Willie Nelson, THE Willie Nelson, is now 90, so you could say he is a man who has seen it all.
The musician has had quite the life and yet after everything he’s been through, there is one constant presence in his life that he still gushes over.
His wife of 31 years, Annie D’Angelo.
“I call her my pet rattler,” he joked. “She’s my lover, my wife, nurse, doctor, bodyguard.”
Nelson turned 90 last month and he celebrated his birthday with a two-day concert in Los Angeles.
Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90 included performances by Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, George Strait, Miranda Lambert.
His two sons with D’Angelo, Lukas and Micah, performed as well.
Lukas described his mom, Willie’s fourth wife, as “an amazing person”.
“She’s brilliant, she’s strong, and she’s full of integrity. I mean, she’s fiery. She’s a good balance to my dad,” Lukas shared.
“The greatest thing about my mom is she takes great care of my father. Not the greatest thing—there’s many good things—but that is one of my favorite parts of her. How well she takes care of him and how she’s kept him healthy and alive and still doing what he loves for so long. I think he appreciates and respects that.”
Nelson does not have the same hearing he used to have, but he is happy, and he credits his family for that.
He has plans to tour through the fall before his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November.
“I quit after every tour, then two days later I’m ready to go back,” Willie said. “Billy Joe Shaver wrote in a song, ‘Moving is the closest thing to being free,’ and that’s the way I look at it. I enjoy riding up and down the highway.”
“There’s probably other things I will do and can do, but I’m not going to push myself too hard,” Willie added. “I know one day it all ends, but I’m not rushing it.”
That means that the singer, songwriter, musician, political activist and actor is slowing down.
Nelson is one proud father.
He’s not the type to talk too much and give them advice, as he prefers to be a living lesson for his kids.
“It’s better to show them rather than tell them,” he says. “If they see your work ethic every day, then they realize, ‘Hey, maybe he knows what he’s doing.’”
Nelson was born during the Great Depression and was raised by his grandparents in Abbott, Texas.
He wrote his first song by age 7 and joined his first band at 10.
He has been touring for more than 60 years.
Nelson has 73 solo studio albums, plus three with his Highwaymen bandmates Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kristofferson.
He’s been around and he knows what he’s talking about.
The longtime cannabis connoisseur also no longer smokes or drinks, something his wife is surely happy about.Willie Nelson – A Woman’s Love (Official Video)