Editing Willie Nelson (section)

==Legacy==
{{See also|List of awards and nominations received by Willie Nelson}}
[[Image:Willie Nelson BLVD.jpg|thumb|Willie Nelson boulevard in Austin, Texas|alt=A sign of a street that reads "2nd street, Willie Nelson BLVD 100". It is night time and the sign is lighted. The borders and letters are white and the inside is red.]]
Nelson is widely recognized as an American icon.{{sfn|PBS staff|2011}}{{sfn|Hamilton|2010}} He was inducted into the [[Country Music Hall of Fame]] in 1993,{{sfn|Edwards|1993}} and he received the [[Kennedy Center Honors]] in 1998.{{sfn|Kennedy Center staff|2011}} In 2011, Nelson was inducted to the [[National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame|National Agricultural Hall of Fame]], for his labor in Farm Aid and other fund raisers to benefit farmers.{{sfn|Treolo|2011}} In 2015 Nelson won the [[Gershwin Prize]], the lifetime award of the [[Library of Congress]].{{sfn|Leahey|2015}} In 2018, [[Texas Institute of Letters|The Texas Institute of Letters]] inducted him among its members for his songwriting.{{sfn|Merschel|2018}} He was included by ''[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]'' on its ''100 Greatest Singers'' and ''100 Greatest Guitarists'' lists.{{sfn|Rolling Stone staff|2010}}{{sfn|Rolling Stone staff|2011}}

In 2003, Texas Governor Perry signed bill No.&nbsp;2582, introduced by State Representative [[Elizabeth Ames Jones]] and Senator [[Jeff Wentworth]], which funded the ''Texas Music Project'', the state's official music charity. Nelson was named honorary chairman of the advisory board of the project.{{sfn|Texas Music Project staff|2011}} In 2005, Democratic Texas Senator [[Gonzalo Barrientos]] introduced a bill to name {{convert|49|mi|km}} of the [[Travis County, Texas|Travis County]] section of [[Texas State Highway 130|State Highway 130]] after Nelson, and at one point 23 of the 31 state senators were co-sponsors of the bill.{{sfn|Ward|2005}} The legislation was dropped after two Republican senators, [[Florence Shapiro]] and Wentworth, objected, citing Nelson's lack of connection to the highway, his fund raisers for Democrats, his drinking, and his marijuana advocacy.{{sfn|Fort Worth Star-telegram staff|2005}}

An important collection of Willie Nelson materials (1975–1994) became part of the [[Wittliff collections]] of Southwestern Writers, [[Texas State University]], [[San Marcos, Texas]]. The collection contains lyrics, screenplays, letters, concert programs, tour itineraries, posters, articles, clippings, personal effects, promotional items, souvenirs, and documents. It documents Nelson's IRS troubles and how Farm Aid contributions were used. Most of the material was collected by Nelson's friend [[Bill Wittliff]], who wrote or co-wrote ''Honeysuckle Rose'', ''Barbarosa'' and ''Red Headed Stranger''.{{sfn|Alkek Library staff|2010}} In 2014, Nelson donated his personal collection to the [[Dolph Briscoe Center for American History]]. The items include photographs, correspondence, song manuscripts, posters, certificate records, awards, signed books, screenplays, personal items and gifts and tributes from Nelson's fans.{{sfn|Briscoe Center staff|2014}}

In April 2010, Nelson received the "Feed the Peace" award from [[The Nobelity Project]] for his extensive work with Farm Aid and overall contributions to world peace. On June 23, 2010, he was inducted into the Library of Congress's [[National Recording Registry]].{{sfn|Donahue|2010}} Nelson is an honorary trustee of the [[Dayton International Peace Museum]].{{sfn|Dayton Peace Museum staff|2010}}
In 2010, Austin, Texas renamed Second Street to Willie Nelson Boulevard. The city also unveiled [[Willie Nelson statue|a life-size statue]] to honor him, placed at the entrance of ''Austin City Limits''' new studio.{{sfn|BBC News staff|2010}} The non-profit organization Capital Area Statues commissioned sculptor Clete Shields to execute the project.{{sfn|Houston Chronicle staff|2010}} The statue was unveiled on April 20, 2012.{{sfn|Tomlinson|2012a}} The date selected by the city of Austin unintentionally coincided with the number 4/20, [[420 (cannabis culture)|associated with cannabis culture]]. In spite of the coincidence and Nelson's advocacy for the legalization of marijuana, the ceremony was scheduled also for 4:20&nbsp;pm. During the ceremony, Nelson performed the song "[[Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die]]".{{sfn|Tomlinson|2012b}} The same year, Nelson was honored during the 46th Annual Country Music Association Awards as the first recipient of the [[Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award|Lifetime Achievement Award]], which was also named after him.{{sfn|Lewis|2012}} In 2013, he received an honorary doctorate from the [[Berklee College of Music]].{{sfn|Sullivan|2013}} The following year, he was part of the inaugural class inducted into the ''Austin City Limits'' Hall of Fame. Also included among the first inductees was his friend Darrell Royal, whose jamming parties that Nelson participated in were the source of inspiration for the show.{{sfn|Associated Press staff|2014}}

For many years, Nelson's image was marked by his red hair, often divided into two long braids partially concealed under a bandanna. In the April 2007 issue of [[Stuff Magazine]] Nelson was interviewed about his long locks.{{sfn|Everett|2010}} "I started braiding my hair when it started getting too long, and that was, I don't know, probably in the 70's." On May 26, 2010, the Associated Press reported that Nelson had cut his hair,{{sfn|Associated Press staff|2010}} and Nashville music journalist Jimmy Carter published a photograph of the pigtail-free Nelson on his website. Nelson wanted a more maintainable hairstyle, as well helping him stay cool more easily at his Maui home.{{sfn|Carter|2010}} In October 2014, the braids of Nelson were sold for $37,000 at an auction of the Waylon Jennings estate. In 1983, Nelson cut his braids and gave them to Jennings as a gift during a party celebrating Jennings' sobriety.{{sfn|New York Post staff|2014}}

Nelson's touring and recording group, the Family, is full of longstanding members. The original lineup included his sister Bobbie Nelson, drummer Paul English, harmonicist [[Mickey Raphael]], bassist Bee Spears, drummer/percussionist Billy English (Paul's younger brother), and guitarist [[Jody Payne]].{{sfn|Scobey|1982|pp=198, 358}} The current lineup only includes Nelson himself, Raphael, and Billy English from the classic lineup, as Jody Payne retired (before dying in 2013), Bee Spears died in 2011, Paul English died in 2020, and Willie's sister [[Bobbie Nelson]] died in 2022.{{sfn|Kerns|2012}} ''Willie & Family'' tours North America in the bio-diesel bus ''Honeysuckle Rose'', which is fueled by Bio-Willie.{{sfn|Vancouver Province staff|2007}} Nelson's tour buses were customized by Florida Coach since 1979. The company built the ''Honeysuckle Rose I'' in 1983, which was replaced after a collision in [[Nova Scotia]], Canada, in 1990. The interior was salvaged and reused for the second version of the bus the same year. Nelson changed his tour bus in 1996, 2005 and 2013, currently touring on the ''Honeysuckle Rose V''.{{sfn|Langer|2014}}