biography
| name: |
Nelson, Willie (Hugh)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1933– )
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| biography:
| Country music singer and songwriter, born in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. Before he was a teenager he sang gospel in a Baptist church and played guitar in polka bands, but he also absorbed both pop and jazz music. Writing songs in Nashville in the 1960s, he helped the country music revival but he did not get much recognition for his own singing. He relocated to Austin, TX and also reconstructed his image, adopting his trademark beard, headband, earring, and blue jeans. At first he won over a largely youthful audience, especially with his annual ‘picnics’ like mini-Woodstocks, but gradually he broadened his appeal to an adult public. A widely popular, eclectic performer, he recorded jazz standards, country-rock, and gospel in his distinctive singing style, with its bluesy, off-beat phrasing. In the late 1980s he was briefly in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service for falling behind in his taxes, but he resolved that problem and resumed his role as something of a national country-music icon, in part because of his generous appearances at benefit concerts. |
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