Mary Jane Marshall (F)
b. circa 1831, #438851
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=6th cousin 4 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Mary Jane Marshall was born circa 1831 at Arkansas. She was the daughter of John Hood Marshall and Elizabeth Isabella Keith.

William Andrew Jackson Marshall (M)
b. 8 January 1832, d. after 5 June 1900, #438852
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=6th cousin 4 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     William Andrew Jackson Marshall was born on 8 January 1832 at Boone County, Arkansas. He was the son of John Hood Marshall and Elizabeth Isabella Keith. William Andrew Jackson Marshall married Martha A. Hemphill circa 1858 at Arkansas. William Andrew Jackson Marshall died after 5 June 1900.

John Marshall (M)
b. circa 1834, #438853
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=6th cousin 4 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     John Marshall was born circa 1834 at Arkansas. He was the son of John Hood Marshall and Elizabeth Isabella Keith.

Joel Marshall (M)
b. circa 1837, #438854
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=6th cousin 4 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Joel Marshall was born circa 1837 at Arkansas. He was the son of John Hood Marshall and Elizabeth Isabella Keith.

Wisdom Abijah Marshall (M)
b. circa 1842, #438855
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=6th cousin 4 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Wisdom Abijah Marshall was born circa 1842 at Arkansas. He was the son of John Hood Marshall and Elizabeth Isabella Keith.

George Bains Marshall (M)
b. November 1844, d. 12 January 1920, #438856
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=6th cousin 4 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     George Bains Marshall was born in November 1844 at Arkansas. He was the son of John Hood Marshall and Elizabeth Isabella Keith. George Bains Marshall died on 12 January 1920 at age 75.

Salinda Catherine Marshall (F)
b. circa 1848, #438857
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=6th cousin 4 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Salinda Catherine Marshall was born circa 1848 at Arkansas. She was the daughter of John Hood Marshall and Elizabeth Isabella Keith.

Elysian Fields Marshall (F)
b. 16 February 1850, d. 8 February 1931, #438858
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=6th cousin 4 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Elysian Fields Marshall was also known as Elyse Marshall. Elysian Fields Marshall was born on 16 February 1850 at Boone County, Arkansas. She was the daughter of John Hood Marshall and Elizabeth Isabella Keith. Elysian Fields Marshall died on 8 February 1931 at Leonard, Fannin County, Texas, at age 80.

Darcus Marshall (M)
b. 1851, #438859
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=6th cousin 4 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Darcus Marshall was born in 1851 at Arkansas. He was the son of John Hood Marshall and Elizabeth Isabella Keith.

Martha A. Hemphill (F)
b. January 1834, d. 1905, #438860

     Martha A. Hemphill was born in January 1834 at Georgia. She married William Andrew Jackson Marshall, son of John Hood Marshall and Elizabeth Isabella Keith, circa 1858 at Arkansas. Martha A. Hemphill died in 1905 at Boone County, Arkansas.

Aprilla Ann Marshall (F)
b. 21 January 1858, d. 20 February 1929, #438861
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 3 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Aprilla Ann Marshall was born on 21 January 1858 at Arkansas. She was the daughter of William Andrew Jackson Marshall and Martha A. Hemphill. Aprilla Ann Marshall married Franklin Claud Nelson, son of Newton Nelson and Amanda Midget, on 1 June 1875 at Boone County, Arkansas. Aprilla Ann Marshall died on 20 February 1929 at age 71. She was buried at Western Grove Cemetery, Newton County, Arkansas.

Alex Seppie Marshall (M)
b. 1 September 1860, d. 1 July 1944, #438862
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 3 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Alex Seppie Marshall was born on 1 September 1860 at Boone County, Arkansas. He was the son of William Andrew Jackson Marshall and Martha A. Hemphill. Alex Seppie Marshall died on 1 July 1944 at age 83.

Dr. Ira A. Marshall (M)
b. circa 1863, #438863
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 3 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Dr. Ira A. Marshall was born circa 1863 at Duggers Mill, Boone County, Arkansas. He was the son of William Andrew Jackson Marshall and Martha A. Hemphill.

Geova C. Marshall (F)
b. 1 January 1865, d. 11 March 1945, #438864
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 3 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Geova C. Marshall was born on 1 January 1865 at Boone County, Arkansas. She was the daughter of William Andrew Jackson Marshall and Martha A. Hemphill. Geova C. Marshall died on 11 March 1945 at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, at age 80.

Olive Ann Eliza Marshall (F)
b. 16 April 1867, d. 14 January 1945, #438865
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 3 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Olive Ann Eliza Marshall was born on 16 April 1867 at Prairie Twp., Boone County, Arkansas. She was the daughter of William Andrew Jackson Marshall and Martha A. Hemphill. Olive Ann Eliza Marshall died on 14 January 1945 at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, at age 77.

John Forester Marshall (M)
b. 13 November 1869, d. 30 November 1941, #438866
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 3 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     John Forester Marshall was born on 13 November 1869 at Arkansas. He was the son of William Andrew Jackson Marshall and Martha A. Hemphill. John Forester Marshall died on 30 November 1941 at age 72.

William Ayers Marshall (M)
b. 22 February 1871, #438867
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 3 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     William Ayers Marshall was born on 22 February 1871 at Boone County, Arkansas. He was the son of William Andrew Jackson Marshall and Martha A. Hemphill.

Eudora Elizabeth Marshall (F)
b. November 1873, d. 9 February 1907, #438868
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 3 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Eudora Elizabeth Marshall was also known as Dora Marshall. Eudora Elizabeth Marshall was born in November 1873 at Prairie Twp., Boone County, Arkansas. She was the daughter of William Andrew Jackson Marshall and Martha A. Hemphill. Eudora Elizabeth Marshall died on 9 February 1907 at Oklahoma at age 33.

