Willie Nelson Fun Facts, Quotes and Tweets
22nd October 2015
Fact: Willie Nelson will receive a star-studded tribute when he is presented with the 2015 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song next month (Nov15). Rosanne Cash, Jamey Johnson, Alison Krauss, Neil Young and Promise of the Real, the band featuring Nelson's son Lukas, and Paul Simon and his wife Edie Brickell will be among the acts paying tribute to the 82 year old at the annual Library of Congress gala in Washington, D.C. Nelson will be the first country music artist to receive America's prestigious award, named after brothers George and Ira Gershwin.
23rd March 2015
Fact: Country icon and cannabis advocate Willie Nelson is teaming up with his longtime friend and collaborator Merle Haggard for a new album of duets, titled Django & Jimmy. The pair, which recorded with Kris Kristofferson for another full-length project last year (14), will release It's All Going to Pot as the first single from the disc on 20 April (15), the unofficial holiday for marijuana lovers.
22nd March 2015
Quote: "They give us the bucket of chicken, we open it up, boom, and me and Willie stuck our hands in at the same time and we grabbed the same piece of chicken. And I look at Willie, I was like, 'That's you dog, my bad.' That was one of the greatest moments in my life." Rapper Snoop Dogg recalls stopping by a KFC fast food restaurant with country icon Willie Nelson in Amsterdam, Holland after getting the munchies following a marijuana-filled recording session for the song My Medicine.
8th January 2015
Fact: Rocker Neil Young is recording new music with pal Willie Nelson's kids.
24th July 2014
Fact: Willie Nelson's annual Farm Aid benefit concert will take place in Raleigh, North Carolina in September (14) and feature stars including Jack White, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews. The event takes place on 13 September (14).
5th July 2014
Tweet: "Before we walk on stage here in the great state of Texas, want to say thank you to all our troops for sacrificing and fighting for us." Country star Dierks Bentley pays tribute to U.S. soldiers on Independence Day (04Jul14) before performing at Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic concert in Texas.
14th May 2014
Fact: Country singer Willie Nelson is set to donate personal belongings, including posters, platinum records, signed books, screenplays, letters and photographs, to the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas
16th April 2014
Fact: Willie Nelson will pick up a fifth-degree black belt in the Korean martial art of Gong Kwon Yu Sul two days before his 81st birthday. The grizzled country legend will pick up his latest accolade during a ceremony in Austin, Texas on 27 April (14). Nelson is also an expert in the martial arts of kung fu and tae kwon do.
14th June 2013
Fact: Veteran country star Willie Nelson is taking his annual Farm Aid benefit concert to New York. The charity event will take place in Saratoga Springs in September (13) and feature stars including John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews.
15th March 2013
Fact: Willie Nelson joined his son Lukas' band Promise Of The Real onstage at a gig in Austin, Texas on Thursday night (14Mar13) for an unannounced jam.
20th November 2012
Quote: "They flattered me a lot, they gave me some biceps!" Country music legend Willie Nelson is proud of the bronze statue erected in his honour in his native Texas.
25th September 2012
Fact: Veteran singer Willie Nelson is releasing a new autobiography titled Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die. The book is due for release on 13 November (12). He released his first autobiography in 1988.
23rd September 2012
Fact: Neil Young and Willie Nelson made the 2012 Farm Aid concert at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania a family affair on Saturday (22Sep12) - Young joined his wife Pegi and her band the Survivors for a song, while Nelson's son, Lukas, and his band, Promise of the Real, also performed.
31st October 2011
Quote: "Woody is a middle brother and deeply, deeply competitive. Most vegans don't look all that healthy to me, but he is in amazing shape - he still looks like a kid - and he will turn a friendly game of Ping-Pong into a four-hour death match because he wants to win." Willie Nelson on his longtime pal actor Woody Harrelson.
2nd March 2011
Fact: Documentaries about Willie Nelson and former Hole star Patty Schemel will debut at the SXSW conference and festival in Austin, Texas later this month (Mar11). The King of Luck, Billy Bob Thornton's look at country music icon Nelson's life on the road, will close the festival on 19 March (11).
28th February 2011
Fact: Lionel Richie has reached out to Taylor Swift to record a new version of his 2003 song Angel for his forthcoming duets album, Tuskegee. The soul star has re-recorded his most popular hits with the biggest names in country music, including Tim Mcgraw, JIMMY BUFFET, Willie Nelson and Kenny Rogers.
28th November 2010
Tweet: "All things considered, Willie Nelson should have a federal issue, No Limit Marijuana license. End of story." Rocker Slash jokes about WILLIE NELSON's recent arrest on suspicion of marijuana possession.
26th June 2010
Quote: "Retire? Why? I don't do anything now." Willie Nelson has no plans to retire at 78.
6th May 2010
Quote: "Well I've threatened to several times but I've always chickened out." Country music legend Willie Nelson refuses to cut his long hair.
25th April 2010
Quote: "It's very disappointing... To have a little moonshine, in North Carolina, I thought they put that in baby bottles. I didn't know that was a problem." Willie Nelson on plans to prosecute members of his band for possession of moonshine and marijuana.
24th April 2010
Quote: "The hand's doing better. I've got a rotator cuff that's torn, and it's cutting down on my golf." Country music legend Willie Nelson on his aches and pains.
