Willie Nelson on Willie Nelson - (Musicians in Their Own Words) by Paul Maher (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Curating the most illuminating interviews with an American icon isn't easy.

Willie Nelson's words can be found everywhere: TV, radio, movies, and on the many musical recordings he is responsible for over a decades-long career. Nelson, the last surviving member of the Highwaymen, has outlasted most of his generation of outlaw country musicians. And he is still releasing albums--and featuring on tracks with current superstars such as Beyoncé. Willie is an American institution.

Willie Nelson on Willie Nelson is a collection of interviews that illuminates him not only as a musician but also as an actor, writer, political and animal-rights activist, drug advocate, and environmentalist. These interviews with Nelson, many of them unseen for decades, range from the early 1970s to 2020 and take us through the ups and downs of his remarkable life and into the compositional history of his most beloved songs and albums.
This collection reveals the icon as a complex and contradictory man, elusive at times, outspoken at others. It celebrates the life and work not only of Nelson but also a bevy of committed journalists, some of them amateur, whom Nelson welcomed, one and all, to share his sometimes-radical worldview with an adoring public.

Willie Nelson on Willie Nelson is the definitive source for anyone wanting to authentically encounter the legend in print.

Review Quotes

"This candid, compelling entry in the Musicians in Their Own Words series spans five decades of interviews with Willie Nelson, tracing his evolution from obscure Nashville songwriter to American icon. Editor Maher eschews polished, PR-driven profiles in favor of raw, revealing conversations, resulting in a collection that feels both intimate and expansive. Familiar touchstones repeat throughout, including his famously battered nylon-string Martin guitar and the Nashville house fire that inspired his career-changing move to Austin. But the true pleasure lies in watching Nelson, now in his nineties, change, shifting from yoga to golf, from whiskey to weed, from cult musician to movie star while remaining lovably himself. Although the interviews focus primarily on music, Nelson's social concerns and philanthropic efforts, most notably his work as cofounder of Farm Aid, frequently enter these conversations, as do his beliefs about karma, reincarnation, and the power of positive thinking. A comprehensive tribute to a singular legend." -- BOOKLIST, Freda Love Smith

"Biographer Maher (Miles on Miles) paints an expansive, career-spanning portrait of the country music artist in this compilation of previously published interviews. Born in 1933, Willie Nelson was raised by his grandparents in Abbott, Tex., after his parents divorced and moved away, and began playing guitar at age six. Following unglamorous stints as a cotton picker, janitor, and traveling salesman, he moved to Nashville and started writing songs, including such hits as 'Crazy' and 'Pretty Papers, ' which were made famous by Patsy Cline and Roy Orbison, respectively. After signing with Atlantic Records in the 1970s, Nelson helped usher in a brand of 'outlaw' country music that embraced rock 'n' roll and jazz and folk influences, attracting a younger and more diverse audience. Interviews also explore in depth his beliefs in reincarnation; his use of recreational cannabis to spark creativity; and his environmental activism, including advocacy for forms of renewable energy. Despite some repetition across pieces, the broad chronological scope (spanning from 1969 through 2021) and Nelson's open, good-natured, and often witty demeanor ("I don't think I'm a bad singer, but I don't think I'm that great, either") make this an enjoyable and enlightening window into the mind of a country music great. Nelson's fans would do well to snap this up." --Publishers Weekly


"Many know the Willie Nelson songs that have become part of the fabric of American culture, but few know the fascinating details of the life that produced that iconic work. With insightful introductions and curatorial savvy, Paul Maher enables Willie to enlighten us, to reveal through his own words a story unlike any other, encompassing outlaw dreams, hardscrabble resilience, devastating tragedy, sweet vindication, and the boundless love of friends, fans, and family, both blood kin and otherwise. Willie Nelson on Willie Nelson is like an unforgettable fireside chat with the Red Headed Stranger himself, an artist for the ages." --ROBERT BURKE WARREN, editor of Cash on Cash

"The broad chronological scope and Nelson's open, good-natured, and often witty demeanor make [Willie Nelson on Willie Nelson] an enjoyable and enlightening window into the mind of a country music great." -- Publishers Weekly

"Editor Maher eschews polished, PR-driven profiles in favor of raw, revealing conversations, resulting in a collection that feels both intimate and expansive. . . . A comprehensive tribute to a singular legend." --Booklist

About the Author

Paul Maher Jr. is the author of Becoming Kerouac: A Writer In His Time as well as the editor of Miles on Miles and Tom Waits on Tom Waits among other titles. He resides in Lubec, Maine, with his wife, Caitlin.