Clementine Marshall (F)
b. 3 February 1877, d. 30 August 1968, #438869
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 3 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Clementine Marshall was also known as Tina Marshall. Clementine Marshall was born on 3 February 1877 at Boone County, Arkansas. She was the daughter of William Andrew Jackson Marshall and Martha A. Hemphill. Clementine Marshall died on 30 August 1968 at Carnegie, Cado County, Oklahoma, at age 91.

George Garland Marshall (M)
b. January 1878, #438870
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=7th cousin 3 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     George Garland Marshall was born in January 1878 at Boone County, Arkansas. He was the son of William Andrew Jackson Marshall and Martha A. Hemphill.

Franklin Claud Nelson (M)
b. 3 June 1857, d. 18 August 1934, #438871
Pop-up Pedigree

     Franklin Claud Nelson was born on 3 June 1857 at Marion County, Arkansas. He was the son of Newton Nelson and Amanda Midget. Franklin Claud Nelson married Aprilla Ann Marshall, daughter of William Andrew Jackson Marshall and Martha A. Hemphill, on 1 June 1875 at Boone County, Arkansas. Franklin Claud Nelson died on 18 August 1934 at age 77. He was buried at Western Grove Cemetery, Newton County, Arkansas.

Amanda Eutheria Nelson (F)
b. 28 March 1877, d. 19 February 1934, #438872
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Amanda Eutheria Nelson was born on 28 March 1877 at Arkansas. She was the daughter of Franklin Claud Nelson and Aprilla Ann Marshall. Amanda Eutheria Nelson died on 19 February 1934 at age 56.

Nora Ollie Nelson (F)
b. 13 August 1882, d. 7 August 1957, #438873
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Nora Ollie Nelson was born on 13 August 1882 at Arkansas. She was the daughter of Franklin Claud Nelson and Aprilla Ann Marshall. Nora Ollie Nelson died on 7 August 1957 at age 74.

William Alfred Nelson (M)
b. 13 November 1884, d. 24 February 1940, #438874
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     William Alfred Nelson was born on 13 November 1884 at Arkansas. He was the son of Franklin Claud Nelson and Aprilla Ann Marshall. William Alfred Nelson married Nancy Elizabeth Smothers, daughter of William Marion Smothers and Mary Elizabeth Rose, in 1900 at Pindall, Searcy County, Arkansas. William Alfred Nelson died on 24 February 1940 at Hill County, Texas, at age 55.

Matilda Ethel Nelson (F)
b. December 1886, #438875
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Matilda Ethel Nelson was born in December 1886 at Arkansas. She was the daughter of Franklin Claud Nelson and Aprilla Ann Marshall.

Claudie Bell Nelson (F)
b. 16 October 1889, d. 18 April 1939, #438876
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Claudie Bell Nelson was born on 16 October 1889 at Arkansas. She was the daughter of Franklin Claud Nelson and Aprilla Ann Marshall. Claudie Bell Nelson died on 18 April 1939 at Pindall, Searcy County, Arkansas, at age 49.

John C. Nelson (M)
b. 16 December 1894, d. June 1974, #438877
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     John C. Nelson was born on 16 December 1894 at Newton County, Arkansas. He was the son of Franklin Claud Nelson and Aprilla Ann Marshall. John C. Nelson died in June 1974 at Little River County, Arkansas, at age 79.

Nancy Elizabeth Smothers (F)
b. 16 December 1882, d. 9 November 1979, #438878
Pop-up Pedigree

     Nancy Elizabeth Smothers was born on 16 December 1882 at Searcy County, Arkansas. She was the daughter of William Marion Smothers and Mary Elizabeth Rose. Nancy Elizabeth Smothers married William Alfred Nelson, son of Franklin Claud Nelson and Aprilla Ann Marshall, in 1900 at Pindall, Searcy County, Arkansas. Nancy Elizabeth Smothers died on 9 November 1979 at Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas, at age 96.

Clara May Nelson (F)
b. 26 February 1902, d. 23 September 1921, #438879
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=9th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Clara May Nelson was born on 26 February 1902 at Searcy County, Arkansas. She was the daughter of William Alfred Nelson and Nancy Elizabeth Smothers. Clara May Nelson died on 23 September 1921 at age 19.

Rosa Lusetta Nelson (F)
b. 9 May 1903, d. 25 November 1998, #438880
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=9th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Rosa Lusetta Nelson was born on 9 May 1903 at Searcy County, Arkansas. She was the daughter of William Alfred Nelson and Nancy Elizabeth Smothers. Rosa Lusetta Nelson died on 25 November 1998 at Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas, at age 95.

Ira Doyle Nelson (M)
b. 9 July 1913, d. 5 December 1978, #438881
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=9th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Ira Doyle Nelson was born on 9 July 1913 at Searcy County, Arkansas. He was the son of William Alfred Nelson and Nancy Elizabeth Smothers. Ira Doyle Nelson married Myrtle Marie Greenhow, daughter of William Alex Greenhow and Bertha L. Randle, on 6 September 1929 at Newton, Arkansas. Ira Doyle Nelson and Myrtle Marie Greenhow were divorced. Ira Doyle Nelson died on 5 December 1978 at Austin, Travis County, Texas, at age 65.

