84 Reasons to Love Willie Nelson

Houston Press April 26, 2017 3:30AM

Photo courtesy of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Willie Nelson, who will be 84 on Saturday, gave an inspiring RodeoHouston performance back in March.

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*** His new album, God’s Problem Child, includes a song called “Still Not Dead.”

*** The album will be released this Friday, the day before his 84th birthday.

*** He drew 75,008 fans to his RodeoHouston 2017 concert, helping set a new single-day total attendance record of 185,667.

*** He co-founded Farm Aid.

*** He tosses bandannas to the crowd at most every show.

*** He has the most concise definition of his genre: "Three chords and the truth – that’s what a country song is.”

*** His instantaneous and deeply felt kinship with Snoop Dogg.

*** He used to live in Houston.

*** His picnics.

*** Yesterday’s Wine

*** “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”

*** B.B. King’s version of “Night Life”

*** He kept Trigger when the FBI took everything else.

*** Bruce Robison’s “What Would Willie Do?”

*** Willie’s Reserve, retail marijuana

*** Against corporate cannabis.

*** Mickey Raphael, harmonica badass

*** Robert Earl Keen’s “Picnic” story on 1996 live album No. 2 Live Dinner.

*** Supports Bernie Sanders.

*** Across the Borderline

*** “On the Road Again”

*** Patsy Cline’s version of “Crazy”

*** Dislikes Donald Trump (perhaps the only person alive he does).

*** Has made many, many, many, many, many appearances on Austin City Limits.

*** He owns his own biodiesel firm, and it's called BioWillie.

*** He made long hair braids acceptable among the manliest men around.

*** Sister Bobbie and “Down Yonder”

*** He got sewed up in a sheet and beaten with a broom by his ex-wife...and forgave her.

*** He was BFFs with Waylon Jennings

*** Waylon and Willie

*** “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys”

*** The Supersuckers’ version of “Bloody Mary Morning”

*** Represents what Texas should be about: freedom, individual rights and individuality.

*** He smoked a joint on the roof of the White House during the Jimmy Carter administration.

*** He made the most successful commercial recording artist in Europe at the time, Julio Iglesias, into a household name in America.

*** His statue in downtown Austin.

*** The Raelyn Nelson Band (Willie’s granddaughter)

*** Willie just said no...to taxes.

*** He is the only known person in human history to be accused (if that is the correct word) of completing a nine-hour sex marathon with a full somersault while still engaged in the act with his partner.

*** Shotgun Willie

*** “Hello Walls”

*** Chris Stapleton’s brand-new version of “Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning”

*** Luck, the Old West town/movie set he owns.

*** He and late University of Texas coaching legend Darrell K. Royal were thick as thieves.

*** His 1993 “Graceland” duet with Paul Simon on Saturday Night Live.

*** He stood up for Charley Pride when nobody else would.

*** Lukas Nelson & the Promise of the Real (Willie’s son)

*** He’s a Taurus, the astrological signifier of practicality, ambition, dependability and sensuality.

*** His Gershwin Prize For Popular Song, awarded in 2015.

*** Spirit

*** “Angel Flying too Close to the Ground”

*** Alison Krauss’s cover of “I Never Cared For You”

*** He makes great gospel music, too; listen to 1976’s The Troublemaker.

*** He’s the only watchable part of the 2005 Dukes of Hazzard movie.

*** He adores golf.

*** He knows Bob Wills is still the king.

*** The Highwaymen

*** Honeysuckle Rose (the movie)

*** Honeysuckle Rose (the tour bus)

*** Stardust

*** “Always On My Mind”

*** Norah Jones’s version of “Hands On the Wheel”

*** No other octogenarian rocks the pigtails like he does.

*** His friendship and occasional collaborations with the late Ray Price.

*** His mugshot from the Pasadena (TX) PD, c. 1960

*** He has inspired three (count ’em) excellent, very different biographies — Willie by Bud Shrake; Willie Nelson: An Epic Life by Joe Nick Patoski; and his autobiography (with David Ritz), It’s a Long Story: My Life.

*** Timekeeping brothers Paul and Billy English

*** He and Kinky Friedman co-wrote a book called Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die.

*** He is a major character in Friedman’s 1997 mystery novel Roadkill.

*** Phases and Stages

*** “Me & Paul”

*** Elvis Presley’s version of “Ain’t It Funny How Time Slips Away”

*** Old Whiskey River bourbon

*** He used to go by “Wee Willie Nelson” as a DJ in the Pacific Northwest.

*** Instant conversation-stopper whenever people bag on Texas for being a right-wing loony bin: “Willie Nelson is from there.”

*** Bee Spears (RIP) and current Family bassist Kevin Smith

*** He wrote his first song before he learned long division.

*** That cameo in Half Baked.

*** Django and Jimmie, his 2015 joint album with Merle Haggard

*** “Pancho & Lefty”

*** Willie’s version of “Write Your Own Songs”

*** He’s the only pothead my dad ever liked.

*** He’s still playing live shows at a rate that should humble musicians half his age.

*** Happy birthday, Willie!

Written by Selena Dieringer, Jack Gorman, Chris Gray, Matthew Keever, Chris Lane, David Rozycki and Jesse Sendejas Jr.