Remember When: Willie Nelson Made His Grand Ole Opry Debut, Ended His Membership, and Returned to Texas

By the early 1960s, Willie Nelson had already released two albums, And Then I Wrote in 1962, and Here’s Willie Nelson in 1963, and had written a collection of hits, including Billy Walker’s “Funny How Time Slips Away” and Patsy Cline‘s classic “Crazy,” along with his own Top 10s “Touch Me” and “Willingly,” a duet with Shirley Collie in 1962.

In November of 1964, Nelson had already moved on from Liberty Records and made his first recording at RCA Studio in Nashville, working with producer Chet Atkins on the holiday song “Pretty Paper,” which he originally wrote in 1963 about a disabled man who sold Christmas wrap from the sidewalk in Fort Worth, Texas and was first recorded and made a hit for Roy Orbison that same year.

The year was a busy one for Nelson. Just two weeks after he recorded “Pretty Paper,” which he originally wrote about a disabled man who sold Christmas wrap from the sidewalk in Fort Worth, Texas, a clean-shaven, short-haired Nelson made his Grand Ole Opry debut on November 28, 1964.

During his performance, Nelson performed his 1964 single “I Never Cared for You,” followed by his 1962 hit “Touch Me” from And Then I Wrote.

“He was stylish,” said Loretta Lynn of first seeing Nelson. “He was working in suits. His hair was cut every little bit, he had brass eyes, and his hair was the same color. He was really handsome.”

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Leaving Nashville, and the Opry

Shortly after Nelson’s Opry debut, he became a regular and played the required 26 shows per year. Atkins was determined to make Nelson a star and had complete control over his music from his first release with RCA, Country Willie – His Own Songs in 1965, and more down to the session musicians used.

Frustrated by the industry and the control over his music, Nelson’s life and career in Nashville came to a close by the early ’70s. Playing the Opry regularly, alongside his heavy touring schedule didn’t gel for Nelson, who moved back to Texas in 1972 after his marriage ended and his home was destroyed in a fire.

“I left Nashville because you can’t play in Texas on Friday and get back to the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night,” said Nelson in a 2018 interview. “It just don’t work out that way.” At the time, Nelson was happier with playing shows in Texas rather than trekking around the world. “Just leave the bus in Austin,” he added, “We can go out and play in Waco, come back, and go play in San Antonio and come back. I’m leaning towards that – the further we go – because it’s something we could always do. We don’t have to go to Alaska every year.”

When Nelson first met fellow outlaw and future Highwaymen bandmate Waylon Jennings, who was performing in Phoenix, Arizona, he also warned him about moving to Nashville. “Whatever you do, Waylon, stay away from Nashville,” Nelson recalled telling Jennings. “Nashville ain’t ready for you. They’ll just break your heart.”

Jennings didn’t heed his friend’s advice and soon became frustrated by the industry and the lack of creative control. At the time, Nelson was also experiencing a career slump. Both artists soon took control of their music and pioneered the outlaw country movement and their 1976 musical statement piece, Wanted! The Outlaws, a compilation album also featuring Jennings’ wife Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser.

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Though Nelson gave up his Opry membership in 1972 and never reclaimed it since, he continued playing at the house during the 1970s and throughout the decades with one-off shows with Jennings, Bob Dylan, and more through the late ’90s.

Photo: Willie Nelson poses for a portrait holding an electric guitar, circa 1965. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)