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Willie Nelson doesn’t stop for anything or anyone. The 76 year old musician has, over the years, accomplished quite a bit. Nelson’s prolific discography includes over 100 records, including both solo work as well as collaborations with other artists. In the almost 50 years Nelson’s been performing, he’s been a constant tour presence and become one of America’s “national treasures.” Now, Nelson—described in last January’s issue of Rolling Stone as the “world’s mellowest man”—brings his distinct sound and voice to Evansville’s Centre on Friday, February 19 at 8:00 p.m.

            Nelson is known to listeners today for his stardom as a performer, but that didn’t occur until the mid 1970s. After modest success with the independent single “Lumberjack” in 1956, Nelson spent the better part of the 1960s in Nashville, writing songs for other people. Ray Price offered him a bassist position in his band, the Cherokee Cowboys, shortly after Price recorded Nelson’s “Night Life.” “Night Life” became a huge hit for Price, whose belief in Nelson paid off.

Willie Nelson’s gamble seemed to be paying off. He achieved great success as a songwriter, crafting hits for other artists. Faron Young’s “Hello Walls” spent nine weeks at number one, and Billy Walker turned “Funny How Time Slips Away” into another hit. Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” is another crossover success from this period. Nelson began performing songs at the end of this period with some modest success—but as history shows, the commercial, pop-minded sound just didn’t pan out for Nelson. Something needed to change for him to truly succeed.

That radical change came in 1973 with Shotgun Willie, the first album to showcase the new rock and folk influences and redneck image. In the early 70s, Nelson became a staple of the outlaw country movement, joining artists such as Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings—culminating in stardom in 1975. After crossover successes like The Red Headed Stranger and “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” Nelson’s broad, genuine appeal solidified. He was a star.

He spent the next five years charting on both country and pop lists, recording duets with Waylon Jennings and other artists as well as releasing some of his most-recognizable material; “If You’ve Got the Money I’ve Got the Time” is one of those pieces. 1978 marked another high point in Nelson’s career with the release of two disparate albums. Waylon and Willie, the first duet album with Jennings, enjoyed great success early in the year (and spawned “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys”). Later, he released Stardust, the Booker T. Jones-produced showcase for pop standards augmented with string sections. Critics assumed the worst out of the album, but it unexpectedly garnered great success—spending almost ten years on country charts and selling in excess of four million copies. Nelson then turned his sights to acting, taking roles in Robert Redford’s The Electric Horseman (1979) and 1980’s Honeysuckle Rose. “On the Road Again” was featured in the second film, and became over the years one of Nelson’s signature tunes.

Of course, that’s not to say Nelson’s success hasn’t been tempered by hardship. Even with the successes of the 1980’s, several problems arose in his life. In 1990, the IRS demanded over 16 million dollars in back taxes. Nelson paid the debt back, but only after auctioning nearly all his assets and releasing a double album, the profits if which went directly toward the IRS. In 1991, he lost a son to suicide. Even his birth and childhood are matters of troubled times—his parents left him shortly after his birth to the care of his grandparents, who raised him during the Depression in Texas.

The thing about Willie Nelson, however, is that he’s not just another legendary music star coming to Evansville to pick up a check. He still actively records new material, takes roles in films, and takes an active part in the politics of biodiesel research. 2005’s The Dukes of Hazzard served as a reminder—regardless of critical reception—that Nelson is funny, especially when given a chance to play up the stereotypical view of him. Nelson acknowledges his presence as an icon—both in country music and for marijuana legalization.

So when will Willie Nelson quit? His guitar, “Trigger,” may hold a clue. The old Martin N-20 has a large hole in the side of its body, worn from constant picking over the years. There’s no pick-guard there, as the N-20 classical guitar is meant to be played fingerstyle instead of with flat picks. Nelson’s joked in the past that when the hole in his guitar makes it unplayable, he’d retire. Let’s hope that—for the sake of music fans everywhere—that guitar keeps making that iconic sound for years to come. After all, if the guitar’s just as big a part of the Willie Nelson mythos as the man himself, the two of them should keep going strong well into this decade.