became more and more involved in charity work, such as establishing the Farm Aid concerts in 1985. This single finally came out in early '94 and was subsequently reissued by Bob Burridge from Helen Of Oi! Records, who had picked it up and apparently liked it since he offered the band a record deal for a full-length album as well. In spite of their unexpectedly massive successes, including platinum record sales and worldwide touring, Nelson's popularity declined dramatically. Practising in a mouldy former beer cellar which they called the Oxyfactory the time was right in the summer of '93 for recording their debut-ep "Beware, poisonous!" which they produced and released off their own bat (on the provisional "Oxyfactory Records" label, that never put out any further records). In the mid 1980s, Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash formed a group called The Highwaymen. After this show they got offered some gigs as support for more established acts all over Germany. There were also more popular albums, including Pancho and Lefty (1982, with Merle Haggard), WWII (1982, with Waylon Jennings) and Take it to the Limit (1983, with Waylon Jennings). Originally coming from Erlangen / Nuernberg - Germany their first real appearance was at the annual punk festival in their home town along with other local bands.

The eighties saw a series of hit singles: "Always on my Mind" (originally made popular by Elvis Presley), "On The Road Again" from the movie Honeysuckle Rose, and "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (a duet with Julio Iglesias). Mostly influenced by early Eighties' punk and Oi! stuff it was quite obvious what it would sound like in general, but it was a long way until they finally made it on stage. He has continued acting since his early successes, but usually in smaller roles and cameos, a good example being Half Baked. The main intention behind it all was to have a laugh and to get the kind of music across they were into, and since the early Nineties didn't seem to have a lot of punk let alone skinhead bands being around anymore they felt an urge to get out and do it themselves to keep it going. Nelson began acting, appearing in The Electric Horseman (1979), Honeysuckle Rose (1980), Red-Headed Stranger (1986, with Morgan Fairchild), and the 1986 TV movie Stagecoach (with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson). Formed by Sucker and his drumming cousin Bjoern and completed by their mates Martin on the guitar and Filzlaus on the bass the original line-up needed a couple of years and various efforts to see the light of the day under the name OXYMORON. Though most observers predicted that Stardust would ruin his career, it ended up being one of his most successful LPs.
Oxymoron was called into being in late 1992 actually, although the roots of the band go back further to the fall of 1989.

Jones. Please format this article according to the guidelines laid out at Wikipedia:How to edit a page, then remove this notice. In 1978, Nelson released two more platinum albums, Waylon and Willie (a collaboration with Jennings that included one of Nelson's signature songs, "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys") and Stardust, an unusual, string-based album of pop songs produced by Booker T. This music article needs to be wikified. Nelson continued to top the charts with hit songs during the late 1970s, including "Good Hearted Woman" (a duet with Jennings), "Remember Me", "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time", "Uncloudy Day", "I Love You a Thousand Ways" and "Something to Brag About" (a duet with Mary Kay Place). For help, see How to Edit a Page and the Style and How-to Directory. The term was coined by a country music journalist, and cemented with the release of Wanted: The Outlaws! (1976 with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser), country music's first platinum album. After the article has been cleaned up, you may remove this message.

Along with Nelson, Waylon Jennings was also achieving massive success in country music in the early 1970s, and the pair were soon combined into a genre called outlaw country ("outlaw" because it did not conform to Nashville standards). This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of article quality. The result was the critically acclaimed, massively popular concept album, Red Headed Stranger (1975). Though Columbia was reluctant to release an album with mostly just a guitar and piano for accompaniment, Nelson (with the assistance of Waylon Jennings) insisted and the album was a huge hit, partially because it included a popular cover of "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" (Roy Acuff). Nelson then moved to Columbia Records, where he was given complete creative control over his work. Phases and Stages (1974), a concept album inspired by his divorce, included two hit singles, "Bloody Mary Morning" and "After the Fire is Gone".

Signing with Atlantic Records, Nelson released Shotgun Willie (1973), which won excellent reviews but did not sell well. A lifelong passion for running and a new commitment to his own health also began during this period. His popularity in Austin soared, as he played his own brand of country music marked by rock and roll, jazz, western swing, and folk influences. While in Austin, with its burgeoning hippie music scene (see Armadillo World Headquarters), Nelson decided to return to music.

