Willie Nelson (63 page)
The good, God-fearing church people along with other town citizens pressed up close to Honeysuckle Rose IV, trying to peer through the tinted windows of the touring bus belonging to the local boy made good, alongside representatives of the sheriff’s department and fire department who were keeping the street clear. They all appeared to be oblivious to the putrid skunk aroma wafting out of the bus—the telltale sign that someone was burning Willie Weed on this fine Sunday morning. The firemen and the sheriff’s deputies were too busy cheering the little man emerging from the church to mind the odor.
Instamatics, 35-mm film, and digital and cell phone cameras were held high in the air, all aimed at the man slowly making his way into the throng of the faithful who were crowding the twenty-yard path from church door to bus. A noble among his flock, he was one of them. He set off a round of cheers by simply signing the guitar that had been passed over heads in his direction, and another round as he sent it back over the sea of hands to its owner.
That Sunday morning, Abbott looked, sounded, and smelled liked Texas. The gathering attracted all shapes, sizes, and colors, an estuary of humanity where the sacred mingled with the profane, ebbing and flowing around a solitary man, a Texan’s Texan.
Willie Hugh Nelson was living in the moment, “the only time,” he said, “I can do anything about.”
He had done what he’d set out to do. “I think I’ve about covered it,” he said with satisfaction. And he was on to the next.
The realization that Texans are different from everybody else hit me about an hour after I’d first set foot on Texas soil. I was only two years old, but I distinctly remember my father picking up my mother, my sister, and me at the Greater Fort Worth International Airport and driving us to our new home in Fort Worth, stopping along the way at the Big Apple Barbecue on Highway 183. The waitresses talked funny, and the smoked beef brisket covered in barbecue sauce that we were served tasted like nothing I’d experienced. It was familiar and strange and exotic all at once. Even as the hot spices set fire to my lips and scorched the inside of my mouth, I immediately wanted more.
I’ve been trying to figure out Texas and Texans ever since. Fifty-two years later, I realized the answer had been right in front of me for most of my life. I first encountered the smiling friendly face as a black-and-white image flickering on Channel 11, singing songs live from Panther Hall on
The
Cowtown Jamboree
and on
The
Ernest Tubb Show
in a voice that could have come only from Texas. I grew familiar with the voice by listening to KCUL, the country and western radio station, although versions of “Hello Walls” and “Crazy” sung by other people were Top 40 hits in Fort Worth. The first interview was in Austin in 1973 for
Zoo World
magazine. After thirty-five years of writing about him and many others, I can now safely say that no single public person living in the twentieth or twenty-first century defines Texas or Texans better than Willie Hugh Nelson.
Texans by nature are independent, freethinking, open, outgoing, and friendly. Iconoclasts, they respect tradition but are not beholden to it. Whether it’s God or sin, they tend to embrace excess. The good ones have a whole lot of heart. They are creatures of geography and exude a sense of place in an increasingly homogenized world. They reflect the climate and sometimes are a little crazy from the heat. They are wanderers and explorers, keen to improvise, curious enough to go places they shouldn’t. They are loud and boisterous when they need to be. They seem to go out of their way to make friends with strangers. They are great storytellers and some of the most distinctive music makers on earth. You know Texas music when you hear it, just like you know Willie’s music.
A certain Red Headed Stranger was once said to say, “Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.” I tried my best to ignore that sage advice once I took on this project. On the back side, all I can say is that getting all the facts straight while piecing together the history of a culture once considered too low, too sordid, and too wild to be worth documenting in print was no sure thing. Many characters were too busy living life to the fullest, sometimes under the influence, and sometimes living proof of the adage “If you can remember the sixties, you weren’t there.” Others took their stories with them when they passed. Then there were those who were inclined to con for the pure sport of it.
Fortunately, my subject was accommodating and open—exactly the person I’ve always known him to be. He’s the story. I’m just the teller.
In that spirit, my special thanks to Willie Hugh and his family for opening their lives to me; my wife, Kris, and sons, Jake and Andy, for their support and for putting up with me; my sister, Christina Patoski, especially for the stash of
Country Song Roundup
s and other vintage publications; Margaret Patoski for being the mother she is; and Lindy Barger and Johnny Reno for the all-star honkalicious support.