Myrtle Marie Greenhow (F)
b. 3 May 1913, d. 11 December 1983, #438882
Pop-up Pedigree

     Myrtle Marie Greenhow was born on 3 May 1913 at Searcy County, Arkansas. She was the daughter of William Alex Greenhow and Bertha L. Randle. Myrtle Marie Greenhow married Ira Doyle Nelson, son of William Alfred Nelson and Nancy Elizabeth Smothers, on 6 September 1929 at Newton, Arkansas. Myrtle Marie Greenhow and Ira Doyle Nelson were divorced. Myrtle Marie Greenhow died on 11 December 1983 at Yakima, Yakima County, Washington, at age 70.

Willie Hugh Nelson (M)
b. 30 April 1933, #438883
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=10th cousin of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Willie Hugh Nelson was born on 30 April 1933 at Abbott, Hill County, Texas. He is the son of Ira Doyle Nelson and Myrtle Marie Greenhow. Willie Hugh Nelson married Martha Jewel Matthews on 27 October 1952. Willie Hugh Nelson and Martha Jewel Matthews were divorced in 1960. Willie Hugh Nelson married Shirley Collie in 1961. Willie Hugh Nelson and Shirley Collie were divorced in 1971. Willie Hugh Nelson married Connie Jean Koepke on 30 April 1972. Willie Hugh Nelson and Connie Jean Koepke were divorced in 1988. Willie Hugh Nelson married Ann Marie D'Angelo on 16 September 1991. Former Occupations:
cotton picker, encyclopedia salesman, farmer, saddle maker, plumber, vacuum cleaner salesman, disc jockey, U.S. Air Force (during the Korean War)

Education:
High School--Abbott High School (graduated in 1951)
College--Baylor University (studied agriculture and business)
College--Waco University (from 3/54 to 7/54)

Career Milestones:
1939--got his first guitar and started learning music from his grandparents who were learning trough mail-order courses
1940--began writing songs
1943--joined John Raycjeck's Bohemian Polka Band on a part-time basis
1949--first published song "Pullamo" with Sophisticate Music
1955--began broadcasting a radio show in Washington state featuring a half-hour live set by his own band
1956--recorded first record, "No Place For Me" in Vancouver; record was self-financed
1960--moved to Nashville
1961--Patsy Cline recorded "Crazy"; the song reached #1
1962--first success as a singer when "Willingly" and "Touch Me," duets with second wife Shirley Collie, reached the Top 10
1964--Grand Ole Opry debut on November 28
1970--returned to Texas
1972--began hosting the Fourth of July picnic concerts in Austin, TX
1973--breakthrough album "Shotgun Willie" released
1975--album "Red-Headed Stranger" released; included hit "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain" and helped to establish Nelson as one of the top artists in country music
1980--first movie role in "Electric Horseman"
1980--first starring role in a film in "Honeysuckle Rose"
1985--song "Highwayman," featuring Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash (as The Highwaymen) went to #1

Awards:
1975--Grammy\Best Country Vocal Performance, Male\Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain
1976--CMA\Single of the Year (with Waylon Jennings)\Good Hearted Woman
1976--CMA\Album of the Year (with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser)\Wanted: The Outlaws
1976--CMA\Vocal Duo of the Year (with Waylon Jennings)
1978--Grammy\Best Country Vocal Performance, Male\Georgia On My Mind
1978--Grammy\Best Country Vocal Performance By a Duo or Group (with Waylon Jennings)\Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys
1979--CMA\Entertainer of the Year
1979--ACM\Entertainer of the Year
1980--Grammy\Best Country Song\On the Road Again
1982--Grammy\Best Country Vocal Performance, Male\Always On My Mind
1982--CMA\Single of the Year\Always On My Mind
1982--CMA\Album of the Year\Always On My Mind
1982--ACM\Album of the Year\Always On My Mind
1983--CMA\Vocal Duo of the Year (with Merle Haggard)
1983--Playboy\Hall of Fame induction
1983--National Academy of Popular Music\Lifetime Achievement\first country artist ever honored with this award and fourth only recipient
1984--CMA\Vocal Duo of the Year (with Julio Iglesias)
1984--ACM\Single of the Year\To All the Girls I've Loved Before
1984--ACM\Tex Ritter Award\songwriter with Kris Kristofferson
1989--Grammy\Living Legends Award
1993--Country Music Hall of Fame induction.











BIOGRAPHY
b. Willie Hugh Nelson, 30 April 1933, Abbott, Texas, USA. Following their mother's desertion and the death of their father, Nelson and his sister Bobbie were raised by their grandparents. Bobbie was encouraged to play the piano and Willie the guitar. By the age of seven he was writing cheating-heart-style songs. "Maybe I got 'em from soap operas on the radio," he said, "but I've always seemed to see the sad side of things." Bobbie married the fiddle player Bud Fletcher, and they both played in his band. When Fletcher booked western swing star Bob Wills , the 13-year-old Willie Nelson joined him for a duet. After graduation he enlisted in the US Air Force, but was invalided out with a bad back, which has continued to plague his career to the present day. In 1953 Nelson began a traumatic marriage in Waco, Texas. "Martha was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian," says Nelson, "and every night was like Custer's last stand." When they moved to Fort Worth, Texas, Nelson was criticized for playing beer-joints and inappropriately evangelizing - he fortunately gave up the latter. A Salvation Army drummer, Paul English, has been his drummer ever since, and is referred to in "Me And Paul" and "Devil In A Sleepin' Bag".

