Editing Willie Nelson (section)

===Beginnings (1956–1971)===
Nelson was hired by [[KVAN (AM)|KVAN]] in [[Vancouver, Washington]], and appeared frequently on a television show.{{sfn|Myers|1969|p=4}}{{sfn|Patoski|pp=74–76|2008|}} He made his first record in 1956, "[[No Place for Me]]", that included [[Leon Payne]]'s "Lumberjack" on the B-side.{{sfn|Evans|2006|p=70}} The recording failed.{{sfn|Dicair|2007|p=[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=MYMQl9dsKJEC|page=246}} 246]}} Nelson continued working as a radio announcer and singing in Vancouver clubs.{{sfn|Erlewine|1997|p=324}}
He made several appearances in a Colorado nightclub, later moving to [[Springfield, Missouri]]. After failing to land a spot on the ''[[Ozark Jubilee]]'', he started to work as a dishwasher. Unhappy with his job, he moved back to Texas. After a short time in [[Waco, Texas|Waco]], he settled in Fort Worth, and quit the music business for a year.{{sfn|Myers|1969|p=4}} He sold Bibles and vacuum cleaners door-to-door,{{sfn|Dingus|1992|p=[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=ZysEAAAAMBAJ|77|page=77}} 77]}} and eventually became a sales manager for the ''[[Encyclopedia Americana]]''.{{sfn|Myers|1969|p=5}}

After his son Billy was born in 1958, the family moved to [[Houston]], Texas. On the way, Nelson stopped by the [[Esquire Ballroom]] to sell his original songs to house band singer [[Larry Butler (producer)|Larry Butler]]. Butler refused to purchase the song "[[Mr. Record Man]]" for $10, instead giving Nelson a $50 loan to rent an apartment and a six-night job singing in the club.{{sfn|Nelson|Shrake|Shrake|2000|p=116, 117}} Nelson rented the apartment near Houston in [[Pasadena, Texas]], where he also worked at the radio station as the sign-on disc jockey. During this time, he recorded two singles for [[Pappy Daily]] on [[D Records]]{{sfn|Smith|2013}} "[[Man With the Blues]]"/"The Storm Has Just Begun" and "[[What a Way to Live (song)|What a Way to Live]]"/"Misery Mansion".{{sfn|Nelson|Shrake|Shrake|2000|p=117}} Nelson then was hired by guitar instructor Paul Buskirk to work as an instructor in his school. He sold "[[Family Bible (song)|Family Bible]]" to Buskirk for $50 and "[[Night Life (Willie Nelson song)|Night Life]]" for $150.{{sfn|Nelson|Shrake|Shrake|2000|p=118}} "Family Bible" turned into a hit for [[Claude Gray]] in 1960.{{sfn|Patoski|p=102|2008}}

{{Listen |type=music |filename=Hello Walls.ogg|title="Hello Walls" |description=Written by Willie Nelson, "Hello Walls", was a hit for Faron Young in 1961, and the song that gave Nelson national recognition as a songwriter. He recorded the song for his debut album ''...&nbsp;And Then I Wrote''.}}

Nelson moved to [[Nashville, Tennessee]], in 1960, but was unable to find a label to sign him. During this period he often spent time at [[Tootsie's Orchid Lounge]], a bar near the Grand Ole Opry frequented by the show's stars and other singers and songwriters.{{sfn|Richmond|2000|p=36}} There Nelson met [[Hank Cochran]], a songwriter who worked for the publishing company Pamper Music, owned by Ray Price and Hal Smith. Cochran heard Nelson during a jam session with [[Buddy Emmons]] and Jimmy Day. Cochran had just earned a raise of $50 a week, but convinced Smith to pay Nelson the money instead to sign him to Pamper Music. On hearing Nelson sing "Hello Walls" at Tootsie's, [[Faron Young]] decided to record it.{{sfn|Kosser|2006|p=[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=DL6gHNXWToQC|page=73}} 73]}} After Ray Price recorded Nelson's "Night Life", and his previous bassist [[Johnny Paycheck]] quit, Nelson joined Price's touring band as a bass player. While playing with Price and the [[Cherokee Cowboys]], his songs became hits for other artists, including "[[Funny How Time Slips Away]]" ([[Billy Walker (singer)|Billy Walker]]), "[[Pretty Paper (song)|Pretty Paper]]" ([[Roy Orbison]]), and, most famously, "[[Crazy (Willie Nelson song)|Crazy]]" by [[Patsy Cline]].{{sfn|Erlewine|1997|p=324}} Nelson and Cochran also met Cline's husband, [[Charlie Dick]] at Tootsie's. Dick liked a song of Nelson's he heard on the bar's jukebox. Nelson played him a demo tape of "Crazy". Later that night Dick played the tape for Cline, who decided to record it.{{sfn|Patoski|2008|p=6}} "Crazy" became the biggest [[jukebox]] hit of all time.{{sfn|NPR staff|1996}}

