… is 73 today.
He is an American icon; his voice as comforting as the American landscape, his songs as familiar as the color of the sky, his face as worn as the Rocky Mountains. Perhaps that’s why Dan Rather suggested, “We should add his face to the cliffs of Mt. Rushmore and be done with it.”
He’s recorded 250 albums, written 2,500 songs, and for half a century played countless concerts across America and around the world. He’s been instrumental in shaping both country and pop music, yet his appeal crosses all social and economic lines. Sometimes he’s called an outlaw, though from Farm Aid to the aftermath of September 11, from the resurrection of a burned-out courthouse in his own hometown to fanning the flame of the Olympics, it is Willie Nelson who brings us together.
Perhaps Emmylou Harris said it best: “If America could sing with one voice, it would be Willie’s.”
73-year-old Willie is appearing in Hamilton, Ontario, tonight, Toronto Tuesday, Montreal Wednesday, Fredricton Friday, Moncton Saturday, and Charlottetown Sunday.
I guess Dan Rather and Emmylou Harris haven’t seen the recent Dukes of Hazzard movie.
I wish I could say the same.