Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson Headshot

Singer • Songwriter • Musician • Writer • Activist • Poet

Birth Name: William Hugh Nelson

Birth Date: April 29, 1933

Age: 91 years old

Birth Place: Abbott, Texas

Bands: The Highwaymen

As a key architect of the outlaw country movement in the '70s, Willie Nelson is one of the most influential artists in country music history. But he had an alternately fruitful and frustrating decade-plus career before his outlaw era arrived. Nelson was born in Abbott, Texas on April 29, 1933, and began writing songs in the '50s. He released his first single, "No Place For Me," in 1957 and moved to Houston the following year, where he really kicked off his career.

Nelson relocated to Nashville in 1960, where he began writing for other artists as well as making his own records. He proved to be much more successful at the former - his tunes became hits (and classics) for many artists in the '60s, including Patsy Cline ("Crazy"), Faron Young ("Hello Walls"), Billy Walker ("Funny How Time Slips Away"), and Roy Orbison ("Pretty Paper"). Nelson released his first LP, And Then I Wrote, in 1962, but his first few albums didn't gain much commercial traction.

And apart from a pair of singles that year, he wouldn't come near the country Top 10 again until 1975. Nelson was perpetually frustrated with Chet Atkins' slick "Nashville Sound" production on his RCA albums, and he abandoned Nashville in 1972 for Austin, where a hippie-informed counterculture with an interest in less commercial country was growing.

Signing a new deal with Atlantic, he reinvented himself with 1973's raw, organic Shotgun Willie, which, along with Waylon Jennings' contemporaneous Honky Tonk Heroes, launched the influential outlaw country revolution. He spent the '70s releasing idiosyncratic, often conceptual albums that brought him a new audience and established him as a country icon, including the iconic Western parable Red Headed Stranger.

In 1978, Nelson crossed over to mainstream success with the biggest album of his career, the multi-Platinum Stardust, on which he interpreted standards by Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Berlin, et al, though he never abandoned his scruffy, longhaired country hippie image. More huge crossover success followed with such ubiquitous hits as 1980's "On the Road Again" (from his sole starring film role, in the country music drama "Honeysuckle Rose") and 1982's "Always on My Mind."

In 1984 he made an even bigger mainstream splash with "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," a duet with Julio Iglesias. In the decades to come, the incredibly prolific Nelson would maintain a dizzying schedule of album releases and concert tours, remaining a vital musical force well into his eighties.

Credits

Grand Ole Opry: Willie Nelson, Porter Wagoner, Charley Pride, Chris LeDoux, Kevin Denney

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2024

Willie Nelson & FamilyStream

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2023
86%

Willie Nelson's 90th Birthday Celebration

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2023

2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

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2023

JuneStream

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2023
100%

Willie and Me

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2023

The Best of Farm Aid 2022

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2022

Farm Aid 2022

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2022

Love Song Hall of Fame

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2022

Country: Home For The Holidays

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2022

Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic ChristmasStream

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2022

CBS Mornings

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2021

Dolly Parton: A MusiCares TributeStream

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2021

ACL Hall of Fame: The First Six Years

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2021

Willie Nelson Feat. Diana Krall: I Won't Dance

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2021

Country Legends

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2021

Willie Nelson Feat. Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real: Cottage For Sale (Live)

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2021

56th ACM Awards: Country Gold

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2021

Country Christmas

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2021

American Crisis: Poverty and the Pandemic

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2020

Best of Farm Aid 2019

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2020

Willie Nelson: We Are the Cowboys

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2020

Country: Throwback Essentials

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2020

Willie Nelson: Vote 'Em Out

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2020

Country: The Chicks' Picks

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2020

Christmas Classics by the Fireplace

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2020

Guest Curator: The Chicks

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2020

Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll PresidentStream

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2020
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Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll PresidentStream

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2020
95%

Dolly Parton & Willie Nelson: Pretty Paper

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2019

The 53rd Annual CMA Awards

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2019

Farm Aid

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2019

Access Daily

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2019

Today With Hoda & Jenna

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2019

Willie Nelson: Ride Me Back Home

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2019

Willie Nelson: It's Hard to Be Humble

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2019

Brantley Gilbert Feat. Lukas Nelson, Willie Nelson, Colt Ford: Welcome to Hazeville

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2019

10 Perfect Country Love Songs

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2019

Willie Nelson: Me and You

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2018

American Music Awards 2018: Top 10 Winners of All Time

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2018

Outlaw Country

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2018

20 Songs To Get You Through Thanksgiving

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2018

Paradox

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2018

Waiting for the Miracle to Come

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Jimmy Riggs
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2018