[[File:Willie Nelson Grand Ole Opry publicity - cropped.jpg|upright|thumb|Nelson performing on a [[Grand Ole Opry]] package show in 1965]]
Nelson signed with [[Liberty Records]] and was recording by August 1961 at the [[Bradley Studios]] in Nashville. His first two successful singles as an artist were released by the next year, including "[[Willingly]]" (a duet with his soon-to-be second wife, [[Shirley Collie Nelson|Shirley Collie]], which became his first charting single and first Top Ten at No.&nbsp;10) and "[[Touch Me (Willie Nelson song)|Touch Me]]" (his second Top Ten, stalling at No.&nbsp;7).{{sfn|Edwards|Callahan|2001}} Nelson's tenure at Liberty yielded his first album entitled ''[[...And Then I Wrote]]'', released in September 1962.{{sfn|Bush|Mitchell|2007|p=79}} In 1963 Collie and Nelson were married in [[Las Vegas]]. He then worked on the west coast offices of Pamper Records, in [[Pico Rivera, California]]. Since the job did not allow him the time to play music of his own, he left it and bought a ranch in [[Ridgetop, Tennessee]], outside of Nashville.{{sfn|Myers|1969|p=5}} [[Fred Foster]] of [[Monument Records]] signed Nelson in early 1964, but only one single was released: "I Never Cared For You".{{sfn|Scobey|p=190|1982}}

By the fall of 1964, Nelson had moved to [[RCA Victor]] at the behest of [[Chet Atkins]], signing a contract for $10,000 per year.{{sfn|Reid|2004|p=[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=qCDF5fFuBT8C|224|page=224}} 224]}} ''[[Country Willie – His Own Songs]]'' became Nelson's first RCA Victor album, recorded in April 1965. That same year he joined the [[Grand Ole Opry]],{{sfn|Patoski|p=Nashville, 1960|2008|}} and he met and became friends with [[Waylon Jennings]] after watching one of his shows in [[Phoenix, Arizona]].{{sfn|Nelson|Shrake|Shrake|2000|p=158}} In 1967, he formed his backing band "The Record Men", featuring Johnny Bush, [[Jimmy Day]], [[Paul English (drummer)|Paul English]] and David Zettner.{{sfn|Bush|Mitchell|2007|pp=137–138}} During his first few years on RCA Victor, Nelson had no significant hits, but from November 1966 through March 1969, his singles reached the Top 25 in a consistent manner. "One in a Row" (#19, 1966), "The Party's Over" (#24 during a 16-week chart run in 1967), and his cover of [[Morecambe & Wise]]'s "Bring Me Sunshine" (#13, March 1969) were Nelson's best-selling records during his time with RCA.{{sfn|Dicair|2007|p=[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=MYMQl9dsKJEC|page=246}} 246]}}

By 1970, most of Nelson's songwriting royalties were invested in tours that did not produce significant profits. In addition to the problems in his career, Nelson divorced Shirley Collie in 1970. In December, his ranch in Ridgetop, Tennessee, burned down. He interpreted the incident as a signal for a change. He moved to a ranch near [[Bandera, Texas]], and married Connie Koepke. In early 1971 his single "I'm a Memory" reached the top 30.{{sfn|Kienzle|2003|p=[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=Gq2TTa6TStkC|page=248}} 248]}} After he recorded his final RCA single, "Mountain Dew" (backed with "Phases, Stages, Circles, Cycles and Scenes"), in late April 1972, RCA requested that Nelson renew his contract ahead of schedule, with the implication that RCA would not release his latest recordings if he did not.{{sfn|Reid|2004|p=[{{google books|plainurl=y|id=qCDF5fFuBT8C|page=223}} 223]}} Due to the failure of his albums, and particularly frustrated by the reception of ''[[Yesterday's Wine]]'', although his contract was not over, Nelson decided to retire from music.{{sfn|Nelson|Shrake|Shrake|2000|p=167}}