Bobbie Nelson

Bobbie Lee Nelson (January 1, 1931 – March 10, 2022) was an American pianist and singer, the older sister of Willie Nelson, and a member of his band, Willie Nelson and Family. When she was five years old, her grandmother taught her to play keyboards with a pump organ, and after successful appearances at gospel conventions held in Hillsboro, Texas, her grandfather bought her a piano.

Nelson married Bud Fletcher when she was sixteen. He established a band called The Texans, which she and her brother joined. The group later dissolved in 1955 after she divorced Fletcher. His death six years later resulted in her suffering a breakdown and briefly losing custody of their children. In 1965 she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, after her third marriage failed. She played in restaurants and different venues until she was called by her brother from New York in 1973 for a session. She joined Willie Nelson on the piano during his sessions with Atlantic Records, that produced The Troublemaker, Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages. The same year she joined The Family full-time and began touring with her brother.

Early life Nelson was born in Abbott, Texas, on January 1, 1931, to Ira Doyle Nelson and Myrle Marie (née Greenhaw). Her mother moved to Portland, Oregon, soon after her brother Willie was born in 1933 (Willie later relocated their mother when he reached adulthood). Her father remarried and also moved away, leaving them to be raised by their paternal grandparents. The Nelsons, who taught singing back in Arkansas, started their grandchildren in music.

Nelson's grandmother started instructing her to play piano on a pump organ when Nelson was five. Her grandfather took her to singing gospel conventions that were held on the courthouse in Hillsboro, Texas, where she performed for the first time—in front of about a thousand people. When she was six, her grandfather, impressed by her potential talent, bought her a piano for $35 . Three years later, she started playing with Willie and singing with her grandmother around the house. She began playing in functions at Abbott High School and in church with her brother. When she was fourteen, she began traveling with evangelists around Austin and throughout Texas. In 2020, Nelson co-authored with her brother and writer David Ritz the autobiography Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band. Nelson played her last show with her brother on October 9, 2021 in New Braunfels, Texas.

Death Nelson died in Austin, Texas, on March 10, 2022, at the age of 91.

Discography Albums Year Album Label 2008 Audiobiography Justice Records

Collaborations

Books Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band (2020, )