Willie Nelson's Letters to America

Willie Nelson's Letters to America
Author: Willie Nelson
Publisher: Harper Horizon
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2021-06-29
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0785241558

Following his bestselling memoir, It’s a Long Story, Willie Nelson now delivers his most intimate thoughts and stories in Willie Nelson's Letters to America. A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller! From his opening letter “Dear America” to his “Dear Willie” epilogue, Willie digs deep into his heart and soul--and his music catalog--to lift us up in difficult times, and to remind us of the endless promise and continuous obligations of all Americans--to themselves, to one another, and to their nation. In a series of letters straight from the heart, Willie sends his thanks and his thoughts to: Americans past, present, and future, his closest family members, andhis parents, sister, and children, his other family members his guitar “Trigger”, his hero Gene Autry, the US founding fathers, his personal heroes, from our founding fathers to the leaders of future generations and to young songwriters as well as leaders of our future generations. Willie’s letters are rounded out with the moving lyrics to some of his most famous and insightful songs, including “Let Me Be a Man,” “Family Bible,” “Summer of Roses,” “Me and Paul,” “A Horse called Music,” “Healing Hands of Time,” and “Yesterday's Wine.”

Me and Sister Bobbie

Me and Sister Bobbie
Author: Willie Nelson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2020
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1984854135

"Abandoned by their parents as toddlers, Willie and Bobbie Nelson found their love of music almost immediately through their grandparents, who raised them in a dusty small town in east Texas. Their close relationship ... is the longest-lasting bond in either of their lives. In alternating chapters, this ... dual memoir weaves together their lives as they experienced them both side-by-side and apart with powerful, emotional stories from growing up, playing music in public for the first time, and the trials they each faced in adulthood as Willie pursued a songwriting career and Bobbie faced a series of challenging relationships and a musical career that only took off when attitudes about women began to change in Texas"--

It's a Long Story

It's a Long Story
Author: Willie Nelson
Publisher: Little, Brown
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2015-05-05
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0316403563

One of the most beloved popular musicians of our time tells the story of his extraordinary life. This is Willie Nelson's complete, unvarnished story, told in his voice and leaving no significant moment or experience untold, from Texas, Nashville, Hawaii, and beyond. Having recently turned 80, Nelson is ready to shine a light on all aspects of his life, including his drive to write music, the women in his life, his collaborations, and his biggest lows and highs--from his bankruptcy to the founding of Farm Aid. An American icon who still tours constantly and headlines music festivals, Willie Nelson and his music have found their way into the hearts and minds of fans the world over, winning ten Grammys and receiving Kennedy Center Honors. Now it's time to hear the last word about his life -- from the man himself. "Every page radiates authenticity." --Washington Post

Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die

Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die
Author: Willie Nelson
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 155
Release: 2012-11-13
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0062193651

In Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, Willie Nelson muses about his greatest influences and the things that are most important to him, and celebrates the family, friends, and colleagues who have blessed his remarkable journey. Willie riffs on everything, from music to poker, Texas to Nashville, and more. He shares the outlaw wisdom he has acquired over the course of eight decades, along with favorite jokes and insights from family, bandmates, and close friends. Rare family pictures, beautiful artwork created by his son, Micah Nelson, and lyrics to classic songs punctuate these charming and poignant memories. A road journal written in Willie Nelson's inimitable, homespun voice and a fitting tribute to America’s greatest traveling bard, Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die—introduced by another favorite son of Texas, Kinky Friedman—is a deeply personal look into the heart and soul of a unique man and one of the greatest artists of our time, a songwriter and performer whose legacy will endure for generations to come.

Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson
Author: Joe Nick Patoski
Publisher: Little, Brown
Total Pages: 439
Release: 2008-04-21
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0316031984

From his first performance at age four, Willie Nelson was driven to make music and live life on his own terms. But though he is a songwriter of exceptional depth - "Crazy" was one of his early classics - Willie only found success after abandoning Nashville and moving to Austin, Texas. Red Headed Stranger made country cool to a new generation of fans. Wanted: The Outlaws became the first country album to sell a million copies. And "On the Road Again" became the anthem for Americans on the move. A craggy-faced, pot-smoking philosopher, Willie Nelson is one of America's great iconoclasts and idols. Now Joe Nick Patoski draws on over 100 interviews with Willie and his family, band, and friends to tell Nelson's story, from humble Depression-era roots, to his musical education in Texas honky-tonks and his flirtations with whiskey, women, and weed; from his triumph with #1 hit "Always On My Mind" to his nearly career-ending battles with debt and the IRS; and his ultimate redemption and ascension to American hero

Me and Paul

Me and Paul
Author: Willie Nelson
Publisher: Harper Horizon
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2022-09-20
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0785245731

Discover the untold stories and unbreakable bond between country music icon Willie Nelson and his longtime drummer, Paul English. Immortalized in Willie Nelson’s road song "Me and Paul," Paul English was the towering figure who for 70 years acted as Willie’s drummer, bodyguard, accountant, partner in crime, and right-hand man. Together, the two men roamed the country by: putting on shows, getting into a few scrapes, raising money for good causes, and bringing the joy of their music to fans worldwide. Stories of Willie and Paul’s misadventures became legendary, but many have gone untold--until now. Set against the backdrop of the exploding Americana music scene and told in Willie’s inimitable, colorful style, Me and Paul follows the two performers through their decades-long careers.

