by Robert Wilkinson
For our Sunday main event, we send up a big Happy Birthday to an all-around good guy who has definitely changed the world for the better, and given us some great music along the way! Today we celebrate the birthday of my old friend Willie Nelson, a genuine hero, patron saint of our farmers and pioneer champion of biofuels, free speech and other forms of plant power!
As I've told you before, I knew Willie Nelson (April 29, 1933) in the late 1970s when I lived in Austin and being part of his "family," helped make his "Fourth of July Picnics" a staple of Texas culture and history. He really is as nice a guy as he seems, and the world is a better place for his sweet songs.
So today we dance to all kinds of music! From outlaw country to rock and roll, folk to classic Texas “git it on” dance music, here’s Willie Nelson and Friends!
We’ll begin with the earliest clip I could find. From 1962 in Nashville, a television clip of Willie in a suit with NO hair singing songs he wrote which others made into hits. "Hello Walls,” “Funny How Time Slips Away,” “Night Life,” and “Crazy.”
The Texas Opry House was an Austin institution for many years. Here’s a pretty young looking Willie at the Opry House in 1974 performing “Whiskey River” followed by “Stay All Night Stay A Little Longer” and “After the Fire is Gone.” We move into the backstretch with “Loving Arms,” “She’s Not For You,” and “Sad Songs and Waltzes.” We close this Opry House set with “Funny How Time Slips Away,” “Crazy,” and “Night Life”
This year we can again attend the beginnings of a Texas tradition, the 1974 Willie Nelson's 2nd Annual 4th Of July Picnic in Bryan/College Station, TX! This is a full 91 minute film about that show. Willie Nelson’s 1974 4th of July Picnic – College Station, TX
From that legendary event, a few individual clips of Willie, Leon Russell, and the boys!
“Funny How Time Slips Away" and "Nightlife"
“Whiskey River" and "Stay All Night"
And this one features Willie, Waylon, and Leon joined by Doug Kershaw doing a smokin' version of the Hank Williams classic "Jambalaya."
This year the whole show reappeared! Here’s the very unslick and unpolished pilot of the entire one hour pilot from October 17, 1974 of that Texas television institution show, so for your enjoyment, The Austin City Limits Pilot Featuring Willie Nelson
Because I found these in previous years, I’m keeping them in. From the Austin City Limits pilot program in 1974, here's Willie and friends cementing Austin’s rep as a party town cranking out a couple of his big ones about the party life! The opener was the classic "Whiskey River," which we’ll follow with "Bloody Mary Morning." We also have single clips of “Stay All Night Stay A Little Longer” and the closer, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”
Last year I also had individual clips of “Good Old Mountain Dew,” “I Can’t Believe You’re Gone,” “Turn Out the Lights/Nelson Family Jam," It’s Not Supposed to be that Way,” and "Good hearted Woman," but this year they’re still gone.
This is iconic! I have two awesome clips. First, from the 1975 Country Music Awards show when they were looking much younger and Nashville hated the idea of “Outlaw Country,” Willie’s classics ”Good Hearted Woman.” We’ll follow that one from much later at the 1986 Farm Aid show, where Willie and Waylon get in the saddle and deliver their classic "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys."
It’s disappeared. Every so often I find a great 19+ minutes of Willie in several duets with Tracey Nelson, former lead singer for the legendary Austin band Mother Earth, in 1977 on Pop Goes the Country! This is major Austin history. This year the whole set is gone, but I found these two. First, “After the Fire is Gone,” which we’ll follow with “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” (Set list: “If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time,” “After the Fire is Gone,” “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” “Ain’t it Funny How Time Slips Away,” “Crazy,” “Night Life,” and “Whiskey River.”)
And from 1978 (Looks like ACL!) Willie and Johnny Rodriguez cranking out "Stay All Night Stay A Little Longer."
Here’s a great audio-only live show featuring Willie and Leon Russell in 1979! For your enjoyment Willie Nelson and Leon Russell Live in Passaic NJ 1979
The Field Hospital!
These clips are a part of my history with the Man. After doing some security, medical, and promotional coordination in the 1973 and 1976 4th of July Picnics, in 1979 and 1980 I created and ran a full scale M*A*S*H field hospital for those 4th of July Picnics (you can call me Sherm). Those were a blast and nobody died while a great good time was had by all! The Fifth Ray Foundation team of Mayday 5840 (the number came from an I Ching with first and fifth line moving. No kidding...)
Anyway, In between the organized mass chaos of those Picnics he had us do the on-site medical for the concert finale of the movie Honeysuckle Rose filmed on the north side of the unfinished construction site of the Loop 360 bridge across the Colorado. From that movie in 1980, “A Song For You” and “Uncloudy Day” and "Angels flying too close to the ground." I suppose we were.
In a freaky moment, I found this clip of an ABC Houston story about the 1979 Willie Nelson Fourth of July Picnic, which is when I did my best Sherman Potter impression as the Commander and Coordinator of the field hospital! You can see a brief shot of the medical tent with my crew in their yellow shirts. It's only about 90 seconds total, but I never knew about this story.
Someday I'll tell you the tale of my time as part of Willie's "family" between 1973 and 1981. This field hospital came about because of too many people dying at previous Fourth of July celebrations, the passing of the Texas Mass Gatherings Act, the Oklahoma Mass Gatherings Act, my outrage at people dying at his shows, and my chutzpah in assembling a very large team of doctors, nurses, EMTs, equipment, pharmacists, and a lot more in a full scale MASH unit.