I thank my editor, John Parsley, my agent, Jim Fitzgerald, my copyeditor, Pamela Marshall, and my publisher, Michael Pietsch (don’t give up your day job), for making this book happen; my assistants, Sarah McNeely and Joel Minor, for the support, heavy lifting, feedback, and safety net; photo editor Kathy Marcus for the images; Joe “King” Carrasco and the Crowns and Alejandro Escovedo and the True Believers for the on-the-job training; Nick Tosches for the sage advice; and Bill Crawford for the help, advice, and the Opry passes.
Many thanks to Mark Rothbaum; Miss Bobbie Lee Nelson; Lana Nelson; Connie Nelson; Annie Nelson; Freddy Fletcher; Paul, Billy, and Oliver English; Sibyl Neely; Evelyn Flood; Paula Carlene Nelson; Shirley Nelson; Gates and Pamela Moore; David E. Anderson; the fine citizens of Abbott, Texas, and Hill County; the volunteers at the Abbott Methodist Church, especially Donald Reed, Joyce Clements Reed, Jackie Clements, and Faye Dell Clements; Morris Russell; Jimmy Graves; Laurie Nichols Carrell; Mickey Raphael; Jody Payne; Flaco Lemons; Steve Davis and Connie Todd at the Southwestern Writers Collection at Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas; Bud Shrake; Tim O’Connor; Tim Hamblin and the Austin History Center; Jhon Case; Charlie Owens; Casey James Monahan and the governor’s Texas Music Office; Elaine Shock and Shock, Inc.; Jurgen Koop and Rich Kienzle and Bear Family Records for the scholarship; Douglas Hanners and the Austin Record Convention; Lynda and Johnny Bush; Rick Crow; Kevin Connor; Billy Cooper; Poodie Locke and Poodie’s Hilltop Bar & Grill; Brenda Colladay at the Grand Ole Opry archives; George Hamilton IV and George Hamilton V; John Lomax III; Buddy Prewitt Jr.; Linda Banks; Kenny Koepke; Tunin’ Tom Hawkins; Billy Joe Shaver; Ray Benson; Jim Haber; Floyd Domino; Billy Cooper; Tracy Pitcox of the Heart of Texas Country Music Museum in Brady, Texas; Darrell and Mona McCall; Jeannie Seely; Hank Cochran; Aaron Allen and the fine folks at KCTI, Gonzales, Texas; Bill Mack, Cindy Mack, Truman, and the Open Road gang on XM Satellite Radio; Eddie Stubbs; Cowboy Jack Clement; Eddie Kilroy of Willie’s Place on XM Satellite Radio; Freddy Powers; Sammy Allred at KVET-FM; Kevin Connor and Music & Entertainment Television, Austin, Texas; Jody Denberg and other friends at KGSR-FM, Austin, Texas; Coach Darrell K and Edith Royal; Larry and Pat Butler; Ronald Greer; Jerry Bradley; Herky Williams; Nick Hunter; Al Bianculli; Evelyn Shriver; Susan Nadler and Bandit Records; Kissy Black; Martha Moore; Susan Levy; Chet Flippo and CMT; Peter Blackstock; Grant Alden and the fine folks at
No Depression
magazine; Jerry Retzloff; Les Leverett; Jimmy Moore; Jimmy C. Newman; Joe Gracey and Kimmie Rhodes; Bob Hedderman; Edwin O. Wilson; Jim Franklin; Micael Priest; Mike Tolleson; Cleve Hattersley; Kinky Friedman; Dave Rich; Bruce Lundvall; Tamara Saviano; John Kunz; John T. Davis; Steve Wynn; Alicia Villegas; Sylvie Simmons; Terri Minnick; Ed Melton; Tim and Andra Shepard; Roland Swenson, and Louis Black; Nick Barbaro and the
Austin Chronicle
and South by Southwest; Ed Ward; Jake Bernstein and the
Texas Observer;
Greg Curtis and
Texas Monthly
magazine; Robert Macias; Randy Brudnicki, Louie Bond, and Charles Lohrmann and
Texas Parks & Wildlife
magazine; Stoney Burns and
Buddy
