http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com
by Hannah Wiest
Willie Nelson’s’Â “One Hell of a Ride” tour will hit Casper Sunday, and his sister Bobbie will be right there with him as she has all her life.
Bobbie and Willie Nelson were raised by their grandparents in the small town of Abbott, Texas. They knew nothing of fame or fortune then, Bobbie said. All they knew was the nightly study of music by candlelight with their grandparents, the gospel songs in their little Methodist church on Sundays and Wednesdays and the singing conventions at the courthouse.
“I only knew about this piano I heard, played by the lady at church and by the lady at the singing convention my Grandpa took me to when I was 7,” Bobbie said. “I fell in love with this piano. I have a love affair with this piano.”At 16, Bobbie married a musician named Bud Fletcher. She formed a honky-tonk band with him, her brother, Willie, and their guitar-playing father, Ira Nelson, in the ’40s.Then tragedy struck. Fletcher was killed in a car accident, leaving Bobbie with three sons to raise on her own. She stayed on the road a while but eventually quit music to attend business college and support her family. She got a job at Hammond Organ Company, where she worked as a secretary and demonstrated organs. She also played in piano bars and for herself at home, unable to ignore the piano’s pull in her life.After nearly 20 years away from the performing scene, Willie asked her to come back. It was 1971, and he had a recording deal with Atlantic Records. Bobbie was playing piano bars and resorts at the time but took some time off, let some other piano player work her scene and went to New York City. They recorded two albums: “The Troublemaker” and “Shotgun Willie.”
“‘Sister Bobbie,’ he said to me, ‘I’ve missed playing with you. Let’s just start again and never stop.'” Willie and Bobbie Nelson are still going. They travel the world making music together and try to make the world a better place by helping such organizations as FarmAid, which helps people grow their own food and be more self-sustaining.
Bobbie gets physically tired when touring but knows she is where she should be: “I thought a long time ago when I was very young that people should do in life something good and give themselves to the good of the universe. But when I was young, I stressed myself with it because I thought I wasn’t doing enough. I don’t know exactly why I was so stressed, but I did feel that. But, after Willie and I started doing what we’re doing with the band, I now feel that I’ve been doing it all along. My whole life has been in learning music and performing it and playing for people, and I do know that gives me great satisfaction.”
When times get tough, music is there for Bobbie Nelson. It was there in 1989 when her second of three sons became ill and died. It was there six months later when her oldest son was killed in a car accident. It was there in 1991 when Willie’s son died.
“That’s what I get my medicine from is music,” she said. “You just play it out and give your heart and soul to that.”
Also, Bobbie said, she had to not give up for her brother’s sake. The feeling is mutual. When Justice Records asked her to make a solo piano CD of her favorite songs, Willie Nelson was right there spurring his sister on. The album, a mix of boogies, Spanish reels and honky-tonk, is sandwiched by the songs “Back to Earth” and “Until Tomorrow,” both written by Willie, who lent his guitar and voice too.
Will she do another album? Maybe. But Willie comes first.
“I’m just there to assist in all of his adventures,” she said. “But I still feel that I’m doing what I should be doing. I want to continue to play with Willie. I love to play for myself, but I also love to play with Willie. I just hope we can play together as long as we can.”
If you go…
What: Concert by Willie Nelson and his Family Band. Jakob Dylan, son of Bob Dylan and lead singer of The Wallflowers who just released his solo acoustic album “Seeing Things,” will open.
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Casper Events Center, 1 Events Drive
Tickets: $40.50 and $47.50, all seats reserved.
Tickets are available by phone at 577-3030 or (800) 442-2256, online at www.CasperEventsCenter.com or at the Events Center box office.Info: Visit www.CasperEventsCenter.com, www.JakobDylan.com, www.WillieNelson.com, www.BobbieNelson.com.