MUSIC CITY MINUTE

Willie Nelson: the man, myth, outlaw and legend – at 93, he is still truckin’ on | Music City Minute

May 1, 2026, 2:30 PM

If you were to crack open the dictionary and look up the word legend, you would see a full-page picture of Willie Nelson right next to the definition. This week, we celebrate Ole Poncho, who turned 93 on April 29, and talk about a man who has seen and done at all! Willie’s music career began following a stint in the Air Force and finding work as a disc jockey. At the same time, he was already honing his craft writing hit songs like “Crazy” and “Hello Walls” before turning his back on Nashville and returning home to Texas. He would eventually go onto record albums like “Shotgun Willie” and “Redheaded Stranger,” while simultaneously pioneering the Outlaw Country movement with friends Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. Over the last seven decades, Nelson has recorded 104 studio albums, won dozens of Grammys, ACM and CMA awards and earned inductions into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, cementing his iconic image of equal parts, hippie, cowboy and rock star.
I’m Sheena, and that’s your Music City Minute.

Music City Minute

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(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)...

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Willie Nelson: the man, myth, outlaw and legend – at 93, he is still truckin’ on | Music City Minute