NELSON, WILLIE
(*1933)
NELSON, WILLIE (b. W. Hugh N., Abbot, Tex., April 30, 1933) Willie Nelson was one of the most influential country songwriters (in the early 1960s) and performers (from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s). A leader of the OUTLAW movement, Nelson abandoned the slick Nashville Sound of the 1960s to forge his own unique style, laying the groundwork for the explosion of new country in the 1980s. His reedy, sun-beaten voice and bluesy songs reflecting romantic love gone awry have become an integral part…