In 1965, Nelson moved to RCA Records and joined the Grand Ole Opry, followed by a series of minor hits. Frustrated with the music business which tried to force him into a mold, Nelson retired and moved to Austin, Texas. His alcoholism, failed day jobs, and penchant for carrying guns got him in trouble with the law and his wife a number of times. His personal life during this period was also colorful, to say the least. Demo recordings from his years as a songwriter for Pamper Music were later discovered and released as Crazy: The Demo Sessions (2003).

He was unable to keep his momentum going, though, and Nelson's career ground to a halt. Nelson signed with Liberty Records in 1961 and released several singles, including the hits "Willingly" (with his wife, Shirley Collie) and "Touch Me". "Funny How Time Slips Away" (Billy Walker), "Hello Walls" (Faron Young), "Pretty Paper" (Roy Orbison) and, most famously, "Crazy" (Patsy Cline) became popular songs in the 1960s. While playing with Ray Price & the Cherokee Cowboys, many of Nelson's songs became hits.

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 bassist. He did, however, receive a publishing contract at Pamper Music. Nelson moved to Nashville, Tennessee but was unable to land a record label contract. Nelson continued to DJ and sing in clubs, and sold a song called "Family Bible" for fifty dollars; the song was a hit for Claude Gray in 1960, has been covered widely, and is often considered a gospel music classic.

The single sold respectably but did not establish a career. In 1956, Nelson moved to Vancouver, Washington to begin a musical career by recording "Lumberjack" by Leon Payne. Eventually, he became a DJ at a country radio station in Fort Worth, Texas, while singing locally in honky tonk bars. After graduation, Nelson joined the Air Force, but left due to back problems.

She met Bud Fletcher, a fiddler, and both siblings joined his band while Willie was in high school. Willie played the guitar, while Bobbie played the piano. Some days, while Ross and others picked cotton in the fields, Willie would find a tree and sleep under it. Ross and Willie also played on the football and basketball teams.

He lived next door to his best friend, Ross Cleveland, who was an ace left-handed pitcher for the Abbott High Panthers. Nelson and his sister, Bobbie, were raised by their grandparents after their father died and their mother ran away. He reached his greatest fame during the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, though he had already become famous as a 1960s songwriter. Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 30, 1933) is an American guitarist and country singer, originally from Abbott, Texas.

The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes (2002) ISBN 0-375-50731-0. Willie: An Autobiography (1988), with Bud Shrake, ISBN 0-815-41080-8. Wag the Dog (1997 cameo). Stagecoach (1986).

Red-Headed Stranger (1986). Honeysuckle Rose (1980). The Electric Horseman (1979). "City of New Orleans" (1984) written by Steve Goodman.

"Write Your Own Songs" (1982). "On The Road Again" (1980). "Bloody Mary Morning" (1974). "Crazy" (1961).

"Funny How Time Slips Away". "Pretty Paper". "Hello Walls". "The Highwayman".

"Night Life". "I Gotta Get Drunk". "Family Bible" (1960). Angels & Outlaws (2004).

Crazy: The Demo Sessions (2003). The Great Divide (2002). Teatro (1998). Across The Borderline (1992).

The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories? (1992). Promised Land (1986). Music From "Songwriter" (1984), with Kris Kristofferson. City of New Orleans (1984).

Pancho and Lefty (1982), with Merle Haggard. WWII (1982), with Waylon Jennings. Always On My Mind (1982)^†. Greatest Hits and Some That Will Be (1981).

Somewhere Over the Rainbow (1981), with Freddie Powers. Honeysuckle Rose (1980). Willie and Family Live (1978). Stardust (1978).

Waylon and Willie (1978), with Waylon Jennings. Wanted: The Outlaws! (1976), with Jessi Colter, Tompall Glaser, and Waylon Jennings. Sound in Your Mind (1976). Red Headed Stranger (1975).

Phases and Stages (1974). Troublemaker (1973). Shotgun Willie (1973).