He’s Ridin’ and Hidin’ His Pain: Red Headed Stranger Part I

“It was a time of the preacher
When the story began
Of the choice of a lady
And the love of a man

How he loved her so dearly
He went out of his mind
When she left him for someone
That she’d left behind” – Time of the Preacher (Willie Nelson) © Sony/ATV Music

Willie Hugh Nelson was born in Abbott, Texas, on April 29, 1933, the son of Myrle Marie and Ira Doyle Nelson. His father was a mechanic, and four years earlier his parents had moved to Texas from Arkansas, as his father looked for work. Willie’s mother left the home soon after he was born, and his father remarried and also moved away. Thereafter he and his sister Bobbie were raised by their grandparents, who, having been singing teachers, started their grandchildren in music.

Willie’s grandfather purchased a guitar for him when he was six, and taught him how to play a few chords. He sang gospel songs in the church choir, along with his sister Bobbie.

In the summer months, the family picked cotton, but Willie didn’t like picking cotton, so from age 13, through high school, he earned money singing in dance halls, taverns, and honky-tonks. As a youth, Willie was influenced by the music of Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Lefty Frizzell, Ray Price, Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, Django Reinhardt, Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong.

“And he cried like a baby
And he screamed like a panther
In the middle of the night
And he saddled his pony
And he went for a ride” – Time of the Preacher (Willie Nelson)

Willie Nelson joined the US Air Force after graduating from high school in 1950, but several months later he was discharged due to back problems. He returned to Texas, married his first wife, Martha Matthews, and began attending Baylor University. After two years at Baylor, Willie dropped out to pursue a career in music. During this time he was variously employed as a nightclub bouncer, auto parts salesman, saddle maker, and tree trimmer.

He moved his family to Pleasanton, Texas, where he found his first job in radio as a disc jockey at station KBOP. During his time there Willie made his first two recordings on used tape that he picked up at the station. Not finding any interest in his songs, he remained working in radio, at various stations in Texas, then eventually traveled to the Portland, Oregon area, where his mother lived, and continued working as a disc jockey at stations in Portland and Vancouver, Washington.

Leaving the northwest, Willie spent some time performing at nightclubs in Colorado, and eventually ended up in Springfield, Missouri, where failing to find work as a performer, he resorted to being a dishwasher. Having become frustrated with his floundering music career, he moved to Waco, Texas, and quit the business for a year, during which time he sold bibles and vacuum cleaners door-to-door, then eventually became a sales manager for the Encyclopedia Americana.

“It was a time of the preacher
In the year of O-one
Now the preachin’ is over
And the lesson’s begun” – Time of the Preacher (Willie Nelson)

When his son Billie was born in 1958, Nelson moved his family to Houston, Texas. There he signed a contract with a small, local record label; he sang weekly at the Esquire Ballroom, continued working as a disc jockey, and wrote songs such as, “Mr. Record Man”, “Night Life”, “Funny How Time Slips Away”, “Hello Walls”, “Pretty Paper”, and “Crazy”, which would soon become huge hits for other artists.

“But he could not forgive her
Though he tried and tried
And the halls of his mem’ry
Still echoed her lies

And he cried like a baby
And he screamed like a panther
In the middle of the night
And he saddled his pony
And he went for a ride” ­ – Time of the Preacher Theme (Willie Nelson)

Willie Nelson moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1960, but could not find a record label willing to sign him. Becoming a regular performer at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge on Lower Broadway, Nelson’s own songs began attracting the attention of established country artists. At Tootsie’s, Nelson met Hank Cochran, who was a songwriter at Pamper Music, a publishing company owned by Ray Price and Hal Smith. Cochran convinced Hal Smith to sign Nelson to a publishing deal.

Hearing Willie Nelson sing “Hello Walls” at Tootsie’s, Faron Young decided to record the song. Young’s recording of Nelson’s tune would prove to be a massive hit, reaching #1 on the Country charts, #12 on the pop charts, and would remain on the Billboard charts for 23 weeks. “Hello Walls” was Faron Young’s only Top 40 pop hit.

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Ray Price would soon record Nelson’s “Night Life”, and after Price’s regular bassist, Johnny Paycheck, quit, Nelson was invited to join the Price touring band as bass player.

In short succession, “Funny How Time Slips Away” became a hit for Billy Walker, “Pretty Paper” a hit for Roy Orbison, and although Patsy Cline was at first reluctant to record “Crazy” after hearing Nelson’s recording of the song, with his now well-known idiosyncratic style of phrasing, her recording of the song would reach the #2 Country spot, spend 21 weeks on the charts, and become one of her signature tunes. Patsy Cline’s version of “Crazy” is No. 85 on Rolling Stone‘s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

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In 1961, Nelson signed with Liberty Records and recorded his first two singles, both of which entered the Top 10. The first single, “Willingly”, was recorded as a duet, with his soon-to-be second wife, Shirley Collie. Liberty released Nelson’s first album, . . . And Then I Wrote, in 1962.

Nelson recorded one single for Monument Records in 1964, before being encouraged by Chet Atkins to join RCA Records, where he signed a contract for $10,000 per year. Nelson’s first album with RCA was released in 1965. That same year, he joined the Grand Ole Opry, and met and became close friends with Waylon Jennings.

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Although Willie’s initial success at RCA was slow in coming, from fall of 1966 to spring of 1969, a number of his singles reached the top 25, including “One in a Row” (#19), and “The Party’s Over” (#24 during a 16-week chart run).

In 1970, having become frustrated with the business of music in Nashville, Nelson moved back to Texas. He continued to record for RCA for several more years, but his frustration with his lack of success as a performing artist would eventually lead him to retire from music.

“It was a time of the preacher
In the year of O-one
Now the lesson is over
And the killin’s begun” – Time of the Preacher Theme (Willie Nelson)

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_(Willie_Nelson_song)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Headed_Stranger

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Nelson

All photos sourced through internet searches, none belong to the author.