Willie Nelson was born to Merle Marie and Doyle Nelson in Abbott, Texas, in the wee hours of April 30, 1933. According to Joe Nick Patoski’s biography “Willie Nelson: An Epic Life,” the singer and his brother Bobby Lee were the first Nelsons born in the Lone Star state. Willie’s family were sharecroppers that had moved to Texas from Arkansas after their land became infertile during the Great Depression. In Texas, they took on new work picking cotton, which Willie started at age six. By the age of 13, Nelson found that he could make as much money playing music in the local taverns, juke joints and pool halls. After spending time in Vancouver, Washington, where he worked as a radio DJ, Nelson moved to Nashville to pursue a career as a songwriter at the age on 27. After some initial trouble securing a record deal, Nelson signed with Liberty Records in 1961. His first major success came when Patsy Cline scored a huge hit with Nelson’s song “Crazy.”