Nelson's first record, "Lumberjack", was recorded in Vancouver, Washington, in 1956 and was written by Leon Payne . Payne, then a radio disc jockey, advertised the records for sale on the air. For $1, the listener received the record and an autographed 8 x 10 inch photo of Nelson; 3,000 copies were sold by this method. In Houston he sold "Family Bible" to a guitar scholar for $50 and when it became a country hit for Claude Gray in 1960, Nelson's name was not on the label. He also sold "Night Life" for $150 to the director of the same school; Ray Price made it a country hit and there have now been over 70 other recordings. Nelson moved to Nashville where his offbeat, nasal phrasing and dislike of rhinestone trimmings made him radically different from other country musicians. He recorded demos in 1961, which he later rescued from a fire. The demos were spread over three collections, Face Of A Fighter , Diamonds In The Rough and Slow Down Old World , but they are often repackaged in an attempt to pass off old material as new. These one-paced collections feature little to attract new fans, as the songs are either bleak, very bleak or unbearably bleak. From time to time, Nelson has re-recorded these songs for other albums.

In 1961 three of Nelson's country songs crossed over to the US pop charts: Patsy Cline 's "Crazy", Faron Young 's "Hello Walls" and Jimmy Elledge 's "Funny How Time Slips Away". Ray Price employed Nelson to play bass with his band, the Cherokee Cowboys, not knowing that he had never previously played the instrument. Nelson bought a bass, practised all night and showed up the next day as a bass player. Touring put further pressures on his marriage and he was divorced in 1962. The following year Nelson had his first country hits as a performer, first in a duet with Shirley Collie, "Willingly", and then on his own with "Touch Me". His 40 tracks recorded for Liberty Records were top-heavy on strings, but they included the poignant "Half A Man" and the whimsical "River Boy". He also wrote a witty single for Joe Carson, "I Gotta Get Drunk". When Liberty dropped their country performers, Nelson moved to Monument. He gave Roy Orbison "Pretty Paper", which made the UK Top 10 in 1964 and became Nelson's most successful composition in the UK. Some Monument tracks were revamped for The Winning Hand , which gave the misleading impression that Nelson had joined forces with Kris Kristofferson , Brenda Lee and Dolly Parton for a double album.

In 1965 Nelson married Shirley Collie and took up pig-farming in Ridgetop, Tennessee. During the same year Ray Price refused to record any more of Nelson's songs after an accident when Nelson shot his fighting rooster. However, they eventually joined forces for an album. Chet Atkins produced some fine albums for Nelson on RCA Records , including a tribute to his home state, Texas In My Soul . Nelson was only allowed to record with his own musicians on the live Country Music Concert album, which included an emotional "Yesterday" and a jazzy "I Never Cared For You". He recorded around 200 tracks for the label, including well-known songs of the day such as "Both Sides Now", "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and, strangely, the UK comedy team Morecambe And Wise's theme song, "Bring Me Sunshine". Yesterday's Wine remains his finest RCA album, although it begins somewhat embarrassingly, with Nelson talking to God. Nelson wrote seven of the songs in one night, under the influence of alcohol and drugs; "What Can You Do To Me Now?", in particular, acutely indicated his anguish and instability.

During 1970 his showbusiness lawyer, Neil Rushen, thought Nelson should record for Atlantic Records in New York. The singer used his own band, supplemented by Doug Sahm and Larry Gatlin . Atlantic did not feel that the gospel-influenced The Troublemaker was right for the label and it only surfaced after he had moved to Columbia Records . Shotgun Willie was closer to rock music and included Leon Russell 's "A Song For You" and the reflective "Sad Songs And Waltzes". Phases And Stages (1974), made in Muscle Shoals , Alabama, examined the break-up of a marriage from both sides - the woman's ("Washing The Dishes") and the man's ("It's Not Supposed To Be That Way"). Nelson also recorded a successful duet with Tracy Nelson (no relation) of "After The Fire Is Gone". He toured extensively and his bookings at a rock venue, the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, showed that he might attract a new audience. Furthermore, Waylon Jennings ' hit with "Ladies Love Outlaws" indicated a market for "outlaw country" music. The term separated them from more conventional country artists, and, with his pigtail and straggly beard, Nelson no longer looked like a country performer. Ironically, they were emphasizing the very thing from which country music was trying to escape - the cowboy image.

In 1975 Nelson signed with Columbia and wanted to record a lengthy, old ballad, "Red Headed Stranger". His wife suggested that he split the song into sections and fit other songs around it. This led to an album about an old-time preacher and his love for an unfaithful woman. The album consisted of Willie's voice and guitar and Bobbie's piano. Columbia thought it was too low-key, too religious and needed strings. They were eventually persuaded to release it as it was and Red Headed Stranger (1975) has since become a country classic. Nelson's gentle performance of the country standard "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" was a number 1 country hit and also made number 21 on the US pop charts in 1975. With brilliant marketing, RCA then compiled Wanted! The Outlaws with Jennings, Nelson, Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser . It became the first country album to go platinum and included a hit single, "Good Hearted Woman', in which Jennings" thumping beat and Nelson's sensitivity were combined beautifully (the 1996 anniversary reissue added nine tracks, plus the brand new Steve Earle song "Nowhere Road", sung by Nelson and Jennings). The first Waylon And Willie (1978) album included Ed Bruce's witty look at outlaw country, "Mammas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys", and two beautifully restrained Nelson performances, "If You Can Touch Her At All" and "A Couple More Years". Their two subsequent albums contained unsuitable or weak material and perfunctory arrangements, although the humorous Clean Shirt (1991) was a welcome return to form. Since then, they have added Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson for tours and albums as the Highwaymen. Nelson has also recorded two albums with Merle Haggard , including the highly successful "Poncho And Lefty", as well as several albums with country stars of the 50s and 60s. His numerous guest appearances include "Seven Spanish Angels" ( Ray Charles ), "The Last Cowboy Song" (Ed Bruce), "Are There Any More Real Cowboys?" ( Neil Young ), "One Paper Kid" ( Emmylou Harris ), "I Gotta Get Drunk" ( George Jones ), "Waltz Across Texas" ( Ernest Tubb ), "They All Went To Mexico" ( Carlos Santana ) and "Something To Brag About" (Mary Kay Place). Utilizing modern technology, he sang with Hank Williams on "I Told A Lie To My Heart". He invited Julio Iglesias to join him at the Country Music Awards and their duet of Albert Hammond 's "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" was an international success.

