What Songs Did Willie Nelson Write?

Some of the big hit songs that Willie Nelson wrote are: “Crazy,” "On the Road Again," “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” and “Forgiving You was Easy.” Willie Nelson has written many songs and has had an interesting career.

Willie Nelson has written many hit songs including:

• “On the Road Again”
• “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground”
• “Forgiving You was Easy”

Other songs Willie Nelson wrote were:

• “Crazy” which was a big hit for Patsy Cline
• “Night Life” recorded by Ray Price
• “Funny How Time Slips Away” recorded by Billy Walker
• “Hello Walls” recorded by Faron Young
• “Pretty Paper” recorded by Roy Orbison

Hit Songs Recorded by Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson has recorded many other number one hits on the charts:

• “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”
• “If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time”
• “Georgia on My Mind”
• “Blue Skies”
• “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”
• “On the Road Again”
• “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground”
• “Always on My Mind”
• “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before”
• “City of New Orleans”
• “Seven Spanish Angels”
• “Forgiving You was Easy”
• "Living in the Promiseland"
• “Nothing I Can Do About it Now”
• “Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys”

Life of Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson is a songwriter, singer, actor, and activist.  He got a reputation for being a honky-tonk singer with an attitude during the outlaw country movement and is an icon for it. His trademarks are a bandana, long braids, blue jeans, and the Texas flag.

He started his career as a songwriter and found success performing in Austin, Texas in the 1970s. His first hit as a singer was “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”

Willie was an actor in several movies starting in 1979 with The Electric Horseman. Other movies were Honeysuckle Rose, for which he wrote the song “On the Road Again,” Thief, Barbarosa, and Red Headed Stranger. He has had small roles and cameos in movies, as well as frequent television guest appearances.

Willie Nelson as an Activist

Willie Nelson has also made contributions as an activist:

• He participated in the recording of “We are the World” in 1984, which was recorded to raise money for African famine relief. 
• Nelson was one of the organizers of Farm Aid, a series of concerts starting in 1985 to raise money for family farmers in the United States.  The other organizers were John Mellencamp and Neil Young. The three men had been spurred into action by the comments of Bob Dylan during the Live Aid concert, put on to raise money for the Ethiopian famine.  Dylan said that he hoped they could take some of this money and help farmers pay their mortgages. Later, Nelson and Mellencamp brought family farmers to testify before Congress and in 1987, the Agricultural Credit Act was passed to help family farms not go into foreclosure. 
• Farm Aid concerts are still going on and the organization’s board of directors include Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews.    

Awards and Recognition for Willie Nelson

Aside from the great songs we know Willie Nelson wrote, he has also received numerous awards in his career. Willie’s awards include:

• Best Male Country Vocal Performance - four times
• Single of the Year - five times
• Album of the Year - three times
• Favorite Single - two times
• Best Male Country Vocal Performance - two times
• Entertainer of the Year - two times
• Favorite Male Artist - four times
• Best Country Song and Favorite Album - one time each

He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award (Grammy), was number 4 in the list of the 40 Greatest Men of Country Music, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993.

Other lifetime achievement awards are:   

• 1990 Grammy Legend Awards
• 1995 TNN/Music City News Minnie Pearl Award
• 1995 TNN/Music City News Living Legend
• 2001 BMI 49th Annual Country Awards President's Award
• 2004 CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards Video Collaboration of the Year 2007 BMI 55th Annual Country Awards BMI Icon

Willie Nelson is an accomplished songwriter, singer, activist and a leading voice in the country music industry.