Nelson, Willie (Hugh)

American country-music singer, guitarist, and songwriter; b. Abbott, Tex., April 30, 1933. For a short time, Nelson attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He then made appearances in local honkytonk bars and also began to write songs, which included Hello Walls, Crazy, and Night Life, which were covered by artists like RAY PRICE and PATSY CLINE.

In the early '60s, Nelson went to Nashville. He played bass in Ray Price's band. However, his own recordings were marred, he believed, by the producers' lack of sympathy for his unusual way of singing and playing the guitar. Discouraged by his lack of success in Nashville, he returned to Texas in the late '70s.

Nelson settled in Austin, where he organized a series of annual picnics and befriended other new country singers and songwriters. Because they were rebelling against the standard "Nashville sound," these country performers became known as "outlaws." Nelson also took control of his recording career. His first independent production was of the 1975 theme album Red-Headed Stranger, which was based on the story of a Western gunman.

Nelson continued to stretch the boundaries of country music in 1978, when he released an album of pop song standards, Stardust. It was an unexpected best-seller. Meanwhile, he had country hits with his songs On the Road Again in 1980 and Always on My Mind, two years later.

Nelson continued to write and perform through the '80s and '90s. Although still a popular performer on stage, he has had fewer hits of late. He also became a competent actor, making appearances in the films Electric Horseman (1979), Honeysuckle Rose (1980), and Wag the Dog (1998).