19th April 2010
Quote: "My sister travels with me. She plays keyboard. I like for her to boss me around, slap me around a little bit. We're close. We have our own thing going!" Country music legend Willie Nelson loves working and touring with his musician sister.
18th April 2010
Fact: Country music legend Willie Nelson has expanded his collection of horses - he's added a further six mammals to his previous count of 68 since December (09).
31st March 2010
Quote: "Willie actually has a Woody wing from all the gambling we've done. I've surely built a wing on his house, no question." Woody Harrelson feels sure his gambling losses have paid for pal Willie Nelson's guest house extension.
4th February 2010
Fact: Country music icon Willie Nelson was forced to cancel a second concert in North Carolina last week (30Jan10) after a hand injury prevented him from playing his guitar. The singer is expected to reschedule the scrapped Asheville show, as well as the Kenansville gig which was pulled at the last minute last Thursday (28Jan10).
24th June 2009
Fact: Willie Nelson is set to become the latest singer/songwriter to revamp America's standards on a new album. Nelson has recorded pop classics like Fly Me to the Moon and Since I Don't Have You for American Classic, which hit stores in America on Tuesday (23Jun09). Norah Jones and Diana Krall guest on the album.
26th April 2009
Fact: Folk legend Bob Dylan is to team up with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp for an extensive tour of U.S. ballparks this summer (09). The dates will kick off on 2 July (09) at the GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Illinois and conclude on 15 August (09) at the Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, California.
18th February 2009
Fact: Reggae star Ziggy Marley has recruited Paul Simon, Jack Johnson and Willie Nelson to collaborate on his first children's album FAMILY TIME. Bob Marley's eldest son has also enlisted his mother RITA as well as actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who will narrate two stories on the CD, due in May (09).
2nd February 2009
Fact: Willie Nelson will bare all on the cover of his new album, NAKED WILLIE - the country legend will be featured in the bath.
8th July 2008
Fact: Illness has forced Natalie Cole to pull out of her Wednesday night (09Jul08) performance at the Hollywood Bowl. Country star Willie Nelson will take her place and perform with jazz great Wynton Marsalis and the JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA.
26th March 2008
Quote: "Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson and I gamble all the time, on dominoes and chess and poker... We wind up, even before the night's over, trading hundred dollar bills. Those are some real fun guys to hang out with." Willie Nelson on his best pals.
25th March 2008
Quote: "I try to keep 'Thou shalt not kill.' The rest of them I'm kind of shaky on." Irreverent Willie Nelson on the commandments he respects.
26th February 2008
Quote: "Pot smokers don't vote. They keep forgetting when the (polling) day's supposed to be when they got to get up and go somewhere." Pot fan Willie Nelson on why medical marijuana isn't a campaign topic for U.S. presidential hopefuls.
26th February 2008
Fact: Bob Dylan has invited Jack White, Willie Nelson and Lucinda Williams to help him record tracks country icon Hank Williams left unfinished for an upcoming compilation.
21st February 2008
Quote: "The original title for CRAZY was STUPID." Willie Nelson recalls writing PATSY CLINE's country classic.
23rd January 2008
Quote: "I believe laughter is the best medicine, and the sooner you can start laughing, the better. Woody and Owen and I play dominoes and chess and golf." Country legend Willie Nelson and actor Woody Harrelson are doing their best to help out their troubled Texan friend Owen Wilson, after he attempted suicide last year (07).
24th September 2007
Quote: "We're going to get her own bus and everything, fix it up with her own hairdresser, make-up and everything - just like Jessica Simpson." Country superstar Willie Nelson has high hopes for his 76-year-old pianist sister BOBBIE NELSON's new solo career.
14th August 2007
Quote: "Willie Nelson's the one who told me the reason it costs so much to get divorced is because it's worth it." Country legend Merle Haggard remembers his famous friend's wise words.
26th February 2007
Quote: "I'm not going near Willie's weed. My friend did once, and he had to go home and sleep for 12 hours. Willie's weed is no joke." Norah Jones refuses to sample pal Willie Nelson's powerful marijuana.
4th October 2006
Fact: Dave Matthews, Steel Pulse, GOV'T MULE, Jerry Lee Lewis, Steve Earle and Allison Moorer joined co-founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp at the 21st anniversary Farm Aid fundraiser at the Tweeter Center in Camden, New Jersey on Saturday (30SEP06).
2nd October 2006
Fact: Dave Matthews, Steel Pulse, GOV'T MULE, Jerry Lee Lewis, Steve Earle and Allison Moorer joined co-founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp at the 21st anniversary Farm Aid fundraiser at the Tweeter Center in Camden, New Jersey on Saturday (30SEP06).
12th August 2006
Quote: "Ninety-nine per cent of the world's lovers are not with their first choice. That's what makes the jukebox play." Willie Nelson on why love songs and broken-heart tunes are always hits in bars.
13th July 2006
Quote: "I lost a Rolex (watch) and my favourite windbreaker during the shoot... If you spend any time with Willie Nelson and walk away with everything you showed up with, you've done something wrong." Actor Luke Wilson on the perils of teaming up with country legend Willie Nelson in music videos.
30th August 2005
Quote: <p>"They're watching me. I'm like the canary in the coal mine - as long as I can remember my songs and do a good show, they say, 'Well, it may not be affecting him that much.'" Willie Nelson described how his anti-marijuana fans view his love for cannabis. </p>
Willie Nelson
