Seriously? If I am lucky enough to live to be 80, I'd be thrilled to be able to do half the things he does now.
He still plays over a hundred shows a year. He releases at least one, and usually more studio albums every year. He has his own biodiesel company. He is an activist for green living, the environment, and *cough*marijuana*cough*. He is a staunch supporter of farmers and American farming. He founded Farm Aid. That hits me close to home.
He is one of the most prolific American songwriters of our time or any other, having written such classics as Crazy, Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away, Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground, Family Bible, Hello Walls, On The Road Again, Pretty Paper, Yesterday's Wine, Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys, and Good Hearted Woman, just to name a few.
By age seven, Willie Hugh Nelson (I named my mustang after him, by the way) had already figured out what he loved to do, and he has been doing it every day of his life since then.
If that isn't the definition of success, I'm not sure what is.
Willie is a singer, a songwriter, an activist, and an icon.
He's the very definition of old-school, while still managing to keep up with and even exceed the times with his attention to and focus on green living and the environment.
He's my absolute favorite singer/songwriter of all time.
In honor of his 80th birthday today, I'm going to share with you some of my favorite Wille songs and performances.
Some are old, some are new, but they are all my Willie.
Happy Birthday, old man. Here's to many more.
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