Willie Nelson - 90th
Willie Nelson was born during the great depression (US 1930's) and is famous the world over. He spreads his time over the year at both of his home locations in Texas and Maui, Hawaii. Love him or hate him he has been top of the Country genre for generations and he is known for his pigtail image
Accomplishments
- Wrote 1st song at age of 7
- Wrote 25 Top 10 songs
- One such example is 'Crazy' he wrote for Patsy Kline
- Another is Always On My Mind - even if you don't follow country music you are aware of this song!
- Pushed for BioDiesel - formed his own enterprise called BioWillie and is managing partner in 2 other firms
- Pushed for legalization of Marijuana
- This came with several notable arrests for possession of said substance
- Nelson is a co-chair of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) advisory board
- Helped founded FarmAid back in the 1980's
Legacy
- Willie had a run in w/ the IRS (Internal Revenue Service in '90)
- Estimated Net Worth @ $25M
- 1993 inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame
- Los Angeles City Council declared Willie’s birthday, April 29, 2023
90th Birthday guest list was filled with iconic names
Lead off with fellow Texan George Strait, Beck, Billy Strings, Bob Weir, Buddy Cannon, Chris Stapleton, Daniel Lanois, Dave Matthews, Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, Gary Clark Jr., Jack Johnson, Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Leon Bridges, Lily Meola, Lukas Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Margo Price, Miranda Lambert, Nathaniel Rateliff, Neil Young, Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow, Shooter Jennings, Snoop Dogg, Stephen Stills, Sturgill Simpson, The Avett Brothers, The Lumineers, Tom Jones, Tyler Childers, Ziggy Marley as well as Keith Richards (another human relic).
This list has top names from almost every genre, very impressive just on this fact alone. Add in a man who suffered from many collapsed lungs from smoking making it to 90 is impressive in my book.
Makes we wonder does Willie dabble in Crypto? Part of me deep down inside believes he does as a forward thinker and advocate for rights. Perhaps one day we will hear about the Willie Token or the Toke Token (Just riffing at this point).
Summary - like him, love him or dislike or hate him, his legacy for music, advocacy will live on long past him. What legacy are you leaving when you depart this earthly realm?