Anyway, the attendance numbers were cooked downward for all kinds of reasons (remember he was in tax hell at the time), and the reporter obviously wasn't too sure what was going on. For your enjoyment, 90 seconds on the Houston evening news about The 1979 Willie Nelson Fourth of July Picnic
In another freaky find, here's a 45 second news clip from the 1980 show, where we also had an even larger field hospital and staff! The ABC local news on the 1980 Willie Nelson Fourth of July Picnic ("Well organized?" But of course!) And for the record, no one died at either show. So the intention was fulfilled. Thanks for the memories, Willie.
And now, Willie and the Highwaymen!
Here are the Highwaymen - Willie, Waylon, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash, featuring Kris singing his hits "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and "Me and Bobby McGee." Here’s a clip of them doing Willie’s iconic hit that Patsy Cline took to the top! "Crazy"
Here’s a rousing performance of the Steve Goodman hit “City of New Orleans.”
From their 1993 Central Park show, “Farther Down the Line”, followed by “Big River,” and we’ll close that set with several more from that show! The Highwaymen Live in Central Park
Live at the 1993 Farm Aid, here’s a three-fer of the boys doing the famous Guy Clark hit “Desperados Waiting For A Train” and “I’ve Always Been Crazy.” We'll close that incredible show with their “title song,” "Highwayman."
In past years I had the entire hour and 37 minute 1990 concert in Nassau County on one clip, but it still isn’t available. However, this year I found this clip which autoloads 34 tunes from that show.
The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum - 1990In past years I’ve offered you these parts, so here they are again!
Parts 1, 6, 7, 9, and 12 are nowhere to be found this year.
The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 2 The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 3 The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 4 The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 5 The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 8 The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 10 The Highwaymen Live 1990 Nassau Coliseum pt. 11Last year’s one hour clip of the Highwaymen in Scotland in 1992 has disappeared, but I found this clip with 11, most from that show! The Highwaymen – On the Road Again in Scotland
Here’s a video taken off a tv of their classic show in Las Vegas! For your enjoyment, an hour and a half of The Highwaymen Live in Las Vegas
Here's Willie and Johnny Cash on VH1 doing Johnny's gigantic hit "The Ring of Fire," followed by an audio-only clip of them doing Willie's composition "Crazy." We'll take this into a great video performance of "Folsome Prison Blues," and finish this quartet of duets with Johnny and Willie doing the classic "Ghost Riders in the Sky."
This year I found it again! For your enjoyment, Outlaws and Angels featuring Willie, Keith Richards, Merle Haggard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many more! The link takes you to the first clip, and it autoloads from there! “Outlaws and Angels”
Here are a couple from that show! This one features Toby and Merle doing a classic written by the legendary Townes Van Zandt, "Pancho and Lefty" which we'll follow with all three joined by Joe Walsh in "Ramblin' Fever"
From 2000 in Amsterdam, Willie cranks it up with "Whiskey River," “Stay All Night,” and “Good Hearted Woman.”
From 2002 in Nashville, here’s Willie with Keith Richards doing the Stones’ classic, "Dead Flowers" which we’ll follow with the guys joined by Sheryl Crow giving us "The Worst."
Here are Willie and Paul Simon in 2003 doing Paul's hit from 1966, "Homeward Bound."
A couple of his famous ballads! First, "Always On My Mind" followed by "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain"
In a nod to his famous bus, here's a performance set to still shots of Toby Keith and Willie doing "I'll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again." In this 3 minute interview, Toby Keith tells the uncensored true tale of getting blasted with Willie on the bus. Find out why Toby Keith will never smoke with Willie Nelson again!
Here he's joined by a couple of legends! First, from his 70th birthday in 2003 with Leon Russell and Ray Charles, "A Song For You." We follow this with a duet between Ray and Willie, "Seven Spanish Angels"
Live in 1984, a great 7+ minutes of Willie and BB King giving us Willie’s famous composition “Nightlife”
From 1986, Willie and Ray giving us a soulful offering of "Georgia On My Mind."
Here's the music video of Willie and Merle Haggard in their original offering of, “Pancho and Lefty." RIP Townes. Some of us still miss you.
Here's a great music video of "Gravedigger."
Willie doing the Jimmy Cliff classic, "The Harder They Come."
Here's Willie at the Luck Texas lawnmower races doing "You Don't Think I'm Funny Anymore."
Here's Willie performing "Funny How Time Slips Away" in 1997.
From the album Will the Circle Be Unbroken Vol. 3, Willie and Tom Petty give us an audio-only performance the Huddie Ledbetter classic "Goodnight Irene."
If you want to know more about his part in creating the "Outlaw Country" movement which transformed country music forever, here's a great clip from Country Music TV about Willie, Waylon and the boys! The Outlaw Movement in Country Music
We'll close this birthday dance with Willie in Amsterdam in 2007 doing "Amazing Grace."
For our encore, an entire 43 minute show with Willie Nelson, John Hiatt, Billy Joe Shaver, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore! "Legends of Country Music – Willie Nelson, , John Hiatt, Billy Joe Shaver, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore
For our second encore, a full hour and 11 of Willie live in 1999! Willie Nelson and Family at Woodstock 99
For our third encore, courtesy of Live From Austin Texas, 17 big ones! Willie Nelson – Live From Austin Texas
To learn more about what Willie's doing these days, visit Willie Nelson.com, Willie's personal site which offers you an intimate inside look at this American Legend. Also, here's the link to Farm Aid, which you should attend or support, since farmers are one of the very few forces in the food chain we can and should support.
So here's a most Happy Birthday to a true American hero, and may you have many, many more, old friend!
© Copyright 2024 Robert Wilkinson
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