Nelson has recorded numerous country songs, including a tribute album to Lefty Frizzell , but more significant has been his love of standards. He had always recorded songs like "Am I Blue?" and "That Lucky Old Sun", but Stardust (1978), which was produced by Booker T. Jones of the MGs, took country fans by surprise. The weather-beaten, top-hatted character on the sleeve was Willie Nelson but the contents resembled a Bing Crosby album. Nelson sang 10 standards, mostly slowly, to a small rhythm section and strings. The effect was devastating as he breathed new life into "Georgia On My Mind" and "Someone To Watch Over Me", and the album remained on the US country charts for nearly 10 years. Nelson recorded 103 songs in a week with Leon Russell but their performance of standards falls far short of Stardust . Nelson tried to recapture the magic of Stardust on the lethargic Without A Song , which contained the first Nelson/Iglesias duet, "As Time Goes By". In terms of both performance and arrangement, his Christmas album, Pretty Paper (1979), sounded like a mediocre act at a social club, but the jaunty Somewhere Over The Rainbow was much better.

In 1982 Johnny Christopher showed Nelson a song he had written, "Always On My Mind". Nelson had originally wanted to record the song with Merle Haggard, but Haggard did not care for it; Nelson recorded an emotional and convincing version on his own, and it went to number 5 in the US charts. It was some time before Nelson learnt that Elvis Presley had previously recorded the song. The resulting album, which included "Let It Be Me" and "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", showed his mastery of the popular song. Other modern songs to which he has added his magic include "City Of New Orleans", "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Please Come To Boston". He sang another Presley hit, "Love Me Tender", on the soundtrack of Porky's Revenge . When Robert Redford met Nelson at a party, he invited him to join the cast of The Electric Horseman . Willie had an entertaining role as Redford's manager, and he made a major contribution to the soundtrack with "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys". Redford wanted to star in the movie of Red Headed Stranger (1987) but it was eventually cast with Nelson in the title role. His other movies include Barbarosa (in which he played an old gunfighter), a remake of Stagecoach with his outlaw friends, and the cliché-ridden Songwriter with Kris Kristofferson. He is more suited to cameo roles and has the makings of a latter-day Gabby Hayes.

Nelson's record label, Lone Star, which he started in 1978 with Steven Fromholz and the Geezinslaw Brothers, was not a commercial success, but he later developed his own recording studio and golf course at Pedernales, Texas; he produced Timi Yuro - Today there in 1982. He took over the Dripping Springs Festival and turned it into a festival of contemporary country music: Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic. He has organized several Farm Aid benefits, and he and Kenny Rogers represented country music on the number 1 USA For Africa single, "We Are The World". With all this activity, it is hardly surprising that his songwriting has suffered and he rarely records new compositions. He wrote "On The Road Again" for the country music film in which he starred, Honeysuckle Rose , and he also wrote a suite of songs about the old west and reincarnation, Tougher Than Leather , when he was in hospital with a collapsed lung. Among the many songs that have been written about Willie Nelson are "Willy The Wandering Gypsy And Me" ( Billy Joe Shaver ), "Willie, Won't You Sing A Song With Me" (George Burns), "Crazy Old Soldier" ( Lacy J. Dalton ), "Willon And Waylee" ( Don Bowman ), "The Willie And Waylon Machine" ( Marvin Rainwater ), "Willie" ( Hank Cochran and Merle Haggard) and "It's Our Turn To Sing With Ol' Willie" (Carlton Moody And The Moody Brothers).

Nelson's touring band, Family, is a very tight unit featuring musicians who have been with him for many years. Audiences love his image as an old salt, looking rough and playing a battered guitar, and his headbands have become souvenirs in the same way as Elvis' scarves. His greatest testimony comes from President Jimmy Carter, who joined him onstage and said, "I, my wife, my daughter, my sons and my mother all think he's the greatest". Unfortunately, the USA's Internal Revenue Service took a different view, and in an effort to obtain $16 million in back-taxes, they had Nelson make an acoustic album, which was sold by mail order. His collaboration with artists such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon on Across The Borderline brought him back into the commercial mainstream for the first time in several years. In 1991, Nelson married Annie D'Angelo and the couple started a family. Albums have flowed fast and furiously as Nelson brings himself back into the black financially, with Just One Love and Teatro , the latter recorded with Daniel Lanois , the high points of his prolific 90s period. Milk Cow Blues , Nelson's first release of the new millennium, was a straightforward blues album. Nelson is a true outlaw and probably the greatest legend and performer in country music since Hank Williams.

