Is it possible to be a successful purveyor of country music and Americana and still be a long-haired, pot smoking, environmentalist, liberal hippie? Willie Nelson is and always has been. His perpetually unshaven beard, long hair - frequently braided Indian style - American flag head scarf or cowboy hat and red, white and blue guitar straps are as visually recognisable as his deep, raw, warbley voice and outlaw country style. He is as frequently identified as pure Americana as apple pie and baseball. It was Emmylou Harris who once said, "If I could only imagine America having one voice, it would be Willie Nelson's." He is a cornerstone of the outlaw country movement of the 70s and 80s, had parts in more than 15 major films, won numerous awards (including many AMAs, CMAs and Grammys) and has so far in his 45 year career, released more than 100 albums.

Nelson began his career predominately songwriting and playing in other's bands. After seeing many of his best songs become hits for other artists (most notably "Night Life" by Ray Price, "Hello Walls" by Faron Young and "Crazy" by Pasty Cline) Nelson was determined to become a recording artist in his own right. He released a few unsuccessful albums in Nashville as part of the "Nashville sound" but it wasn't until he became a regular feature at Armadillo World Headquarters, centre of Austin, Texas' burgeoning "hippie" music scene, that Nelson would find his niche. Playing on the same stage with a multifarious array of musical artists including Ray Charles, ZZ Top, Frank Zappa, The Boomtown Rats and Van Morrison helped to expand Nelson's personal and musical horizons. He released two of his most acclaimed and successful albums during this period, Phases and Stages (1974) and Red Headed Stranger (1975); both concept albums. The first about the death of his marriage, the first half details the woman's point of view, the second half the man's. Red Headed Stranger was an album about an old-west preacher on the run from the law after killing his wife. Both were massively successful critically and commercially and launched Nelson onto the world-stage.

Other big successes in his career included the 1978 release of "pop standards" on his massively popular cross-over album Stardust. The multi-platinum selling, strings-based album included songs "Unchained Melody", "Georgia on My Mind", "Someone to Watch Over Me" and of course "Stardust". He released two successful albums (Highwaymen in 85 and Highwaymen II in 90) as one