magazine; Kirby Warnock; Mark Shimmel; Diann Bayes and the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce; Ronnie Pugh and the Nashville Public Library; John Rumble and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum; Clark County Public Library, Washington; Oregon Historical Association; Searcy County Library, Arkansas; Bruce Tabb, special collections librarian, University of Oregon Library; Craig Adams and the Portland Radio Guide; Ed Dailey; Gene Breeden; Rick Crow; Herb Steiner; Mary Buelow; Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, Washington; Tom Kellam and the Fort Worth Public Library, Texas; Lee Woodward; Lawton Williams; Clark County Historical Museum, Washington; Max Hall; Bobby Gibson; Leon Smith; Stephen Bruton; Sumter Bruton; Gene Kelton; John Young of the
Waco Tribune-Herald;
Beverly Moore; Bobby Earl Smith; Frank and Jeanie Oakley and the Willie Nelson General Store; Tracee Crump; Larry Gieschen, periodicals librarian, Texas State University; James Luther and Mary Lindsay Dickinson; George J. Emmel; Ed Enoch; Gary Burton; Booker T. Jones; Owen McFadden and the BBC; Carlyn Majer; Jack Kinslow; Logan Rogers; Phil York; Kandy Kicker; Carolyn Emanuel; Alison Beck; Jimmy Herrington; David Bartlett; Randy Meadows; Mark Fields; Ernie and Tracey Renn; Johnny Hughes; David Dennard; Gordon Perry; Bud Kennedy; Bob Bruton; Martha Moore; Curtis Potter; Felix Rejcek; Charlie Ryan; Fran Weatherholt; Wendy Goldstein; Delbert McClinton; Mel Tillis; Claude Gray; Bobby Bare; Leona Williams; Gerald Wexler; Luke Lewis; Lost Highway Records; and all the other good people who helped make this possible.
Somewhere in America
Information taken from field notes.
Abbott
I
NTERVIEWS
Bobbie Nelson, Willie Nelson
O
RAL
H
ISTORIES
Wilcox, Mildred Turney. Oral history. Edwin (Bud) Shrake Papers. San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.
B
OOKS
Nelson, Willie, with Bud Shrake.
Willie: An Autobiography
. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988.
W
EB
S
ITES
East of Western Grove on Pindall Ridge
I
NTERVIEWS
Laurie Nichols Carrell, Evelyn M. Flood, Jeff Henthorne, Sibyl Neely, Irene Nichols Young
O
RAL
H
ISTORIES
Wilcox, Mildred Turney. Oral history. Edwin (Bud) Shrake Papers. San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.
Young, Sybil Greenhaw. Oral history. Edwin (Bud) Shrake Papers. San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.
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Boone County Historical and Railroad Society.
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Grayson, Lisa.
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Lackey, Walter F.
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Lair, Jim, and the Carroll County Historical and Genealogical Society.
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Turney-McMindes, Helen Cavaness.
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A
DDITIONAL
S
OURCES
Holcomb, George.
Harrison Daily Times,
Harrison, AR.
McMurrin, Kathleen. Boone County genealogist, Boone County, AR.
Miller, Jim. Boone County Library, Harrison, AR.
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Sacred Harp Singing
. Anniston, AL: Sacred Harp Musical Heritage Association.
“Sacred Harp Singing in Texas,” TexasFaSoLa.org.
Smith, Marilyn. Boone County Museum, Harrison, AR.
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Abbott
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NTERVIEWS
Faye Dell Clements, Jackie Clements, Jimmy Graves, James (Slim) Hand, Marie Urbanovsky Kershen, Helen Urbanovsky Lenart, Donald Reed, Joyce Clements Reed, Felix Rejcek, Morris Russell, Jerry Frank Ruzicka, Leo Ruzicka, Fran Weatherholt
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Nelson, Willie. Oral history.
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radio program. New Orleans: American Public Media, November 29, 2000.
Shelton, W. B. Oral history. Edwin (Bud) Shrake Papers. San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.
