It's a Long Story: My Life

by Willie Nelson, David Ritz (With)

Overview

The definitive autobiography of Willie Nelson

"Unvarnished. Funny. Leaving no stone unturned."

. . . So say the publishers about this book I've written.

What I say is that this is the story of my life, told as clear as a Texas sky and in the same rhythm that I lived it.

It's a story of restlessness and the purity of the moment and living right. Of my childhood in Abbott, Texas, to the Pacific Northwest, from Nashville to Hawaii and all the way back again. Of selling vacuum cleaners and encyclopedias while hosting radio shows and writing song after song, hoping to strike gold.

It's a story of true love, wild times, best friends, and barrooms, with a musical sound track ripping right through it.

My life gets lived on the road, at home, and on the road again, tried and true, and I've written it all down from my heart to yours.

Signed,
Willie Nelson

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316403566
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	05/05/2015
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	27,689
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Willie Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. He was inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993.

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Part 1 My Beginning

1 Home 13

2 To All the Girls at School 29

3 First Family Band 38

4 Zeke 49

5 Falling into the 1950s 58

6 Mission City and Other Stops along the Way 70

7 Positive Thinking 78

8 Coastin' 89

Part 2 Songs Falling from the Sky

9 Back to Cow Town 109

10 Dark Night of the Soul 119

11 The Store 131

12 Hello, Hits 143

13 The Offenders 153

14 Farm Life 160

15 Waylon 171

16 Now 183

Part 3 Teardrops and Flowers

17 Time 199

18 Reboot 209

19 Game Changers 217

20 Happy Fourth, 1973 227

21 Pure Sunshine and Purple Jesus 238

22 Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House 247

23 Against the Grain 261

Part 4 Over the Rainbow

24 Silver Screen 279

25 Always 287

26 "Burn the Fucker Down!" 301

27 Falling in Love 309

28 Keep on Truckin' 317

29 "Listen to the Blues They're Playing / Listen to What the Blues Are Saying" 327

Part 5 Spirit

30 High 337

31 Rainbows 351

32 Abbott 367

Acknowledgments 377

Index 379

Editorial Reviews

04/06/2015
Picking up where he left off in 2012’s Roll me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, Nelson shares intimate and entertaining details of his life behind the guitar, the ups and downs of his marriages, his infamous encounter with the IRS, and his deep love of making music. Nelson, a scrappy youngster whose schoolmates nicknamed him Booger Red, was raised by his grandparents and found music everywhere he went, from the songs of field workers picking cotton or baling hay to the sounds of his blacksmith grandfather’s anvil. By the time Nelson was eight, he was writing songs and playing guitar, and his decision to be a wandering singer like his hero, Ernest Tubb, was set. Nelson spent his early years as a disc jockey, getting to know the music industry from outside the studio and learning about all styles of music. He shares stories of his close friendships with Ray Price, who advises Nelson to be prudent with his money; Waylon Jennings; and Leon Russell, who helps Nelson put together his Woodstock-style Fourth of July picnic on Nelson’s ranch. Nelson offers a warm, friendly, and a deeply reflective glimpse behind the making of most of his albums as well as behind-the-scenes looks at some of his best-known hits, such as “Crazy” and “Yesterday’s Wine.” Reading Nelson’s narrative is like sitting on the front porch chatting with an old friend. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"A smooth-spoken recollection of the country legend's childhood and his eight-decade-long musical career.... Just like this book — and its subject — direct and genuine."—Mike Snider, USA Today

"Invaluable... Nelson writes the way he sings and plays guitar—with conversational ease and grace."—James Reed, The Boston Globe

"Every page radiates authenticity.... Heartfelt...."—Douglas Brinkley, The Washington Post

"Endlessly entertaining.... Readers of It's a Long Story will finally get the sense that Nelson is sitting before them spilling everything he can remember.... It's a wonderful thing if you love ol' Willie — and who doesn't? ... Nelson has spent decades on the road building this story — do yourself a favor and take a day or two to read it."—Hunter Hauk, Dallas Morning News

"Brims with affectionate reminiscences of Nelson's childhood and semi-wayward youth, his turbulent marriages and career zigzags. And of course his raison d'être, music."—Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly

A "breezy new autobiography... His voice as a writer, as in song, is warm, generous and good-timey."—James Sullivan, San Francisco Chronicle

"Nelson offers a warm, friendly, and a deeply reflective glimpse behind the making of most of his albums as well as behind-the-scenes looks at some of his best-known hits.... Reading Nelson's narrative is like sitting on the front porch chatting with an old friend."—Publishers Weekly

A "candid, heartfelt memoir.... In a plainspoken, conversational tone reminiscent of his singing voice."—Dave Shiflett, Wall Street Journal

"The closing chapters are reflective and heartfelt—part musical and part personal—and they nicely bookend Nelson's admirable attempt to recount his 'long story.'"—Andrew Dansby, The Houston Chronicle

"One of the original 'outlaw' country singers puts it all on the line with this bawdy and moving tale of his extraordinary life."—Allen Pierleoni, The Sacramento Bee

"As breezy, entertaining and occasionally bizarre as the man himself."—Larry Getlen, New York Post

"An autobiography that ought to be on any Southern music lover's shelf—this is Willie in his own authentic voice, sharing memories of his Texas upbringing."—CJ Lotz, Garden & Gun