Willie

Willie
Author: Willie Nelson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2000
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0815410808

Nelson, self-proclaimed "outlaw'' of country music, is depicted from many angles in this rambling account of his trajectory into celebrity. Written with freelancer Shrake in salty and sometimes vulgar language, Nelson's reflections on his three wives, children, his country music peers and others in his large, floating entourage reveal a hard-living man. The singer toiled in the fields as a child during the Depression, was left by his teenage parents with grandparents who raised him and his sister in Texas. The experience was pivotal to his career: "My desire to escape from manual labor started in the cotton fields of my childhood and cannot be overstated.'' Nelson began his road life as "an itinerant singer and guitar picker'' on trips punctuated with alcohol, drugs and sex as he climbed to eminence in the world of country music. Now "crossed over,'' popular with national audiences, Nelson notes that he enjoys all the personal perquisites of his success. Among his revelations here, the singer recalls smoking pot on the roof of the White House after entertaining at a Carter state dinner. Photos not seen by PW. BOMC and QPBC alternates; first serial to Texas Monthly and Golf Digest; paperback rights to Pocket Books. (October) - Publishers Weekly.

Pretty Paper

Pretty Paper
Author: Willie Nelson
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2016-10-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 073521154X

A perfect Christmas gift for music lovers, Pretty Paper is Willie Nelson’s inspiring Christmas fable, based on his holiday classic “Pretty Paper.” More than fifty years ago, Willie Nelson’s beloved Christmas song “Pretty Paper” first hit the airwaves. And for all these years, Willie has wondered about the real-life Texas street vendor, selling wrappings and ribbons, who inspired his song. Who was this poor soul? What did his painful trials say about our loves, our hopes, our dreams in this holiday season—and in the rest of our lives? It’s the early sixties and Willie Nelson is down and out, barely eking out a living as a singer-songwriter. The week before Christmas, he spots a legless man on a cart, selling wares in front of Leonard’s Department Store in Fort Worth, Texas. The humble figure, by the name of Vernon Clay, piques Willie’s curiosity, but Vernon is stubbornly private and—despite Willie’s charming queries—has no interest in telling his story. Willie is tenacious, though, and he eventually learns that Vernon is a fellow musician, a fine guitarist and singer. When Vernon disappears, he leaves behind only a diary, which tells an epic tale of life-altering tragedies, broken hearts, and crooked record men, not to mention backroad honky-tonks, down-home cooking, and country songwriting genius. Deeply moved and spurred on by Vernon’s pages, Willie aims to give the man one last shot at redemption and a chance to embody the holiday spirit.

Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson
Author: Graeme Thomson
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 469
Release: 2012-07-31
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1448133416

In this intimate and engaging biography, Graeme Thomson interviews Nelson himself, his band and those who knew him best en route to discovering the real Willie Nelson. The Outlaw brilliantly describes a complex and compelling man whose life and music reflect something fundamental at the heart of twentieth-century America. Thomson's revealing portrait is a timely reminder of the stature and achievements of a true living legend. Covering everything from dirt poor beginnings in Texas, global fame in the 70s, four marriages, the death of a son and affairs with Amy Irving and Candice Bergen up to his current position as a 73-year-old pot smoking man of the road, Thomson's account emerges as the first detailed, clear-eyed account of Nelson's fascinating life.

Sister, Brother, Family

Sister, Brother, Family
Author: Willie Nelson
Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 33
Release: 2021-11-09
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1984851837

The first ever children's book by music legend Willie Nelson and his sister and bandmate Bobbie Nelson! "We had so little money, but so much love." He was a boy with a guitar. She was a girl with a piano. Raised by loving grandparents in Depression-era rural Texas, their humble beginnings playing local shows to put food on the table started Willie and Bobbie Nelson on a remarkable path to global stardom. In a story filled with details of a childhood in rural Texas—with church socials, general stores, and town dances—Willie and Bobbie weave together an inspiring story of a long-ago time. With triumphs and tragedies, hard work and determination, here is a deeply personal, gorgeously-written, and profoundly moving tale of hope.