Willie Nelson on The Porter Wagoner Show

[johnbisaac93]

I miss all of those great songs that he wrote and preformed. The old porch swing and so on.

[kev40kev]

Yes I know that. Thank you. I was responding to those who thought the Martin he was playing in this video was Trigger. Its not Trigger.

[dumb7890]

wish you had told me that befor I meet her

[SktRat4life]

wow he has great pitch. blasts right through the shitty sound quality

[MegaLola48]

who wouldnt love willie

[WildeNotesMusic]

Willie's singing and guitar work have come a long way since this appearance.  But even in this video he still has wonderful phrasing - not to mention being an excellent songwriter.

[don56texas]

GW, you;re right. RHS was 1975.You can still look to 72-73 as the transition from the 1971 'Yesterday's Wine' Willie to the 'Shotgun Willie' of 1973. Take a look at the album covers. What I saw him do on stage in Lubbock in 1972 was extraordinary.

[don56texas]

Willie made the physical transition from the thin black-tie man to Woodstock Willie in 1972. I saw him and Paul English on tour in 1972 dressed in suit and tie much like in this video. In 1973 Willie released The Redheaded Stranger and the change in his appearance was shocking. So, the transition was 1972-1973.

[GWParadise]

@don56texas Sorry, but Red Headed Stranger came out in 1975. He did start growing his hair out a few albums before that release though, so you are still correct. Willie is an American Icon :)

[GWParadise]

Phases and Stages, and Shotgun Willie were his 1974 and '73 releases, and he was getting pretty wild looking. I remember because my Mom was a huge fan, and I had to listen to Willie, Waylon and Co. every day for years!

[EddieBluey]

That guitar is a 1941 Martin 000-18. Shirley Collie, who became his second wife, wrote that she bought it in 1945. Her autobiography has a chapter on it, which you can read online. It was sold by Heritage Auction house on 08/20/11. The stains and pickguard you see in the clip are very recognizable in the Heritage pic.

[lyles32386]

The first guy in the front left resembles a young hannibal lecter :)

[ParkTexas]

Truly extraordinary video. A treasure!

[desert3347]

So that's how Willie Looks............hum......

[TOPOFFMAN]

This is before he bought "Trigger".

[TOPOFFMAN]

I wonder if Willie was smoking the Hippy lettuce back in those days?

[TiredOfTheSoupDuJour]

@TOPOFFMAN - from what I hear, he started back in 1954. I don't want to talk out of school, but I think it was the great Floyd Tillman who introduced him to the devil weed.

[TOPOFFMAN]

@TiredOfTheSoupDuJour Wow, I would never think 1954? But as I think about it, that doesn't surprise me at all. Hell, I hear even Ray Price takes a puff now and then. So what!! Big deal!! I think as an artist, you have to get high on something to be a good songwriter and performer. (The Beatles) and deal with the fame and riches, and press.

[weblands]

Da Kine!!

[1bbobtwin]

Does anybody else recognize that very famous guitar he is playing??? Man I bet that instrument could tell some stories hunhh???

[kev40kev]

@1bbobtwin : Thats not Trigger he is playing . He didn't get Trigger till 1969 !

[1kmiles]

Wow! He can Sing!

[BoyerWNC]

wow. Cool stuff.

[volkiemann]

Do you think that Willie Nelson, Jack Green, and Roy Orbison might be related? They do look a lot alike when they were younger.

[dcgilleland]

When Willie could sing 'em but could'nt sell 'em! This was Willie at his BEST!

[SuperOlds88]

Wonder when he got his present guitar? This one sure isn't it, the one he plays now looks more like a classical guitar.

[LKKruse]

@SuperOlds88 He said one time in an interview that the one he has now was given to him as a gift from Gene Autry.

[SuperOlds88]

@LKKruse interesting

[unclebobunclebob]

Does that guitar look familiar? Could it be?

[brianbaetz]

@unclebobunclebob don't think so, notice the pick guard?



[plopnod]

From the way ol' Willie's eyes look,I'll bet he had just smoked a big fat marijuana cigarette.

[mistermendola]

love how the rhinestones kept blowing out the old tv cameras

[BobbyMercy1]

the best of the best

[BootStateSkinHead]

badass



[hairynipplezz]

Do you know what year this was recorded?

[dcgilleland]

@hairynipplezz I figure 65-68.

[Mufaso1000]

Why did he grow long shaggy hair and get mixed up with all the dope smokers?

[Btyson2121]

Is thie THE Willie Nelson?

[pattyfromtoledo]

love this - thank you for posting!

[wm631]

Probably 1961 or 1962. And I totally agree with ezramead, Willie's best work was throughout the years before he became a celebrity. Fortunately, there was a ton of it and almost all of it is readily available in various forms.

[magicbanana]

This is an absolute gem.

[dustbowel20]

before roll your own boys



[onstageagain]

love this man... what a talent ... thanks for sharing it with us Willie...

[LT1HILLINGHOE]

He should have stuck with this look and SOUND.  What he's got going on now and for the last thirty years or so... sucks. That dope headed hippy look doesn't work.

[Makater77]

@LT1HILLINGHOE Right on. The hippy dope look makes him look like a dope.

[Gilstrap2009]

Do yourselves a favor and find the album "Make Way for Willie" if you want to hear some of the very best straight up country music ever conceived and delivered! I won't begrudge him his success, but the entire outlaw movement was the end of this kind of music from Willie and his friends, and that is a tragic loss.

[phism]

damn, he's serious.

[Mufaso1000]

Willie sang THREE songs; Whew! He must have been a bigshot in Nashville in those days.

[LGLG69]

Willie was so dapper back then.

[gheester60]

So handsome. And what a voice.

[vipergurn]

what year is this?

[ezramead]

Willie Nelson quit being this guy. Never will makes sense. Insane.

[horsefinger]

i seen this show on outlaw music channel have been looking for this version of this song thanks by willie nelson

[bonglehaddock]

Trigger is a nylon-strung Martin

[b16agin]

Love Love you you Willie.  You are still just as handsome today. God bless you.

[MegaDave001]

Theres no hole in trigger yet,no Elvis or Patsy Cline autographs.

[kmcwhq]

WOW.........can you say 'lectrashave?

Willie sure did turn into the hippiedippycountrymusic-supers­tar

YOU GO Wilie.......YEE HAW

[inilledra]

@kmcwhq He was tired of Nashville controlling every move he made. Same with Waylon.

[dgtxdutch]

Potna, That was the kind of Country/Western music that I cut my teeth on! Willie batted a thousand on this one!

[ronaldt491]

Isn't that the same guitar he plays today? That looks like the beginning of the hole in the guitar he plays today.

[songsofwillienelson]

@ronaldt491 this is not the famous nylon he plays today..this one is steel string

[kev40kev]

@ronaldt491 : No its not Trigger . He got Trigger in 1969 and Trigger didn't have a pick gaurd . Trigger is a classical guitar and classical guitars didn't have pick gaurds .

[Lookup2Wakeup]

@kev40kev

It's this one, 1941 Martin 000-18 Natural Acoustic Guitar, #79925, belonged to his wife, Shirley Caddell Collie Nelson.

[PamK36]

Willie really let himself go.

[donpdn]

Excellent classic country. A great video of Willie singing "She's Not For You," Darkness On The Face Of The Earth," and part of "Hello Walls."

[jthardy]

Good old Porter! Thank you for sharing.