Willie Nelson on Willie Nelson: Interviews and Encounters with Willie Nelson

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. (Sept.)