DISCOGRAPHY

And Then I Wrote (Liberty 1962) *** ,
Here's Willie Nelson (Liberty 1963) *** ,
Country Willie - His Own Songs (RCA Victor 1965) *** ,
Country Favorites - Willie Nelson Style (RCA Victor 1966) *** ,
Country Music Concert (Live At Panther Hall) (RCA Victor 1966) *** ,
Make Way For Willie Nelson (RCA Victor 1967) *** ,
The Party's Over (RCA Victor 1967) *** ,
Texas In My Soul (RCA Victor 1968) *** ,
Good Times (RCA Victor 1968) *** ,
My Own Peculiar Way (RCA Victor 1969) *** ,
Both Sides Now (RCA Victor 1970) *** ,
Laying My Burdens Down (RCA Victor 1970) *** ,
Willie Nelson And Family (RCA Victor 1971) *** ,
Yesterday's Wine (RCA Victor 1971) *** ,
The Words Don't Fit The Picture (RCA Victor 1972) *** ,
The Willie Way (RCA Victor 1972) *** ,
Shotgun Willie (Atlantic 1973) **** ,
Phases And Stages (Atlantic 1974) *** ,
What Can You Do To Me Now (RCA 1975) ** ,
Red Headed Stranger (Columbia 1975) ***** , with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Tompall Glaser
Wanted! The Outlaws (RCA 1976) **** ,
The Sound In Your Mind (Columbia 1976) **** ,
Phases And Stages 1964 recording (Atlantic 1976) ** ,
Live (RCA 1976) ** ,
The Troublemaker (Columbia 1976) *** ,
Before His Time (RCA 1977) ** ,
To Lefty From Willie (Columbia 1977) *** ,
Stardust (Columbia 1978) **** ,
Face Of A Fighter 1961 recording (Lone Star 1978) *** ,
Willie And Family Live (Columbia 1978) *** , with Jennings
Waylon And Willie (RCA 1978) **** , with Leon Russell
One For The Road (Columbia 1978) **** ,
The Electric Horseman (Columbia 1979) **** ,
Sings Kristofferson (Columbia 1979) ** ,
Pretty Paper (Columbia 1979) * ,
Sweet Memories (RCA 1979) *** ,
Danny Davis And Willie Nelson With The Nashville Brass (RCA 1980) *** , with Ray Price
San Antonio Rose (Columbia 1980) *** ,
Honeysuckle Rose (Columbia 1980) **** ,
Family Bible (MCA Songbird 1980) *** ,
Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Columbia 1981) *** ,
Minstrel Man (RCA 1981) ** , with Roger Miller
Old Friends (Columbia 1982) *** ,
Always On My Mind (Columbia 1982) **** , with Jennings
WWII (RCA 1982) **** , with Webb Pierce
In The Jailhouse Now (Columbia 1982) *** , with Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Brenda Lee
The Winning Hand (Monument 1982) *** , with Merle Haggard
Poncho And Lefty (Epic 1982) *** ,
Without A Song (Columbia 1983) ** ,
Tougher Than Leather (Columbia 1983) *** ,
My Own Way (RCA 1983) *** , with Jennings
Take It To The Limit (Columbia 1983) *** , with Jackie King
Angel Eyes (Columbia 1984) ** ,
Slow Down Old World (Columbia 1984) **** ,
City Of New Orleans (Columbia 1984) ** , with Kristofferson
Music From Songwriter film soundtrack (Columbia 1984) *** , with Faron Young
Funny How Time Slips Away (Columbia 1984) *** , with Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson
Highwayman (Columbia 1985) **** , with Hank Snow
Brand On My Heart (Columbia 1985) *** ,
Me And Paul (Columbia 1985) *** ,
Half Nelson (Columbia 1985) ** ,
The Promiseland (Columbia 1986) ** ,
Partners (Columbia 1986) *** ,
Island In The Sea (Columbia 1987) *** , with Haggard
Seashores Of Old Mexico (Epic 1987) *** ,
What A Wonderful World (Columbia 1988) *** ,
A Horse Called Music (Columbia 1989) *** , with Jennings, Cash, Kristofferson
Highwayman 2 (Columbia 1990) *** ,
Born For Trouble (Columbia 1990) *** , with Jennings
Clean Shirt (Epic 1991) ** ,
Who'll Buy My Memories - The IRS Tapes (Columbia 1991) *** ,
Across The Borderline (Columbia 1993) **** ,
Healing Hands Of Time (Liberty 1994) *** ,
Moonlight Becomes You (Justice 1994) ** , with Curtis Porter
Six Hours At Pedernales (Step One 1994) ** , with Don Cherry
Augusta (Coast To Coast 1995) ** , with Jennings, Cash, Kristofferson
The Road Goes On Forever (Liberty 1995) ** ,
Just One Love (Transatlantic 1995) *** ,
Spirit (Island 1996) **** , with Jennings, Colter, Glaser
Wanted! The Outlaws (1976-1996, 20th Anniversary) (RCA 1996) **** , with Bobbie Nelson
How Great Thou Art (Finer Arts 1996) ** , with Bobbie Nelson Hill
Country Christmas (Finer Arts 1997) ** , with Cash
VH1 Storytellers (American 1998) **** ,
Teatro (Mercury/Island 1998) *** ,
Night And Day (Pedernales 1999) ** ,
Milk Cow Blues (Mercury/Island 2000) *** , with Larry Butler
Memories Of Hank Williams Sr. (BSW 2000) *** , with the Offenders
Me And The Drummer (Luck 2000) ** , with King
The Gypsy (FreeFalls 2001) *** ,
Rainbow Connection (Mercury/Island 2001) *** ,
The Great Divide (Lost Highway 2002) *** , with various artists
Stars & Guitars (Universal 2002) *** ,
Live And Kickin' (Lost Highway 2003) ** , with Price
Run That By Me One More Time (Lost Highway 2003) *** , with Kimmie Rhodes
Picture In A Frame (Sunbird 2003) *** ,
Live At Billy Bob's Texas (Smith 2004) *** ,
Outlaws And Angels (Lost Highway 2004) *** ,
It Always Will Be (Lost Highway 2004) *** ,
Countryman (Lost Highway 2005) *** .