It's a Long Story "is closer to a series of Raymond Carver stories: terse, conversational and peppered with profanity, jokes and life lessons.... One of the great stories in American music."—Jim Kiest, San Antonio Express-News

"This is the definitive Willie Nelson story. It's a rare insight into an American folk hero, one told in a voice as powerful and genuine as the red-headed stranger himself."
—Mark Flanagan, Run Spot Run

"The often hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking story of a life on the run."—Woody Harrelson, Interview

"This rollicking bio perfectly captures the inimitable voice of his plain-speaking subject."—Sarah Murdoch, Toronto Star

"Who doesn't love Trigger-wielding Willie Nelson? ... Pour a drink, take a seat and dig into the life story of one of America's true living legends."—Parade

"One of America's most gifted songwriters and storytellers, Nelson mesmerizes us with his gift of gab in this autobiography, regaling us with stories of his life — from his childhood and youth in Abbott, TX, to the ups and downs of his marriages, and his deep love for his family, friends, fans, and songwriting."—Henry Carrigan, No Depression

"Country music legend Willie Nelson tells his life story his way, with humor and outright honesty. Most of the time, it feels as if he is sitting right across the table talking directly to us, pouring out his heart and soul."—Christine M. Irvin, BookReporter

"Nelson recounts a colorful life story in and out of music. And what a life it has been."—Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press

"Warm, witty, and burnished with cowboy mystic wisdom."—Tim Stegall, The Austin Chronicle

"Long Story thrives on the basis of two factors: Nelson's short sentences, chalk-full of his deadpan wit and the larger-than-life tales he shares.... Nelson's sage and easy-going spin on these various yarns, and the morals he offers up in his summations, are endearing and entertaining.... Essential reading."—James Courtney, San Antonio Current

"A fascinating memoir of a living American icon. It is as colorful as Willie's life has been. Written in a very beautiful and gripping style, Nelson's book reads like a novel."—The Washington BookReview

"It's a Long Story proves to capture the Red Headed Stranger in a direct light, and fans have plenty to gain within its pages."—Tyler R. Kane, Paste Magazine's "The 15 Best Nonfiction Books of 2015 (So Far)"

"As a kid, Willie Nelson wrote poetry. From an early age, he understood the power of a simple, direct voice and it's this voice that makes My Life more than just another run-of-the-mill, music industry memoir.... You don't need to be a fan to be beguiled by his gift for spinning a yarn."—Fiona Capp, The Sydney Morning Herald

"Behind Willie's remarkable music is a remarkable life, well rendered in It's a Long Story... It reads like what you might hear if you were sitting on the front porch talking with Willie about his life and about music. And who wouldn't want to do that?"—Larry Thornberry, The American Spectator

"A roadmap for the richest kind of life.... Willie is a loquacious storyteller with a disarming knack for self-effacement."—Malcolm Jones, The Daily Beast

From the Publisher

04/15/2015
Musician Nelson collaborates with prolific author Ritz (Divided Soul; Respect) to present his memoir in a conversational style. He succeeds in giving us a true picture of himself, warts and all, by relating the wild side of his nature and his tendency to womanize. A natural songwriter and poet from Abbott, TX, born in 1933, he was heavily influenced by Western swing music and the music of Ernest Tubb, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, and Django Reinhardt. His favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. Stories range from skipping town by jumping aboard freight trains, selling encyclopedias to make ends meet, and getting stoned on the roof of the White House during the Jimmy Carter years. He made great efforts to organize Farm Aid in the mid-1980s. Nelson also performed with numerous musicians including Kris Kristofferson, Leon Russell, Waylon Jennings, and Bob Dylan. He is best known for crafting the songs "Crazy," made famous by Patsy Cline, and "On the Road Again." VERDICT This book will appeal to die-hard Nelson fans who are willing to plod through text that's laced with profanity. [See Prepub Alert 11/10/14.]—Elizabeth D. Eisen, Appleton P.L., WI

Library Journal

2015-02-18
The beloved outlaw country icon rolls a fat one for his fans and sits down on the porch to spin a few yarns. Those fat ones are legion in this book, whether in the company of the superbly suave Julio Iglesias or out on the road taking it to The Man. Still, Nelson (Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, 2012, etc.) opens on an oddly dark note, first conjuring up and analyzing T.S. Eliot and then brooding on his infamous woes with the IRS a quarter-century ago. The author has much more to brood about besides that sorry episode, from the life course-transforming death of family early on to the demise of nearly all of his contemporaries. Yet he's nothing if not a survivor, accustomed to dusting himself off and going back into battle: "Because I was small, I got the shit kicked out of me. Wound up with a broken nose and busted collarbone, but nothing stopped me….The minute I healed up, I was back out there." Those battles, too, are many and storied, involving not just the IRS but also the whole of the Nashville establishment; Nelson has found allies in the likes of Ernest Tubb, Johnny Cash, and Chet Atkins. The last counseled, "Be patient, Willie, and you'll get the mainstream audience you've been looking for"—and so Willie was, and so he did. The narrative is sometimes choppy, with staccato one-sentence paragraphs going on for long stretches like an endless jam on "Whiskey River," and it's often repetitive, as if—well, as if Nelson maybe rolled one too many before hitting the typewriter. Still, if the stories are familiar, and if we've heard them before, he still has much new to say on issues such as privacy, the changing music scene, and, of course, legalization ("I owe marijuana a lot"). Amiable but with an edge, and good reading for Nelson's legion of followers.

Kirkus Reviews