Bobbie Nelson Dies: Willie Nelson’s Sister, and Pianist, Was 91

Bobbie Nelson, Willie Nelson’s sister and a member of his Willie Nelson and Family band for more than 50 years, died Thursday morning at age 91. According to her, she had died. “peacefully and surrounded by family,”There was no cause of death.

“There’s just no way to explain how lucky I am to have a good musician in the family,”In 2007, Willie Nelson spoke to the Austin American-Statesman. “Whenever I’ve needed a piano player, I’ve had Sister Bobbie right there. … Whenever our band plays, Sister Bobbie is the best musician on the stage.”

Willie and Bobbie were together for five decades, eight years of professional playing, and eight and a quarter of collaborating at home. Their last gig was at the Whitewater Amphitheater, New Braunfels Texas, on October 9.

Willie Nelson fans rarely saw her face live on stage. But her thick, long hair was a guarantee that all family members were present and accounted for.

Nelson’s love for his sister was strong enough that he released both albums and books with her, as a duo. A memoir was published by the Nelsons about their relationship one year and half ago. “Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band”(co-written with David Ritz) and promoted it during interviews.

“My little sister was always on the piano doing great music,”Nelson was remembered on the “Today”Show in November 2020 “I would sit there on the piano stool beside her and try to figure out what the hell she was doing. … Sister Bobbie is 10 times a better musician than I am,”He said. He continued, “When she refused to listen, he said. “I’m a little better con man, I think.”

Bobbie, the country music superstar, was often called his “little sister,”Although she was only a few years older than him, They were both 6 years old when she was born and 4 years old when he was born. “The Great Speckled Bird,” and their musical relationship was forged, although it would be decades before it occurred to him that it was possible to bring Bobbie into his professional life.

Willie Nelson, in a joint memoir, recalled how his creative revival of the early 1970s coincided to him bringing Bobbie into the band. Jerry Wexler, legendary producer, had brought him from an unhappy stint at another label to Atlantic Records where he was about begin recording his series of classics. “outlaw”It was his era albums that defined him. Wexler informed him that he could use anyone he chooses as his studio musicians. “I immediately thought of Bobbie. She was the main spark I’d been missing.”

Bobbie, 42, had never been in a studio before nor been on a plane. But both these things changed when he convinced Bobbie in 1972 to let her work in the Atlantic recording studio. It was a gospel album called “The Troublemaker,”Then “Shotgun Willie,”And his stardom was undiminished. “The Atlantic Records experience put me on a new course. Most important, it brought me back together with Bobbie. When the sessions in New York were over I made it plain. ‘Sister,’ I said, ‘you’re now a member of the band.’”

2017 was the year Bobbie’s first solo album. “Audiobiography,”An album of piano instrumentals. But even without going out on her own, she was familiar to her brother’s fans from getting a showcase number of her own on tour each night, “Down Yonder,” and from duo projects they did, along with just piano playing that was nearly as recognizable as her brother’s licks with his signature guitar, Trigger.

Bobbie Lee was born in the Depression on January 1, 1931. Willie followed five months later on April 30, 1933. Their parents were teenagers living in Abbott, Texas. However, they were raised by their paternal grandparents with the man they called “The Man”. “Daddy”Teaching Willie to play the guitar “Mama” instructing Bobbie on piano. Both would play on Sundays at the Abbott Methodist Church, but Bobbie’s talent led her to also find favor playing at other local churches.

“I remember when I got my first piano,”In an interview with Michael Corcoran, she said that she was a proud mother. Profil. “I thought, ‘I’ll never be lonely again.’”

Although the early ’70s marked their real coming together as mature musicians, Bobbie and Willie did have a very brief semi-professional stint together for five years in the late ’40s and early ’50s. At 16, Bobbie was married to a musician, Bud Fletcher, who played in a band in local honky-tonks with the siblings’ father, Ira Nelson. Bobbie’s husband died in a car accident, and with three children at that point, she gave up music and moved to Fort Worth to attend secretarial courses.

But after going to work for the Hammond Organ Company, she began demonstrating the company’s products as well as working in its music library. Bobbie became a pianist in Austin restaurants and lounges. Her brother, however, was having great success with songs such as “Crazy” “Hello Walls”In Nashville, he found less satisfaction as a solo performer, before he returned to Texas. Bobbie was a big factor in Austin’s attraction for him. It was almost an accident that he would become the patron saint for a growing counterculture scene there.

Bobbie was described to be a committed Christian who, despite having spent half a century touring with her brother, still didn’t approve his use of marijuana. She would however cite health concerns as the reason she disapproves. Corcoran affirmed that she had never fought with her brother.

Recordings that Willie and Bobbie made as a duo include 1980s’s “Family Bible” and 1996’s “How Great Thou Art.” In 2021, the two of them were joined by four of Willie’s children in releasing an album titled “The Willie Nelson Family.”

Willie spoke out to People magazine about their dual memoir in 2020. “She’s my closest friend for a whole lifetime. I’m glad she’s getting some recognition for what she’s done with her life.”

Thursday’s family statement read: “Her elegance, grace, beauty and talent made this world a better place. She was the first member of Willie’s band, as his pianist and singer. Our hearts are broken and she will be deeply missed. But we are so lucky to have had her in our lives. Please keep her family in your thoughts and give them the privacy they need at this time.”