Fans have lots of reasons to salute Willie Nelson on any given day, but he does accept birthday greetings twice a year!
The musician, who was born on April 29, 1933, celebrates more than just one birthday each year. it. For admirers who are delighted to celebrate his 91st birthday this week but are confused about which day to do it, they can thank both time and the apparent inner workings of a county courthouse from 1933.
Nelson said on his SiriusXM radio show in 2018 that he celebrates his birthday on both April 29 and April 30, according to the way his birth was documented in Abbott, Texas, in 1933.
“I was born before midnight on the 29th, but it didn’t get registered in the county courthouse until the next day, the 30th,” Nelson recounted at the time.
“So it was officially released on the 30th.” I just do both days.”
Nelson’s daughter Lana told Texas Monthly that the singer celebrated his birthday on April 29 until he entered the Air Force at the age of 18. At that time, he apparently secured a duplicate of his birth certificate and rescheduled the party for April 30.
According to the publication, Nelson’s cousin Mildred informed him years later that he was born on April 29 and that she was present (when she was 13).
So, while one day is Nelson’s real birthday, admirers get an extra day to convey their greetings before they become belated.
While Nelson celebrates his 91st birthday this week, last year’s 90th was a memorable occasion.
Several of Nelson’s closest friends attended Blackbird Presents’ Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, which was held at the Hollywood Bowl in 2023 to commemorate the country star’s nine decades of existence. Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, George Strait, and Miranda Lambert were all in attendance.
“I never thought I’d get here,” Nelson told PEOPLE before the event.
“I get a lot of fun out of playing for an audience,” he told me. “There is a big interchange of energy there. That’s what keeps me going.”
Nelson has had a busy year since his last birthday, from performing with Kermit the Frog to appearing on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter and most recently collaborating with Orville Peck on a new rendition of Ned Sublette’s 1981 song “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other.”
Speaking to Rolling Stone about the new song, Peck claimed that Nelson was motivated to cover it by the growth of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and legislation across the United States.
“As an artist who has sometimes felt excluded from the country music industry, once Willie Nelson wants to work with you, there’s really nothing the country world can say after that,” Peck told me.