COMPILATIONS

The Best Of Willie Nelson (United Artists 1973) *** ,
Willie Nelson's Greatest Hits (And Some That Will Be) (Columbia 1981) *** ,
20 Of The Best (RCA 1982) *** ,
Country Willie (Capitol 1987) *** ,
The Collection (Castle 1988) *** ,
Nite Life: Greatest Hits And Rare Tracks, 1959-1971 (Rhino 1990) **** ,
45 Original Tracks (EMI 1993) *** ,
The Early Years (Scotti Bros 1994) *** ,
The Early Years: The Complete Liberty Recordings Plus More 2-CD set (Liberty 1994) *** ,
Super Hits (Columbia 1994) *** ,
A Classic And Unreleased Collection 3-CD box set (Rhino 1995) *** ,
Revolutions Of Time: The Journey 1975-1993 (Columbia/Legacy 1995) **** ,
The Essential Willie Nelson (RCA 1995) *** ,
20 Country Classics (EMI 1998) *** ,
Sings The Country Hits (Eagle 1998) *** ,
My Songs (Eagle 1998) **** , with Waylon Jennings
The Masters (Eagle 1998) **** ,
Nashville Was The Roughest ... 8-CD box set (Bear Family 1998) **** ,
16 Biggest Hits (Legacy 1998) **** ,
All The Songs I've Loved Before (Sony 2002) *** ,
Love Songs (EMI 2002) **** ,
Crazy: The Demo Sessions (Sugar Hill 2003) *** ,
The Essential (Columbia 2003) **** ,
Broken Promises (Proper 2003) **** ,
It's Been Rough And Rocky Travelin' 3-CD box set (Bear Family 2003) **** .

VIDEOGRAPHY
Willie Nelson And Family In Concert (CBS-Fox 1988), The Best Of (Vestron Video 1990), The Original Outlaw/On The Road Again (Hughes Leisure 1994), Nashville Superstar (Magnum Music 1997), Live In Amsterdam (Aviva International 2001), Outlaws And Angels (Eagle Rock 2004).

FILMOGRAPHY
The Electric Horseman (1979), Bob & Ray, Jane, Laraine & Gilda (1979), Honeysuckle Rose (1980), Thief (1981), Barbarosa (1982), Hell's Angels Forever (1983), Songwriter (1984), Red Headed Stranger (1986), Dust To Dust (1994), Big Country (1994), Starlight (1996), Gone Fishn' (1997), Anthem (1997), Wag The Dog (1997), Half Baked (1998), Dill Scallion (1999), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999).

Ann Marie D'Angelo (F)
#438884

     Ann Marie D'Angelo married Willie Hugh Nelson, son of Ira Doyle Nelson and Myrtle Marie Greenhow, on 16 September 1991.

Connie Jean Koepke (F)
#438885

     Connie Jean Koepke married Willie Hugh Nelson, son of Ira Doyle Nelson and Myrtle Marie Greenhow, on 30 April 1972. Connie Jean Koepke and Willie Hugh Nelson were divorced in 1988.

Shirley Collie (F)
#438886

     Shirley Collie married Willie Hugh Nelson, son of Ira Doyle Nelson and Myrtle Marie Greenhow, in 1961. Shirley Collie and Willie Hugh Nelson were divorced in 1971.

Martha Jewel Matthews (F)
#438887

     Martha Jewel Matthews married Willie Hugh Nelson, son of Ira Doyle Nelson and Myrtle Marie Greenhow, on 27 October 1952. Martha Jewel Matthews and Willie Hugh Nelson were divorced in 1960.

Bobbie Lee Nelson (F)
b. 1 January 1931, #438888
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=10th cousin of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Bobbie Lee Nelson was born on 1 January 1931. She is the daughter of Ira Doyle Nelson and Myrtle Marie Greenhow. Willie Nelson's older sister steps out of his long shadow
By JAY ROOT
McClatchy Newspapers

http://www.star-telegram.com
Wives have come and gone, but one woman has been at Willie Nelson's side from the start. He calls her "Sister Bobbie," and if the name evokes a little gospel imagery, it's fitting because their musical origins spring from Southern, churchgoing folk.

It's also fitting that Bobbie Lee Nelson, who just turned 77, is celebrating her first solo album after spending the last three decades on the road and onstage with her famous little brother.

She was having so much fun, she never recorded anything of her own. Truth is, she might never have gotten around to it, but Willie turned on the tape machine one day when Bobbie wasn't looking. The result is a step back in time, to the "boogie woogie" sound and the old standards she and her brother cut their musical teeth on.

Bobbie Nelson recently sat down for an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, whose pages her family once plastered over the cracks of their Hill County shack to keep out the north winds. She spoke of her love for Fort Worth, the uneasy joy of eating Willie's mud pies and how she wound up with her own CD.

"Willie said, `Well, Sister Bobbie, why don't you just go over there and warm up that piano,'" she recalled. "I didn't think I was really recording an album." The compilation, called "Autobiography," features two songs with her brother - "Back to Earth" and "Until Tomorrow." The rest were pulled from a list of her favorite piano songs, including "Stardust," "Death Ray Boogie" and "Laura." The album also includes a soulful, instrumental rendition of "Crazy," the 1961 hit that put Willie Nelson into the songwriting stratosphere.

"Everybody loves `Crazy.' Everybody loves to sing it," she said. "When I heard Patsy Cline do this song, I guess like everybody else in the world ... it was like an angel singing."

Raised by their grandparents in tiny Abbott, Texas, north of Waco, Willie and Bobbie grew up dirt-poor but happy, absorbing spiritual nourishment from their constant companion - music.

