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Wille Nelson: "On The Road Again"...to Charlotte
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AP Photo: Willie Nelson
The Willie Nelson and Family concert tour comes to Charlotte, North Carolina this Friday, October 30, 2009 for one show only!
Ovens Auditorium is the site of the Friday night concert event starring the American music icon Willie Nelson with a host of "Family" also set to grace the stage.
The Country Music Hall of Famer was born Willie Hugh Nelson on April 30, 1933 in Abbott, Texas. Nelson is a multi-faceted figure in the canvas of Americana. A singer, songwriter, author, poet, actor and activist who remains one of the most recognizeable figures in pop culture. His grandparents, William Alfred Nelson and Nancy Elizabeth Smothers are noted as nurturing his musical side by providing him with mail-order music lessons beginning at 6 years of age. He wrote his first song at age 7 and began playing in a local band at age 9. He furthered his love of music by obtaining stints as a disc jockey in local Texas radio stations and singing in the Texas honky tonks. Upon graduation from Abbott High School in 1951, Nelson joined the United States Air Force. Due to back problems, he was discharged just nine months later. He went on to study agriculture for one year at Baylor University.
In 1956, Nelson decided to attempt to further his interest in music by moving to Vancouver, Washington to take another disc jockey position. While there, he recorded a Leon Payne tune entitled "Lumberjack". Although the song sold fairly well it did not give him the break he was seeking. During this time period Nelson penned "Family Bible". He sold the song for $100 but, this was an initial break through in his career. Artist Claude Gray recorded the song and in 1960 it became a hit. Today, the song is recognized as a Gospel music classic. The success helped to move Nelson to Nashville, Tennessee where he secured a publishing contract with Pamper Music. While at Pamper, Nelson wrote the Ray Price hit "Night Life" which is said to be the most covered Country song of all time boasting covers by Frank Sinatra and, believe it or not, cult leader Charles Manson. On the heels of this song writing success, Nelson joined Ray Price's band, The Cherokee Cowboys, as a bass player. It was during this time that Nelson wrote some of the biggest songs of the era including "Funny How Time Slps Away" (Billy Walker), "Hello Walls" (Faron Young), "Pretty Paper" (Roy Orbison) and most notably "Crazy" (Patsy Cline). Nelson moved to RCA Victor records in 1965 and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry where he released a string of songs in the "Nashville Sound" style.
In the early 1970's, Nelson retired and moved to Austin, Texas but he never went inactive. It wasn't long before a musical movement known as "Outlaw Country" began to sweep the nation. The term 'Outlaw" was used because the music did not conform to the standards of the Nashville music scene during this period. A stint with Atlantic Records came during this time before he moved to Columbia Records where he was given complete creative control over his work. It was the concept album "Red Headed Stranger" which gained Nelson critical acclaim and produced his first number 1 hit as a singer with the cover of the 1945 Fred Rose tune "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain". Subsequently, the album "Wanted! The Outlaws" was released in 1976 with Nelson being accompanied on the compilation by Waylon Jennings, Jennings wife Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser. This album became Country music's first platinum album. Other hits of the decade included "Good Hearted Woman" (duet with Waylon Jennings), "If You've Got The Money" (Lefty Frizell cover), "Uncloudy Day" and "Something To Brag About" (duet with Mary Kay Place).
Nelson's popularity took him into other areas of recogniion, as well. as the decade of the 70s drew to a close and the 80s began, Nelson began appearing in feature films such as "The Electric Horseman" (1979), "Honeysuckle Rose" (1980), "Thief" (1981), "Barbarosa" (1982), "Songwriter" (1984) "Red Headed Stranger" (1986), "Wag The Dog" (1997) and "Gone Fishin'" (1997). He also appeared in several TV movie releases such as "The Dukes of Hazzard" (2005), "Surfer, Dude" (2008) and various television program appearances.
During the decade of the 80s, Nelson also found time to be involved with charity work. He was one of the artists featured in 1984's "We Are The World" project which focused on raising money for world hunger and he became one of the founders of the "Farm Aid" concerts in 1985. Even with all of his success, Nelson found himself in a battle with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over unpaid taxes totaling more than $16 million dollars. As a solution to the issue, Nelson released "The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?" , a double platinum album, in which all the profits went to the IRS. Still, many of his assets were auctioned but, a number of them were purchased by friends who, in turn, gave them back to him. Subsequent to the IRS action, Nelson sued accounting firm Price Waterhouse contending that the firm placed him into inappropriate tax shelters. The suit was settled for an undisclosed amount and by 1993 the debt was paid.
As an activist, Nelson has found himself involved with many causes. In addition to Farm Aid, he has been involved with the building of two Pacific Bio-diesel plants and is co-chair for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). He continues to perform for charitable events such as the 2005 concert for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. He headlined this all star event which raised an estimated $120,000 for UNICEF and other organizations. Nelson has also had political affiliations with former Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman and former Presidential hopeful Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich.
The "Willie Nelson and Family" concert tour consists of Nelson and a collection of longstanding family and friends such as his sister Bobbie Nelson, drummer Paul English, harmonicist Mickey Raphael, Bee Spears, Billy English and Jody Payne. Nelson tours in his bio-diesel bus the "Honeysuckle Rose IV". You can catch the show Friday, October 30, 2009 at Charlotte, North Carolina's Ovens Auditorium. The 2400 plus theater is located at 2700 East Independence Boulevard adjacent to the Bojangle's Arena. The facility has been home to acts and events such as The Billy Graham Crusade, Bruce Springstein, Jerry Seinfeld, Broadway shows, symphony concerts and countless graduation ceremonies. It boasts more than 7000 events and 9.4 million attendees in its history. For more information or tickets you may call (704) 335-3100 or (800) 745-3000; online at www.ovensauditorium.com. Doors open at 7pm with showtime at 8pm. Ticket prices range from $49.50 to $69.50.
For more info: www.willienelson.com , www.ovensauditorium.com
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