Varnon, Zeke. Oral history. Edwin (Bud) Shrake Papers. San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.
Wilcox, Mildred Turney. Oral history. Edwin (Bud) Shrake Papers. San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.
Young, Sybil Greenhaw. Oral history. Edwin (Bud) Shrake Papers. San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.
B
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Abbott Centennial Planning Committee.
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Bailey, Ellis.
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Cooper, Daniel.
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Nelson, Willie.
Willie Nelson: The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes
. New York: Random House, 2002.
Nelson, Willie, with Bud Shrake.
Willie: An Autobiography
. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988.
Nelson, Willie, with Turk Pipkin.
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. New York: Gotham, 2006.
Pugh, Ronnie.
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. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1996.
Texas Almanac
. Dallas:
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Willie Nelson Family Album
. Compiled by Lana Nelson. Amarillo, TX: H. M. Poirot & Company, 1980.
A
RTICLES
Nelson, Susie. “Old-time Religion Was Genesis of Nelson’s Love for Music.”
Dallas Times Herald,
August 25, 1987.
A
DDITIONAL
S
OURCES
Hill County Genealogical Society, Hillsboro, TX.
Hill County Library, Hillsboro, TX.
Kienzle, Rich. Liner notes. From
Legends of Country Music: Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
. Sony Legacy, 2006.
McFadden, Owen. “Outlaw: The Willie Nelson Story.” Broadcast on BBC2, London, November 14, 21, and 28, and December 5, 2006.
McLennan County Library, Waco, TX.
Nelson, Willie. Willie Nelson songbook. Texas Music Archives, San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.
Sacred Harp Singing
. Anniston, AL: Sacred Harp Musical Heritage Association.
“Sacred Harp Singing in Texas,” TexasFaSoLa.org.
W
EB
S
ITES
Waco
I
NTERVIEWS
Johnny Gimble, James (Slim) Hand, Bobbie Nelson, Lana Nelson, Willie Nelson, George Uptmor
O
RAL
H
ISTORIES
Nelson, Martha. Edwin (Bud) Shrake Papers. San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.
Varnon, Zeke. Edwin (Bud) Shrake Papers. San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.
B
OOKS
Cooper, Daniel.
Lefty Frizzell: The Honky-tonk Life of Country Music’s Greatest Singer
. New York: Little, Brown, 1995.
Handbook of Texas
. Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 2007.
Morrison and Fourmey’s Waco City Directory,
1951.
Nelson, Willie, with Bud Shrake.
Willie: An Autobiography
. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988.
Wallace, Patricia Ward.
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. Virginia Beach: Donning Company, 1999.
Willie Nelson Family Album
. Compiled by Lana Nelson. Amarillo, TX: H. M. Poirot & Company, 1980.
A
RTICLES
Ferman, Dave. “Let’s Go to Carl’s Corner, Texas, with Willie and Carl and Zeke.”
Dallas Morning News,
July 4, 1987.
A
DDITIONAL
S
OURCES
Country Song Roundup
. Various issues, 1951–1954.
Harrison, Glen Bryer Jr. Associate professor of history. Baylor University, Waco, TX.
Hill County Library, Hillsboro, TX.
McFadden, Owen. “Outlaw: The Willie Nelson Story.” Broadcast on BBC2, London, November 14, 21, and 28, and December 5, 2006.
McLennan County Library, Waco, TX.
Texas Collection. Baylor University, Waco, TX.
Waco Chamber of Commerce, Waco, TX.
W
EB
S
ITES
San Antonio
I
NTERVIEWS
Aaron Allan, Johnny Bush, Ricky Davila, Dave Isbell, Willie Nelson, Mary Parker Pool
O
RAL
H
ISTORIES
Nelson, Martha. Edwin (Bud) Shrake Papers. San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.
Nelson, Willie. Oral history.
American Routes
radio program. New Orleans: American Public Media, November 29, 2000.
B
OOKS
Bush, Johnny, with Rick Mitchell.
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. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2007.
Handbook of Texas
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Nelson, Willie, with Edwin (Bud) Shrake.
Willie: An Autobiography
. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988.
