Willie Nelson

St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture, Jan 29, 2002 by Jeffrey W. Coker

In the mid-1980s, Nelson revived the spirit of his outdoor festivals to help generate financial support for struggling American farmers. These Farm Aid gatherings, which attract scores of musicians and thousands of fans, continue to be a regular part of Nelson's work, along with his busy recording and touring schedule. Nelson continues to entertain fans of all stripes, having overcome highly publicized legal problems, including a huge debt to the Internal Revenue Service and a drug possession arrest. His album Spirit (1996), recorded by Island Records, features veteran performers such as Texas Playboys fiddler Johnny Gimble on a recording that offers tunes drawn from pop, rock, swing, and gospel. After more than four decades, Willie Nelson's eclecticism continues to make him a country-music sensation.