Willie Nelson & The Boys: Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain (Episode Five)

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2017

Harvey Can't Mess With Texas: A Benefit Concert for Hurricane Harvey Relief

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2017

Willie Nelson: Still Not Dead

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2017

Outlaw: Celebrating the Music of Waylon Jennings

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2017

Willie Nelson: He Won't Ever Be Gone

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2017

Willie Nelson: A Woman's Love

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2017

Lost in London

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2017

Pure Country: Pure Heart

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2017

Austin City Limits Hall of Fame New Year's Eve

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2016

I Am Johnny Cash

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2016

Rock & Roll Road Trip With Sammy Hagar

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2016

Willie Nelson: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

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2016

Farm Aid 30

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2016

Merle Haggard Feat. Willie Nelson: Pancho and Lefty

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2016

Willie Nelson Feat. The Time Jumpers: I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)

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2016

Willie Nelson: Tougher Than Leather

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2016

Willie Nelson: Someone to Watch Over Me

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2016

The American Epic Sessions

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2016

A Song for You: The Austin City Limits Story

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2016

A Song for You: The Austin City Limits Story

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2016

The Highwaymen: Live - American Outlaws

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2016

Imagine: John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert

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2015

The MuppetsStream

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2015
64%

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

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2015

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

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2015

Johnny Cash: American Rebel Exclusive First Look

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2015

Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard: It's All Going to Pot (Digital Video)

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2015

Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life -- An All-Star Grammy Salute

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2015

Kacey Musgraves Feat. Willie Nelson: Are You Sure

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2015

Saving My TomorrowStream

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Docuseries
2014

Saving My TomorrowStream

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2014

Austin City Limits Celebrates 40 Years

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2014

Farm Aid 2014

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2014

Willie Nelson: Live at iTunes Festival

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2014

Late Night With Seth MeyersStream

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2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonStream

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2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonStream

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2014

The 56th Annual Grammy Awards

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2014

Willie Nelson: Band Of Brothers

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2014

Willie Nelson & Sister Bobbie: Laws of Nature

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2014

Willie Nelson: On The Road Again

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2013

Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson: To All The Girls I've Loved Before

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2013

Hot 20 Countdown

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2013

Willie Nelson: Nuages (Live)

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2013

Willie Nelson: I Wish I Didn't Love You So

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2013

Willie Nelson & Julio Iglesias: To All the Girls I've Loved Before

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2013

Willie Nelson: Jingle Bells (Yule Log Edition)

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2013

Willie Nelson: Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die (Live)

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2013

Angels SingStream

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2013
29%

Willie Nelson

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2012

Still Standing: The Earl Campbell Story

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2012

Tony Bennett - Duets II

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2012

From Dust to Dreams: Opening Night at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts

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2012

Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard & Ray Price: Last of the Breed

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2012

Larry King NowStream

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2012

Celebrating the Music of Johnny Cash: We Walk the Line!

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2012

CBS This Morning: Saturday

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2012

CBS This Morning

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2012

Willie Nelson: Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die

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2012

Willie Nelson: Just Breathe

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2012

Willie Nelson: A Horse Called Music

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2012

Willie Nelson Feat. Merle Haggard: A Horse Called Music

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2012

Legalize It

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2012

Legends in Concert: Willie Nelson

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2011

Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis Feat. Norah Jones: Here We Go Again - Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles

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2011

Piers Morgan Tonight

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2011

Save the Farm

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2011

Jessica Simpson: Happy Christmas

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2010

Willie Nelson at Glastonbury 2010

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2010

Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player

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2010

Hempsters: Plant the Seed

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2010

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

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2009

Willie Nelson: Maria (Shut Up and Kiss Me)

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2009

Willie Nelson: Mendocino County Line

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2009

Willie Nelson: You Don't Know Me

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2009

Willie Nelson Feat. Lee Ann Womack: Mendocino County Line

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2009

Delta Rising

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2009

Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis: Live

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2008

Huckabee

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2008

Snoop Dogg feat. Willie Nelson: My Medicine

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2008

Willie Nelson: You Don't Think I'm Funny Anymore

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2008

Willie Nelson: There You Are

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2008

Willie Nelson: Still is Still Moving to Me

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2008

Willie Nelson: Always On My Mind (Live)

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2008

Willie Nelson: Gravedigger

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2008

Un papá poderoso

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2008

Swing Vote

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2008

The King of Texas

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2008

Beer for My Horses

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Charlie
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2008

