Words by Douglas McPherson Portrait by James Minchin
Willie Nelson turns 86 this year. And if you thought his unique voice, rich songwriting history and ever-surprising career moves make him unique in country music, the fact that he still tours, organises festivals, writes and releases new albums pretty much every year makes him pretty much one of a kind in all music.
You could give Willie Nelson that rather overused epithet Hardest Working Man in Showbusiness… were it not that ‘showbusiness’ is not an apt word for Willie Nelson. For one, he doesn’t like ‘business’. And what he does is not a ‘show’. What Willie Nelson does is just who he is. Or as he himself puts it: “I’m still doing what I want to do, and I suggest everybody do the same thing.”