Texas Almanac
. Dallas:
Dallas Morning News,
2005.
Willie Nelson Family Album
. Compiled by Lana Nelson. Amarillo, TX: H. M. Poirot & Company, 1980.
A
DDITIONAL
S
OURCES
Country Song Roundup
. Various issues, 1953–1954.
Kienzle, Rich. “It’s Been Rough and Rocky Travelin’.” From
Willie Nelson: It’s Been Rough and Rocky Travelin’
. CD booklet. Bear Family, 2003.
McFadden, Owen. “Outlaw: The Willie Nelson Story.” Broadcast on BBC2, London, November 14, 21, and 28, and December 5, 2006.
W
EB
S
ITES
Fort Worth
I
NTERVIEWS
Bob Bruton, Stephen Bruton, Sumter Bruton, Jerry Case, Jhon Case, Billy English, Oliver English, Paul English, Mark Fields, Pat Kirkwood, Dandy Don Logan, Quentin McGown, Tommy Morrell, Bobbie Nelson, Charlie Owens, Freddy Powers, Dave Rich, Horace Lee Sewell, Bud Shrake, Leo Teel, Lee Woodward
O
RAL
H
ISTORIES
Nelson, Martha. Edwin (Bud) Shrake Papers. San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.
B
OOKS
Arnold, Ann.
Gamblers and Gangsters
. Austin: Eakin Press, 1998.
Bush, Johnny, with Rick Mitchell.
Whiskey River (Take My Mind): The True Story of Texas Honky-tonk
. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2007.
Cooper, Daniel.
Lefty Frizzell: The Honky-tonk Life of Country Music’s Greatest Singer
. New York: Little, Brown, 1995.
George-Warren, Holly.
Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry
. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Handbook of Texas
. Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 2007.
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. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988.
Selcer, Richard F.
Hell’s Half Acre.
Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 1991.
Texas Almanac
. Dallas:
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2005.
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. Compiled by Lana Nelson. Amarillo, TX: H. M. Poirot & Company, 1980.
A
RTICLES
Case, Johnny. “Calling Me Back: The Doug Bragg Story.”
Hillbilly-music.com
.
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Fort Worth Press,
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“Complete Television and Radio Log.”
Fort Worth Press,
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“Electric Flag Is Criticized.”
Fort Worth Press,
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Jeansonne, Billy. “Paul English: On the Road...Again.”
Classic Drummer,
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“Metal Courthouse Flag May Be Hauled Down.”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
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Moulder, John. “Paul English: Underworld Runaway Who Bangs the Drum for Willie Nelson.”
Country Rambler,
January 13, 1977.
Peel, Mark. “Austin Country.”
Daily Texan,
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Shurley, Traci. “‘People Person’ Ran Many Bars, Eateries: Inez Mortenson, 1918–2006.”
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July 2, 2006.
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Journal of Country Music
11, no. 1.
A
DDITIONAL
S
OURCES
Country Song Roundup
. Various issues, 1954–1957.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
television and radio listings, January 1, January 12, January 24, and June 6, 1954; January 1 and January 3, 1955; January 1–3 and January 31, 1956; January 1, January 3–5, and January 18–19, 1957.
Kellam, Thomas, and the Fort Worth Public Library, Fort Worth, TX.
Kienzle, Rich. “It’s Been Rough and Rocky Travelin’.” From
Willie Nelson: It’s Been Rough and Rocky Travelin’
. CD booklet. Bear Family, 2003.
Lynch, Patrick. Eugene Public Library, Eugene, OR.
McFadden, Owen. “Outlaw: The Willie Nelson Story.” Broadcast on BBC2, London, November 14, 21, and 28, and December 5, 2006.
Shannon, Mike,
KNUS99.com
.
W
EB
S
ITES
Vancouver
I
NTERVIEWS
Craig Adams, Wes Bakken, Gene Breeden, Bobby Gibson, Max Hall, Dory Hylton, Lana Nelson, Willie Nelson, Leon Smith
O
RAL
H
ISTORIES
Axton, Mae Boren. Edwin (Bud) Shrake Papers. San Marcos, TX: Southwestern Writers Collection.