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Heads Up! Willie Nelson and Bobbie Nelson’s Memoir is Due to be Out this Year

by
  • Arden is a Senior Country Music Journalist for Country Thang Daily, specializing in classic hits and contemporary chart-toppers.
  • Prior to joining Country Thang Daily, Arden wrote for Billboard and People magazine, covering country music legends and emerging artists.
  • Arden holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Tennessee, with a minor in Music Studies.

Willie Nelson and Bobbie Nelson’s memoir is something to look forward to!

Willie Nelson announced that he and her sister would be doing a collaboration to write a memoir that would look back at their relationship as siblings and as part of the same family band for years.

“The Family”

Bobbie Nelson started at a very young age and was deeply inclined to everything that was related to music. She later joined the band “The Texans” as a pianist and his brother Willie Nelson took the vocals and the guitar. The band, later on, was disassembled but gave way to his brother’s new back-up band “The Family” which became an iconic band in the ‘70s

“The Family” began when Willie Nelson moved to Austin Texas where his own style of playing country music presented an influence of jazz and folk. The first few members of the band came through recommendations or former band members. One of those was Nelson’s harmonicist Mickey Raphael who was referred by Darell Royal during a jam session.

Willie’s sister Bobbie also joined the band during the recording of “Shotgun Willie.” After “Shotgun Willie,” Nelson hired more members to complete the band. This included Merle Haggard’s touring guitarist Jody Payne. The members, however, changed over time as some moved to other bands.

Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band

This was built around the experiences that they gained through other members of the iconic country singer’s band, Willie Nelson and Family.

The dynamic siblings really have a lot of humorous stories to tell after spending so much time playing music together. But the memoir was not just all about the years that they had played together. It also stretches out through the 8 decades of remaining a family since they were abandoned by their parents. Willie Nelson is now 87 and Bobbie 89.

During a press release of Willie Nelson and Bobbie Nelson’s memoir, the Nelson siblings have labeled it as a heartfelt account of the lifelong bond between the two of them. This is also the first time that Bobbie will be sharing her own amazing stories of her only brother Willie.

This means then that it’s a “Dual Memoir” where every story weaves to create the colorful journey of not just a family of two but of an iconic figure in the industry. It also reveals the different takes of both Willie and Bobbie about the dizzying highs and traumatic lows that they have experienced through the years.

Sister, Brother, Family: Our Childhood in Music

But the Willie and Bobbie memoir is not the only thing that we could look forward to. There’s also a picture book coming which the siblings co-wrote with Chris Barton that is set to follow in 2021. It’s tentatively titled, “Sister, Brother, Family: Our Childhood in Music.”

Getting past the success that Willie and Bobbie had attained throughout their career, they also had one great opportunity not common to most siblings. The opportunity to grow together while doing something that you both love.

Let us take a look at some of the iconic songs that both Bobbie and Willie had during their careers.

Bobbie primarily focused on playing the piano for different artists and bands. On the other hand, Willie persevered to form his band while making his own brand of music. Bobbie’s greatest break came when she joined his brother’s Family band in 1973. Some of their known albums were “The Troublemakers”,” Shotgun Willie,” and “Phases and Stages.”

For Willie, success did not come until 1975. Since then, success seemed to be inevitable for what has become a country music legend. He has written some of country music’s most popular tunes with funny themes. There were also songs that were just dominantly affected by his charming eccentric vocals. Some of Willie Nelson’s top songs include the 1981 “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” the 1962 “Crazy” single, “On the Road Again” (1980),” “Georgia on My Mind” and a lot more.

Willie Nelson and Bobbie Nelson’s memoir will be out on September 15. This would definitely be something worth waiting for as it’s a memoir written by two of the industry’s greatest singers and musicians.

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