Last of the Breed

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2007

Strong Roots, Fragile Farms

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2007

The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning

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Uncle Jesse Duke
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2007

The Unforeseen

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2007

Blonde Ambition

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Pap Paw
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2007

Fighting With Anger

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Will
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2007

Fighting With Anger

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2007

In Dreams

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2006

Broken Bridges

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2006

The Colbert Report

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2005

Toby Keith Feat Willie Nelson: Beer For My Horses

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2005

The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson

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2005

The Dukes of HazzardStream

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Uncle Jesse
Movie
2005
14%

AXS TV Concerts

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2004

Willie Nelson Feat. Ray Charles: Seven Spanish Angels

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2004

Willie Nelson Live at Billy Bob's

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2004

Willie Nelson Feat. Kid Rock: Shotgun Willie, Shotgun Bobby (Live)

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2004

The Big BounceStream

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Joe Lurie
Movie
2004
15%

Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt

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2004

Emmylou Harris: From a Deeper Well

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2003

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

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2003

Soundstage

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2003

Real Time With Bill MaherStream

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2003

Jimmy Kimmel Live!Stream

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2003

Jimmy Kimmel Live!Stream

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2003

Willie Nelson: To All The Girls I've Loved Before

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2003

MonkStream

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Willie Nelson
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2002
91%

The Country BearsStream

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2002
31%

The Journeyman

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Samuel Hancock
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2001

The Early Show

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1999

The Daily Show With Jon StewartStream

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1999

Willie Nelson: Nuages

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1999

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeStream

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1999
53%

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeStream

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1999
53%

In Performance at The White House

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1998

Half BakedStream

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Historian Smoker
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1998
28%

Outlaw JusticeStream

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Lee Walker
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1998

The View

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1997

The View

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1997

King of the HillStream

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1997

Gone Fishin'

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1997

Wag the DogStream

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1997
86%

Access Hollywood

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1996

VH1 Storytellers

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1996

Lumière d'étoile

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Grampa Lium
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1996

Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story

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1995

Space Ghost Coast to CoastStream

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1994

Dust to Dust

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Lawyer Neil Morris
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1994

Late Night With Conan O'Brien

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1993

Late Show With David Letterman

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1993

Late Show With David Letterman

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1993

Willie Nelson: Don't Give Up

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1993

Dr. Quinn, Medicine WomanStream

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1993

Later ... with Jools Holland

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1992

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

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1992

Charlie RoseStream

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1991

Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind

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Billy Roy Rodriguez
Movie
1991

Wild Texas Wind

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1991

Pair of Aces

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Billy Roy Barker
Movie
1990

The SimpsonsStream

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Himself
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1989
85%

The SimpsonsStream

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Himself
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1989
85%

Baja Oklahoma

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1988

Walking After Midnight

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1988

Where the Hell's That Gold?

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1988

Once Upon a Texas Train

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1988

Texas Guns

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1988

Dynamite and Gold

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1988

The Last Days of Frank and Jesse JamesStream

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Gen. Jo Shelby
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1986

StagecoachStream

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Doc Holliday
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1986

StagecoachStream

Executive Producer
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1986

StagecoachStream

Original Music
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1986

Red Headed StrangerStream

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9607
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1986

Red Headed StrangerStream

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1986

Red Headed StrangerStream

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Movie
1986

The 10th Anniversary Johnny Cash Christmas Special

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1985

Miami ViceStream

Guest Star
Jake Pierson
Series
1984
71%

Willie Nelson: Live at Budokan

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1984

Willie Nelson: Seven Spanish Angels

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1984

SongwriterStream

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Doc Jenkins
Movie
1984
89%

Champs-Élysées

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1982

BarbarosaStream

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Barbarosa
Movie
1982
100%

Coming Out of the Ice

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Red Loon
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1982

Entertainment Tonight

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1981

ThiefStream

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Okla
Movie
1981
80%

L'Enfer de glace

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1981

Honeysuckle RoseStream

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Buck Bonham
Movie
1980
60%

Willie Nelson: Funny How Time Slips Away (Live From Austin City Limits, 1979)

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1979

Willie Nelson's 4th of July Celebration

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1979

The Electric Horseman

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Wendell Hickson
Movie
1979
64%

Austin City LimitsStream

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Series
1976

Saturday Night LiveStream

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Series
1975

Willie Nelson: Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain

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1975

Great PerformancesStream

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Franchise
1972

Great PerformancesStream

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Franchise
1972

Today

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1952

News aboutWillie Nelson