Their great-grandfather was a traveling singing instructor from Arkansas, and her grandparents spent every spare hour studying, playing and composing music. As a little girl, before her family had electric lights, Bobbie remembers seeing them huddled over a kerosene lamp at the dinner table, studying music theory from mail-order books. Even before she got her first piano at age 6, Bobbie Lee had fashioned a fake one herself and pretended to play it.

"I had already built this piano out of cardboard in the back yard, with Willie and I one summer afternoon sitting under a peach tree that we had," she said. "We played like we were having a piano there and I would play and we'd sing. We had a great childhood, may I tell you that?"

In those days they called Willie "Booger Red," thanks to his auburn hair. Bobbie remembers him as a fun-loving boy, and a "slight bit mischievous." He seemed equally comfortable playing dominoes with the old men at the grocery store and eating dirt in the back yard with his sister.

"We had this little toy stove and we made mud pies in the sun," she said. "When they would get baked he would say, `Sister Bobbie, it's so good. Just take a bite.' And he had me eating dirt with him. That's how much I love Willie. I do anything he tells me to do."

Bobbie was only 9 when her grandfather died, giving her an early feel for the inevitable tragedies that lay ahead. Her grandmother had to sell a calf to finishing paying off their $35 piano.

At 16, Bobbie married her sweetheart, Bud Fletcher, and soon they were all playing music together in a honky-tonk band, with Bobbie on piano and Willie playing guitar and singing. The $40 or so they brought home every week seemed like a fortune in the late 1940s, and it nourished their unshakable desire to leave the cotton fields behind for a career in music.

But Bobbie and Bud ran into marital trouble, and in 1955 she moved off to Fort Worth, where an aunt and uncle, like so many others, had gone to work in the booming airplane-building business. As fate would have it - Bobbie is big on fate - Hammond Organ called looking for a musician.

"They came to me because I was the only piano player on record at the unemployment office," she recalls, laughing now at what seemed pretty serious at the time.

Brother Willie, who eventually joined the family in Tarrant County, has described Fort Worth as the place where he first smoked marijuana and sometimes played in the honky-tonks behind chicken wire to avoid flying beer bottles. But for Bobbie, it's where she went to heal, to get back on her feet and, most of all, to rekindle her musical passion.

"Fort Worth was a haven for me. I went there at the saddest part of my life at that time," she said. "I went to Fort Worth and recovered." Her happiness grew with every passing Sunday, when she played the organ at Edge Park United Methodist Church and her three boys sat in the front row. Before long, she was playing restaurants and nightclubs, and Bobbie's musical skills grew as her troubles faded.

A piano-playing gig at El Chico's Mexican restaurant took Bobbie to Austin in the mid-1960s, and once again destiny called. Her brother, done with Nashville, soon decided to relocate to Austin after a visit there with Sister Bobbie, and the outlaw music scene was born. Right around the time he played his first gig at Austin's Armadillo World Headquarters in 1972, Willie asked Bobbie to join the band.

"I've been traveling with him ever since," she said.

There have been good times and bad, to be sure. She lost two sons, one to terminal illness and another in a car accident in 1989. But music has sustained her as always, and being Sister Bobbie in Brother Willie's band is about as good as it gets.

"This is the ultimate," she said. "I'm not ready to retire. ... I don't think I'll ever be ready to stop playing the piano."

De Lana Nelson (F)
b. 1953, #438889
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=10th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     De Lana Nelson was born in 1953. She is the daughter of Willie Hugh Nelson and Martha Jewel Matthews.

Susie Nelson (F)
b. 1956, #438890
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=10th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Susie Nelson was born in 1956. She is the daughter of Willie Hugh Nelson and Martha Jewel Matthews.

Willie Hugh Nelson Jr. (M)
b. 12 May 1958, d. 25 December 1991, #438891
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=10th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Willie Hugh Nelson Jr. was born on 12 May 1958 at Tarrant County, Texas. He was the son of Willie Hugh Nelson and Martha Jewel Matthews. Willie Hugh Nelson Jr. died on 25 December 1991 at age 33; suicide.

Paula Carlene Nelson (F)
b. 1969, #438892
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=10th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Paula Carlene Nelson was born in 1969. She is the daughter of Willie Hugh Nelson and Shirley Collie.

Amy Lee Nelson (F)
b. 1973, #438893
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=10th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Amy Lee Nelson was born in 1973. She is the daughter of Willie Hugh Nelson and Connie Jean Koepke.

Lukas Autry Nelson (M)
b. 25 December 1988, #438894
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=10th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Lukas Autry Nelson was born on 25 December 1988. He is the son of Willie Hugh Nelson and Ann Marie D'Angelo.

Jacob Micah Nelson (M)
b. 1990, #438895
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=10th cousin 1 time removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     Jacob Micah Nelson was born in 1990. He is the son of Willie Hugh Nelson and Ann Marie D'Angelo.

William Marion Smothers (M)
#438896

     William Marion Smothers married Mary Elizabeth Rose.

Mary Elizabeth Rose (F)
#438897

     Mary Elizabeth Rose married William Marion Smothers.

William Alex Greenhow (M)
#438898

     William Alex Greenhow married Bertha L. Randle.

Bertha L. Randle (F)
#438899

     Bertha L. Randle married William Alex Greenhow.

(Unknown) Nelson (?)
b. 29 March 1892, d. 9 April 1892, #438900
Pop-up Pedigree
Relationship=8th cousin 2 times removed of David Kipp Conover Jr..

     (Unknown) Nelson was born on 29 March 1892. (Unknown) Nelson was the child of Franklin Claud Nelson and Aprilla Ann Marshall. (Unknown) Nelson died on 9 April 1892 at age 0.